Oyelowo excited to show his goofy side

Actor David Oyelowo says he had reserved his goofy side for his children and friends, but is now excited to show it to the world through "Gringo".

"Gringo", also starring Charlize Theron, Amanda Seyfried and Joel Edgerton, combines dark humour with dramatic intrigue. It is directed by Nash Edgerton.

"Before 'Gringo' came along, I'd never really done a dark comedy before. The goofy side of me had always been reserved for my kids and my friends. So for me, 'Gringo' was a great opportunity to express that part of my personality," Oyelowo said in a statement.

"Gringo" revolves around mild-mannered businessman Harold (Oyelowo) who is assigned the task of delivering the formula of a new weed pill to a lab in Mexico and all the obstacles he faces. It is being brought to India by PVR Pictures, and will release on March 9.

Oyelowo brought some of his own ideas into the project.

"I challenged Nash to make Harold a Nigerian immigrant," said the actor.

The "Selma" star added: "My parents are Nigerian and I lived in Nigeria for seven years, so that element gave me something I could really relate to. I wanted to bring something fresh to the role because when you have a character who is deemed a loser, there are temptations to go for fairly low-hanging fruit by having him be nerdy and overweight and wear glasses.

"I felt having Harold be a Nigerian in Mexico was an interesting way to truly make him a fish out of water."

--IANS

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