WATCH: David Oyelowo Speaks On The Uniqueness Of Government Cheese

Actor David Oyelowo talks about the production of the Apple TV series &#039;Government Cheese.&#039;

Transcript

00:00What was it about the plot line that intrigued you the most?

00:03Well, the plot line is not the first thing that came to me. What came to me was a short film

00:10script. And that was something Paul Hunter had written. And I found out it was based on his

00:17life growing up in the valley in the 60s and 70s. And the thing that hit me is exactly the thing

00:25that hit you and the word that you describe it as unique. I just hadn't read anything quite like

00:31this before. I hadn't had the opportunity to play a character quite like this before. I hadn't seen

00:36a black family of this nature on screen before, but I was able to relate to elements of it. The

00:43quirkiness of the family is something I could definitely relate to my family being a father

00:48of four and my wife and I having these extraordinary kids that we have, being a father who

00:55wants the best for his family, knowing that I am a very fallible individual, knowing that I have

01:01my own relationship with God and how that relationship plays out. So I had my versions of

01:08some of the themes that were in this story, but to see it in this fantastical, surreal, absurdist way,

01:15but also set in the 60s, a time where we often are steeped in civil rights and racial struggle,

01:22but none of that is part of the equation. There were just so many things that were both fresh

01:26and familiar about it, but overridingly, as you say, it was just so very unique.