Exclusive: Kelvin Harrison Jr. Portrays a French Maestro in Chevalier

Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a maestro of violin, piano, and fencing in 18th century France. Defined as a noble knight, he bested Mozart on stage, romanced the aristocracy, and was widely considered one of the most accomplished artists of his day. You’ve probably never heard of him. Why not? Because Joseph Bologne was the biracial son of a wealthy plantation owner and his slave.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. brings Bologne to life with deft aplomb in a captivating period drama, Chevalier. He excelled in the arts and swordsmanship through fierce determination. Bologne was subjected to vile racism but embraced the opportunities given by his father’s station. The film chronicles his friendship, and possible affair with Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton), before falling out of her favor. His true love was the beautiful opera singer Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving), the wife of the vicious military commander Marc René (Marton Csokas), the Marquis de Montalembert. Chevalier leads up to the French Revolution as Bologne realizes that everything he’s worked for and cherished is in danger because of his skin color.

Harrison Jr. spent “five months” of intensive daily training to prepare for filming. He immersed himself in Bologne literature to get an understanding of the character. He considers the emotional reunion and reconciliation with Bologne’s mother, Nanon (Ronke Adekoluejo), as the most emotional experience on set. Chevalier tells a fascinating piece of Black history in an enthralling way. It brings an accomplished man to light in a modern time, where such figures are again in danger of being purposely repressed.

An Impressive Performance

MW: I was really impressed by your performance in this movie. You fence, play the violin, piano, and waltz. Talk about preparing to play Joseph. He’s a very detailed character.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.: It starts with just researching as much as you can to really understand the history of the time. We’re dealing with something that I knew nothing about, which was French society in the 1700s. So I wanted to look up the laws, I wanted to look up who was in power at the time, I wanted to look at when slaves were brought in, and how was the trade system working. I wanted to understand how Joseph could come into such a beautiful opportunity, but also such a restricting opportunity at the same time.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I read a book called Virtuoso of the Sword and the Bow by Gabriel Banat. That really helped me a lot to get started. Then you get into the violin and intensive training, which is five months of six hours a day, seven days a week, nonstop. And then same with the fencing. I did two hours every day with the stunt coordinators that were incredible. You make a Joseph Bologne at that point.

MW: What’s the best day and worst day filming this movie?

Kelvin Harrison Jr.: Best day, I would say, was doing the Mozart battle. That was so much fun. It was the hardest day, it took the most preparation, but it felt so rewarding. We shot that particular scene in the theater that Mozart premiered Don Giovanni. There was a presence. It was so cool to have Joseph reclaim where he is the Chevalier, he’s in the spotlight, he wins. Being in that space was really brilliant for me.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.: And then I think the hardest day, I would say, were scenes with the mom, I think that was really difficult. Just processing the trauma, processing that brain pain as an actor, trying to channel that emotion for that relationship — it was really beautiful, but it was taxing on the spirit.

Related: Here Are Some of the Best Cinematic Historical Dramas

A Beautiful Story

MW: We’re living in a time now when Black history is being erased. Joseph was a great man, and he was erased by Napoleon. Do you think there will ever be a concern where students can’t even get to watch Chevalier?

Kelvin Harrison Jr.: I would hope not. I really hope that they aren’t deprived of this beautiful story and this incredible man. Maybe we are. I would like to stand on the idea that we can be a little more hopeful about it. Also, this is a fun movie, and it’s really entertaining, and you can learn a lot about a lot of other characters too. Hopefully we won’t be restricted from watching a movie like this. But I think it’s an interesting question. I think it’s something we should definitely think about. So I’m with you.

Chevalier will have a theatrical release on April 21st from Searchlight Pictures.