He may not be as instantly recognizable as the A-list actors he’s often co-starring with, but once you hear the deep bellow of Keith David‘s voice you’ll immediately start trying to figure out where you’ve heard it before. From voicing ominous animated characters such as Goliath in Disney‘s Gargoyles or the title character in HBO‘s Spawn to narrating the recent The History of WWE: 50 Years of Sports Entertainment DVD to appearances and voice work for a wide range of movies including Platoon, There’s Something About Mary, Cloud Atlas, Coraline and The Princess and the Frog. And who could forget that famous fight scene he had with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in John Carpenter‘s They Live? With numerous new films slated for release this year, David also has a recurring role in all 13 episodes of the new military comedy Enlisted, debuting this Friday night. Next month, David will be part of a reunion of The Thing cast at Days of the Dead: Atlanta (where he will also reunite with Piper) and he continues to narrate upcoming documentaries for WWE. Amidst his busy schedule, David takes a moment to talk to Wrestling with Pop Culture about his many contributions to film, television and theater.
While watcing the recent History of WWE DVD, I immediately recognized your voice as the narrator, though I didn’t see you credited anywhere.
I guess I’m going to have to get on them about that, right?
Of course you do! You’ve done some previous work for WWE. How did your working relationship with WWE come about?
I do have a good working relationship with WWE. I’ve been narrating documentaries and stuff for them for a long time. First of all, I like to work. Second of all, I’ve been a fan of WWE since the days of Bruno Sammartino. So it was a nice thing to be asked to participate in their documentary and I was very happy to do it. We have several documentaries coming out about the history of WWE and how WWE is actually changing the face of sports entertainment. That’s what this documentary is about is how WWE has changed the face of sports entertainment and how we look at sports. They have hundreds of thousands of fans that attend these huge events and all these big stars that have come out of WWE. I don’t think any of them have become great actors in the same way that some NFL athletes have, but more and more of them are getting parts in movies, guest starring on television shows and things like that. Some are even becoming politicians, like Jesse Ventura.
What I like about [this documentary] is you get a very clear picture that the persona of the wrestler in the ring is exactly that, it’s a persona. It’s like an actor playing a character because they do have lives outside of the arena. And some of them, i.e. Jesse Ventura, are very responsible men with very strong political views who are wanting to make a difference in their communities.
How much did you learn about WWE while working on this documentary and how much were you already aware of?
Generally speaking, I knew about all the different leagues and I knew the names of the creators like Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff and those guys. But in the documentary you learn about some of the specifics about how [WWE] negotiated these different deals. I didn’t realize some of the internal battling that has been going on between some of the stars, the re-creation of some of their personalities and things like that. That kind of stuff is very interesting. We’ve seen the results of all that, but we’re not always necessarily privy to how they came about.
Prior to working directly with WWE, you worked with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in They Live. What was it like working with Piper and being part of such an iconic cult movie?
Oh, man. Roddy was the first professional wrestler that I ever met up close and personal. What a wonderful human being! At that time, he was pound for pound the strongest man I had ever met in my life. I was weighing at least 230 pounds at the time and he would lift me up like I was a 3-year-old and look back at the director like, “What am I supposed to do with him?” We had a lot of fun. He taught me a few wrestling moves and we had a lot of fun choreographing our fight, along with Jeff Imada. It was some of the best fun I ever had in my theatrical life, in the movies or on stage. One thing about doing fights in movies that’s different than on stage is you have all those different angles to cover. We just had a great time. It was a really good time. All of his training in the ring and mine in stage combat helped us be able to sell a really great fight. It was very fun working with him.
Will you be working on any other WWE projects?
Absolutely. I have one coming up this week, as a matter of fact. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but it’s going to be part of the ongoing documentary series.
You have several movies coming out this year. What can you tell me about some of those movies?
I have a movie coming out called The North Star, which was the first time I got to play Frederick Douglass in a movie. I haven’t seen it yet, so I hope it turned out well.
In the meantime, you have a new TV show coming out called Enlisted.
Keith David as Command Sergeant Major Donald Cody in “Enlisted”.
Amen! Yes, Enlisted is coming out on Friday, Jan. 10 at 9:30 p.m. on Fox. It’s a workplace comedy and we just happen to be in the Army. We are a rear detachment unit and I play the Command Sergeant Major on this post. It’s all about how we take care of the families of the deployed soldiers and how we run the business of the Army. Everybody can’t be deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq; some of us have to stay home and take care of running the business and that’s what we do.
Enlisted is one of several military roles you’ve played. You were also in WWE Studios‘ Behind Enemy Lines: Colombia with Mr. Kennedy in 2009. What was it like working with Kennedy?
It was fun. He was a good guy. He was playing a soldier and he certainly looked like a soldier. We were in Puerto Rico, so it was a good time had by all.
Would you be interested in doing more work for WWE Studios, especially considering how many more movies they are putting out each year?
I like to work, so if the right project comes along I will be very happy to work with them.
Are there any particular WWE stars you’d be interested in working with in a movie?
Oh, I don’t know. It would depend on the project. There’s a big difference between a personality and an actor. Depending on the project, you’ll see how those dynamics work together. Sometimes there’s a great personality in a particular show or movie and the story flows. Then there are other things that are far more challenging. There are plenty of guys that would be great to work with and I would enjoy working with any of the wrestlers under the right circumstances.
I understand you’re also working on a musical release. What can you tell me about that and when will we be able to hear it?
Every year I wind up saying, “By the end of the year.” But certainly by the end of this year I’ll have my CD project out. Also, my next project in Los Angeles will be playing Paul Robeson in a production called Paul Robeson at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center with the Ebony Repertory Theatre in March.