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By
Samantha Ofole-Prince
There are two good reasons, according to Will Blagrove, to watch the movie “Cost of a Soul.”
“It’s relatable and is a well shot film,” says Blagrove, who stars alongside Chris Kerson in the Sean Kirkpatrick directed drama about two wounded soldiers returning home from a tour of duty in Iraq.
A New York native, whose parents hail from Jamaica, Blagrove had a reoccurring role as Brendan on the recently canceled daytime soap “All My Children,” and has worked with several directors including Spike Lee and James L. Brooks. Blagrove, who ditched a law career for acting, was not only attracted to the film’s positive message, but felt a connection with his onscreen character DD Davis, whom he shares a lot of similarities.
“I am a big fan of roles that motivate people and I love positive roles,” he says. “The first thing I read about my character DD is that he was trying to do good and good guys usually win. I related to him as he’s on a mission to do right by his family,” continues Blagrove, who made the 100 mile journey from New York to Philadelphia just to audition for the role.
Shot in 18 days on location in the streets of North Philadelphia in some of the roughest neighborhoods in America, “Cost of a Soul’s” main characters DD and Tommy (Chris Kerson) find themselves trapped in the same slums they joined the military to escape from, and as they reevaluate their choices, their lives become entwined in a web of crime, corruption and violence.
“The mission of the film was to showcase what it is like for so many kids in so many rough areas. Crime is just a circulation of violence and sometimes it is not a happy ending.”
With excellent performances by the cast which includes newcomers Judy Jerome and Maddie M. Jones, it’s a gloomy tale which will leave viewers shell-shocked.
For Blagrove, who took on a lot of physical and mental research to perfect his role as DD, making ‘Soul’ was a somber eye-opener.
“I did a lot of research on what it was like for a soldier coming off the war in Iraq and I have a totally new appreciation for our troops,” he says. “I already had that appreciation,” he adds, “but I had to talk to our troops and interview them to see what it’s like just from their perspective. Seeing gray, sand and dust and the lack of the sound of a bird chirping every day, the lack of green grass everywhere and then to come home to it, just made me so much more appreciative of what they go through,” he continues “That’s in addition to the amount of work it takes to become a soldier -- the physical attributes that a soldier has. This film really gave me an appreciation for our troops.” |
