'The Book of Clarence' - LaKeith Stanfield and Jeymes Samuel

Moviefone speaks with LaKeith Stanfield and director Jeymes Samuel about 'The Book of Clarence.' "There's never been a movie made like this," the filmmaker said.

Opening in theaters on January 12th is the new epic biblical comedy-drama ‘The Book of Clarence,’ which stars LaKeith Stanfield (‘Knives Out’) and was directed by Jeymes Samuel (‘The Harder They Fall’).

(L to R) LaKeith Stanfield and director Jeymes Samuel discuss 'The Book of Clarence.'

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking in-person with LaKeith Stanfield and director Jeymes Samuel to talk about their work on ‘The Book of Clarence,’ what audiences can expect from the film, writing the screenplay and the themes Samuel wanted to explore, and Stanfield’s approach to playing his dual roles.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Stanfield and Samuel, as well as RJ Cyler and Anna Diop.

Jeymes Samuel attends a Special Screening of 'The Book of Clarence' at Pacific Design Center on December 11, 2023 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, what would you say to audiences to prepare them for the theatrical experience they are about to have watching this movie?

Jeymes Samuel: Get ready for a singular piece. There's never been a movie made like this in 135 years of the moving image. You've never seen a ‘Book of Clarence’ before. If anything, the movie is singular. If everything, the movie is awesome. Welcome.

LaKeith Stanfield attends a Special Screening of 'The Book of Clarence' at Pacific Design Center on December 11, 2023 in West Hollywood, California. Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.

MF: LaKeith, what would you say to audiences to prepare them for ‘The Book of Clarence’ experience?

LaKeith Stanfield: This film is for the open-minded, the person that is interested in gaining some new perspective or seeing something fresh, and that isn't interested in going into movies with preconceived notions. It's not woke. It's not those Hollywood buzzwords that people want to use to have things fit into their ideas of what things are. This, you will not be able to expect or even be able to hold it in your mind what this really is, unless you see it on a big screen, loud, with people you love. That's the way to enjoy it. It really is something that you don't want to miss, because I feel like it's going to exist in the time as something classic. You're going to hear people talking about it, and you might be like, "Why did I miss that?" Just do yourself a favor and check this movie out, because it's entertaining, but it also holds some universal truths that are very good to be reminded of. Also, you get to see the beautiful black gods at play, and that's a beautiful thing to be a part of. We had so much fun making it. But there's love, there's action, there's fighting, there's family, there's coming together, there's self-discovery, there's miracles, and it's just a bunch of fun. So yeah, it'll be dope.

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Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor) in 'The Book of Clarence.'

MF: Jeymes, I heard that you grew up loving epic biblical films like ‘Ben-Hur’ and ‘The Ten Commandments.’ Can you talk about writing this screenplay and specifically the themes that you were interested in exploring with this movie?

JS: Writing the screenplay was awesome. ‘The Book of Clarence,’ for whatever reason, it bled out of me, like it wanted to be born. When I sat down to write the screenplay, it was like two weeks. I'd taken notes on it for years, like over a decade. I knew what was where. But when I sat down to write the screen, I couldn't sleep. It was just literally gushing out of me. The things I wanted to include in this movie was everything. Absolutely everything. Everything, everything, everything, everything, everything, everything. I wanted to include everything. Gladiator fights, chariot races, crucifixions, dance sequences, action pieces. I wanted to put everything into this film, this story, and what better way than to have a protagonist like Clarence. You needed to cast the right person. You needed the right person to hang and clothe all these themes upon. I knew I could not make this movie until I had the right actor, which was the day I met LaKeith Stanfield.

Elijah (R.J. Cyler) and Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) in 'The Book of Clarence.'

MF: Finally, LaKeith, in addition to playing Clarence, you also play his twin brother, Thomas. Can you talk about the difference between the two characters and your approach to playing each of them?

LS: I just thought it was important to set Clarence up as someone that could learn something. So therefore, someone that thought they had to figure it out. I knew that I wanted him to exude a confidence that gets you to the positions that you want to be in life. You manifest things here that might not have been everything that Clarence knew, but he knew that he had something special, and he carried that with him, and I wanted to show that. I also wanted to show his moments of levity and grace so that when he fell out of grace, we could clearly see the difference. When it came to Thomas, I just wanted to make sure I was able to draw lines in the sand and distinctions between these two brothers who, they came from the same place, they experienced similar things, but they chose different paths and how that can build up resentment in a pair that close. How ultimately there were parts of them that really loved each other deeply but weren't able to come to the surface and missed a lot of the issues they were dealing with. But eventually they were able to reconcile. There was at least a nod to that idea that they were able to come together, they're able to see the truth because it transcends all their little issues. So, I want to make sure that that was in there, that love was in there at the end of the day.

The Book of Clarence

"How far would you go to prove you're not a nobody?"

PG-132 hr 9 minJan 12th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch The Book of Clarence Online

What is the plot of 'The Book of Clarence'?

A struggling down-on-his-luck man named Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) living in 29 A.D. Jerusalem looks to capitalize on the rise of Jesus Christ (Babs Olusanmokun) by claiming to be a new Messiah sent by God, in an attempt to free himself of debt and start a life of glory for himself.