How Tyler Lepley Helped Modernize a Biblical Love Story
- UpRising Editors
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
[IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING]
The star of Ruth & Boaz spoke at an Atlanta film screening this week about his intentions and approach to showcasing Black romance on-screen.
On representing Black love in culture and cinema
"When you look around, it’s almost like love is starting to feel exhausting. It feels very surface-level, very transactional. Almost like it’s conditional; people only step into it to take something away from it. That’s not what real love actually is. What we did on set in terms of putting our own spin on a classic tale that came from the Book of Ruth is a blessing to speak for us in terms of what Black love is. This is just a refreshing story to let you know that if you step into a relationship and you actually serve the relationship and you serve God and your purpose, you’d be surprised what you actually come out of it with."
On portraying his character
"In each role I take, I try to figure out what’s the contrast to the person? For Boaz, if you saw how determined he was to win that Best in Show [wine award] and honor his father, it takes a certain rigidity. You have to be rigid enough to get there. So that’s the yin. The yang is you have to be fluid enough to serve and then wait to see what God has in store for you. So I feel like that was his contrast that I was trying to search for as opposed to what he looks like or how he’s shovelling the dirt. That was the foundation I had."
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Ruth & Boaz is now streaming on Netflix. The film was produced by Devon Franklin and Tyler Perry and also stars Serayah and Phylicia Rashad.
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