By Allison Horton
Fighting to save humanity from an apocalyptic end is just another day in the life of Tyrese Gibson. The singer and actor stars in the movie, “Legion,” which opens this Friday. Gibson plays the character Kyle, one of the strangers trapped in a diner taking a stand to save mankind.
Gibson said he related to his character Kyle who is a divorcee and drew on his own life experiences for the role. The performer’s 1½ -year marriage ended in divorce last summer and he shares custody of his two-year-old daughter, Shayla.
“I went into my real feelings on Kyle,” he said. “He’s on his way to court dealing with a nasty divorce and dealing with custody issues. This guy just falls over because he’s lost. He needs directions to where he’s going. He gets sucked into the matrix.”
Actor Charles Dutton, best known for his starring role in the Fox series, “Roc,” also stars in the film and was a resource for Gibson.
“Honestly, when I end up doing a scene with him on the roof,” he said, “it felt like a mentoring moment where he was teaching me. So it was a pleasure working with Charles. I definitely want to do another one with him because I learned a lot. I was a student.”
Gibson is expanding beyond the entertainment industry and branching into comic books. Last year, Gibson created the Image Comics book, “Mayhem,” which is a three-issue series about the exploits of Dante, a masked vigilante, whose mysterious past spurs him to fight criminals in Los Angeles.
“He’s a very strong Black superhero,” he said. “I’m really proud of the momentum and the energy behind this comic book creation.”
He said he became interested in the genre after attending Comic Con, an annual comic book fan convention, while promoting the 2008 action movie “Death Race” with co-star Jason Statham.
“That energy out there was so infectious,” Gibson said. “It was like I have to figure out a way to be a part of this world and try my best to contribute to this world.”
Gibson is grateful for his success and credits God for his accomplishments.
“I’m a Christian by faith,” he said. “I’m at church every Sunday. I don’t go to God when I’m going through problems only. I’m consistent with my relationship and he’s every bit the source of all of my blessings. I’m just out here trying my best to maintain the blessing because He could have given this to anybody.”