HBO
Tell us about your character in the film.

JEFFREY WRIGHT
Mr. Paul -- he's one of the boarders in the house. Like most of them, he's something of a misfit. But he's found his kind of surrogate family in this place, and he's kind of a historian of the house in some ways, the keeper of time, but he's also the keeper of his own secrets. Or at least secrets to Ruben Jr. that he reveals to him during the course of the story and it's just further education for the young Ruben.

HBO
There's a mystery to him, probably more so than anybody else in the house.

JEFFREY WRIGHT
Hmm. Well, I would say that's true, yeah, I would say that's true. You know, the nucleus of this boarding house is Nanny, who is kind of the adoptive mother of all these folks and in many ways, or grandmother or sister. And we all have been taken under her wing when other folks would not want to have us.

I saw this play when it was a one-man show at the Public Theater, and it just reminded me so much of my childhood in many ways, it reminded me of my grandmother. It took me back to a time in America when there was more of a sense of extended family and community, and even in this instance, you know, in the case of "Lackawanna Blues", these are fringe dwellers and rough characters, and beautiful folks, there's still a family and there's still a sense of community that they're a part of.

It's set in the sixties, the mid-sixties, there was still a very strong sense of community among black folks, particularly, that was my experience. There was a strong sense of community and extended family and I think this harkens back to that. And it's just lovely remembrances, told through Ruben's eyes.

It's also an homage to this matriarch, this woman who is overseeing this place, who's kind of representative I think of an archetypal woman in black American history. When I saw him perform it as a one-man show, there was just such love coming through, love for these people, and it was clear that they had been not only his extended family, but also in many ways his early schooling was through these folks. And it's just a beautiful, beautiful homage to that.

HBO
Why do you think music is important to tell these characters' stories?

JEFFREY WRIGHT
I think unfortunately, too often if we see characters like this on film or on television, I think all too often it's over-simplified. Their stories aren't told with a real sense of the complexity of the lives. And with George Wolfe at the helm of this -- this is probably the sixth or seventh time I've worked with George -- you can be assured that the layers of the lives will be brought forth, and the story of these people won't be undervalued, but rather will be celebrated and in a deep way, we hope.

It's been my experience with George that he brings out the best in actors. I'm very excited about him having a chance to do a piece of film, to bring his eye and his vision to a larger audience because for me, he's been the most important director in my career, and I think he has a lot to share, and I'm excited that people will finally on a larger scale see what he sees. It's really a joy for me to explore it with him because we always find wonderful things.