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4 August 2005 
Were you surprised to have found yourself with the girlfriend of Clooney?
"I didn't have the faintest idea who she was."
Was there a flash of lightning?
"Let's just say that we were really good together. Lisa is a very special person."
So how come it finished between you?
"Distance. She was living in London, I was in Venice, California."
The distance is also officially the reason why she split up with Clooney?
"Of this I know nothing. I don't speak to Lisa about her private life. We ended almost year and half ago."
So is there now another important woman in your life?
"Yes one, the true woman in my life is my daughter Nyla, who is 7 years old. I am happy single. The truth is I still feel like a child. I want to enjoy myself, to live my life a little, like my character in CSI. Otherwise I feel trapped."
Are you also attached to your son?
"Certainly, but that's another thing entirely. I do not occupy myself entirely alone. I have the good fortune to have a splendid family, thanks to a great relationship with my ex: the mother of Nyla, who today is with Jason Kay the singer in Jamiroquai, and my second son Lyric who is 3 years old. She organises the productions for Michel Comte. Last weekend, for example, we were all together as hosts of Lenny Kravitz at his villa in the South of France."
Is Kravitz one of your friends?
"More than a friend, a brother. We played in a band together before he was famous. He's practically family. I also acted with his mother in a comedy in New York."
You are also similar physically.
"Thank you for the compliment. We're cut from the same
cloth. But we were more similar when I had long rasta hair."
Why did you cut it?
"Because it limited me as an actor. I was only put forward for roles as a drug user, voodoo priest, gangster..."
And without dreadlocks did they offer you more parts? "It was even worse. At a certain point there was nothing and I had to start from zero."
How did you become an actor?
"I studied acting and music since I was a child in Philadelphia, thanks to my father who was a great agent for musicians. Only when I transferred to New York however did I decide to seriously take up theatre. But in the end I lost all my energy and I ended up in trouble."
What type of trouble?
"I was in a young gang. We passed the time running around in cars, wasting time. I used and abused alcohol and drugs. The problem was that my family had moved to New Jersey, where there was nothing much to do for a young boy. Until one day I realised that most of the people I knew had either died or ended up in jail. I realised that I didn't want to waste my life so I moved to New York which provided me with a new start to my life."
And the music?
"I continued to do this. I was supporting Live8 in Toronto with the rapper DMC. Between us musicians we are like a family: Lenny, Ben Harper, Seal...all special people. It's good to play together, to talk together."
You have many famous friends, even more famous than you. Are you jealous?
"No sincerely not. I'm not a competitive person - but if things happen, they happen."
Even today in Hollywood however, there has only been one knock on your door, for Alien: Resurrection where you acted with Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder.
"Yes but my greatest moment will always be CSI. From the week it started until the 6th series, I have not yet become bored."
Is that possible even after six years?
"Every time I was tired, I would get another burst of adrenaline. The last time was when Tarantino directed me. He is a big fan of the series. He continues to say it's "cool" and his is very happy. He has a certain effect when he produces a movie and he is enthusiastic about what you are doing."
What can you say about the episode?
"Without giving away the surprise, I can only tell you, its two hours long, practically a film."
Have you asked Tarantino for a role in his next production?
"No, I hadn't thought of that. In Hollywood this would be too much. He called me a few days ago. He invited me to his house, his private cinema and we watched the film of Sierre Leone together."
From where did you inherit your blue eyes?
"From my mother: she is blond with clear eyes. My father is black. I have French, Irish, Scottish, African, Indian and Jewish blood in my veins."
Also in your legacy there is a family tragedy?
"My older brother, Darryl died. He was a legend, a really great musician. He was 23 and I was less than 10, he went to Haiti to investigate our French ancestors. They found him dead a few days later. He mysteriously fell from a balcony. The Haitian authorities have never explained what really happened."
Have you never thought of trying to resolve it yourself? Dedicating yourself to this?
"Many times I have been on the point of leaving for Haiti. But then I thought it best to just leave it. I wouldn't know how to start, who to talk to after all this time. It's been 30 years and the mystery is destined to remain a mystery. On television or in a film there is always a resolution. In life it is more complicated." |
