COLLIDER: I’m thrilled to be able to talk with everyone behindGovernment Cheese.
How are you guys doing?
What have you been telling friends and family about the show?
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And it’s sort of based a little bit on you.
HUNTER: Based on my family and my dad, growing up in the valley.
I’ve seen the first four episodes, and I’m giving you thumbs-up.
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It has a very unique tone that I’ve not seen on TV.
DAVID OYELOWO: I play Hampton Chambers in the show.
I had never read anything quite like it.
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I have never seen a character quite like it.
I have never seen people of this demographic in that place at that time doing these things.
All of those things made it a no-brainer for me.
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BOKEEM WOODBINE: I turned it down initially because it was just not enough time.
I wasnt going to go on screen with this cat with only four days' preparation.
It’s just not enough time.
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So I said, Wow, it sounds good, but it’s just not happening.
It’s not enough time to get it together."
I was headed to New York that weekend, and I read it on the plane.
I got off the plane, and I called my agent.
This is a real tragedy because I love this character.
I love this role."
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I really wanted to do it, but it just wasn’t enough time.
My agent said, Guess what?
They’re willing to give you more time to prepare, and so I was just elated.
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I thought it was so brave.
JAHI DIALLO WINSTON: I play Harrison Chambers.
He’s the youngest of the Chambers family, and he’s sort of the ray of sunshine…
I’m just playing, he’s not at all.
I discovered the script and the project right before the strikes happened.
Harrison just fit like a glove.
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When I read for it, I was like, Okay, this is it.
I’m at that stage where I say yes, you know what I mean?
[Laughs] I didn’t really know what I stumbled upon.
Once I read the script, I was like, Oh,okay!
I can only imagine you’re like, Oh, shit, these scripts are actually good.
ELLISON: “These scripts are amazing!”
HUNTER: Erykah Badu’s On & On.
Was there a reason you went right to that one?
HUNTER: It had a story to it.
Did Prince call you at a normal time of day?
Because I’ve heard stories.
HUNTER: [Laughs] 12:00.
Middle of the day.
I’ve heard many stories where he just calls at four or five in the morning.
HUNTER: It was cool to get a call from him after that.
I cannot even imagine.
OYELOWO: That doesn’t surprise me.
The thing about Paul is he’s a consummate storyteller.
This is the first time he’s getting to do something this expansive in terms of episodic.
The combination of Aeysha and Paul was just kind of magic.
That’s my favorite.
OYELOWO: One for the ladies.
She just really embraces an idea, and she doesn’t back down from it.
Shes a really incredible writer.
What’s your five-season plan?
What’s the one-season plan?"
CARR: This show was so weird that they didn’t have those questions.
They were like, If this works, maybe it will, maybe it won’t.
Your character is an inventor.
I don’t know if you want to say what he invents.
OYELOWO: A self-sharpening drill.
CARR: There were certain things that Paul had, plot points that we never questioned.
OYELOWO: It was always going to be a drill.
HUNTER: I used to work in the aerospace business.
Each episode is unlike the other episode.
They’re all very unique.
Talk a little bit about why it was important to not fit the cookie-cutter mold.
How can we not ascribe to any of the normal rules?
They all feel and look really different, and that was intentional.
HUNTER: I just wanted to break the rules.
I’m all in favor.
The first season is 10 episodes.
For each of you, which episode is your favorite and why?
ELLISON: Mine was definitely the last episode.
WINSTON: I would say Episodes 5 and 6.
David and I have a lot of fun in those episodes.
WOODBINE: I would say for me, Episode 5, because of the sheer absurdity involved.
OYELOWO: I’m going to cheat and say, like Jahi, Episodes 5 and 6.
Thats where I had the most of my fun.
HUNTER: I’m gonna break it up a little bit.
I really love Episode 3.
It’s just very odd.
It’s all sort of in one interesting space.
CARR: First of all, all the episodes, but I’ll go with Episode 7.
How the F did you pull this off?
Because nothing films in LA anymore.
OYELOWO: I’m going to take the blame for that one!
It takes about mid-January before things pick up after the holidays.
We shot it in four days early in January, and we shot it in the Valley.
The great thing about Apple is they got some money.
I went, I’m absolutely sure."
They went, It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.
And we ended up shooting in LA.
That was something very heartening.
I’m looking right at you and you for bringing work back to LA.
The importance of doing more production in Los Angeles.
Its just so imperative to our business.
From documentaries to dramas, here are some great films now streaming on Apple TV.
I love Apple TV, and it’s because all of their shows have incredible production value and cinematography.
Everything below the line is just really good.
What the hell is going on over there?
Is it just that they turn the faucet on with money?
CARR: They really like working with creators, and they like to let the creators create something.
WOODBINE: Like my agent said, “Apple can afford to be great.”
When you make a show for Apple, does it come with Apple TV for life?
CARR: [Laughs] No, but we asked.
With Season 1, how much did you guys debate on a cliffhanger ending?
There were moments when we had a completely different ending to the season.
There was a moment when we had a big action movie ending to the season.
I think just always keeping the options open allowed us to get to where we got.
But we’ve played with many endings.
So, you see the shooting schedule in front of you.
HUNTER: Every day was challenging in terms of the schedule because we wanted to create a certain style.
We didn’t want to rush through.
The look was very important.
In terms of how we accomplished that, we made a choice not to move the camera.
Everything was very specific.
We shot a lot of tableaus and portraits, and that played deep into our tone.
I loved every episode.
Every setup was great, and I really enjoyed the other filmmakers who came on to film.
They just did an incredible job.
I love watching the talent.
The whole crew was incredibly talented and amazing.
Any day with her was a complete joy.
Paul has become one of my favorite people on the planet.
What he’s talking about, in terms of creativity, you need a great dance partner.
I’m going to keep going because I had so many people that I loved working with on this.
OYELOWO: [Laughs] If only it was just hyperbole!
It’s genuinely how I feel.
CARR: We all really love each other.
OYELOWO: It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.
Filming in LA, everyone’s in a good mood.
OYELOWO: A great cast, great crew.
Yes, sleeping in your own bed helps, but these guys, as well.
Getting to play their dad was a real privilege.
WINSTON: Anytime there was a family scene, I looked forward to it.
I loved our dynamic and building that as the story progressed.
It was so much fun.
I can’t wait for you to see those.
Any day with Jahi was really fun to let that brotherly dynamic unfold.
We have lots of scenes like that that are really fun to shoot.
WOODBINE: Everybody’s so bright.
Hed say, Well, calm down.
We’re not going that far."
But you still feel like you’re in a family, and you have a say.
Sometimes, when the schedule didn’t allow us, we just stuck to the planning.
Government Cheese starts streaming on AppleTV+ on April 16.
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