In Elegance Bratton’s “Any Means Necessary” two unlikely characters partner to solve a series of real-life civil rights murder and for Giancarlo Esposito, the story was what attracted him to the role.
“This is a part of history we don’t know about,” shares the actor who plays a prominent Black civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer whose home is firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan.
Loosely based on true events from the late 1960s about a Black FBI agent (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who joins forces with a brutal New York Mafia hitman (played by Mark Wahlberg) to investigate Ku Klux Klan violence in Mississippi, the film also stars LisaGay Hamilton and Nicole Beharie.
“The story is what originally excited me. About a man who gave up his life and wasn’t really a politician but a successful businessman from Missipppi who stood up and wanted to help be a part of a change that was happening all over the country and paid a price for it.”
This unlikely alliance between the federal government and the New York Mafia opens in 1966 Mississippi and features music from Nina Simone, Ray Charles and Curtis Mayfield.
“It caught my attention historically that the FB.I. was involved in hiring nefarious persons – hiring hitmen to bring some of the Klan to justice. It’s a part of history we don’t know about,” adds Esposito who is best-known for his portrayal of Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series “Breaking Bad.”
Bratton’s feature film directorial debut “The Inspection,” which starred Bokeem Woodbine and Gabrielle Union, was inspired by his own story about a young, gay Black man who decides to join the Marines.
“By Any Means,” releases in theaters starting Sept. 4
