Overview:
Actor and creative consultant Jean Elie discusses his role advising Marvel’s Wonder Man, helping shape one of the first Haitian American superhero families on screen and bringing authentic Haitian culture to a global audience.
Marvel’s Wonder Man has reimagined the cultural background of the superhero. In the new series, the hero, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is reimagined as the child of Haitian immigrants, navigating both his superpowers and his cultural identity.
Jean Elie, an actor, creative consultant and creator, has played Issa Rae’s brother in “Insecure”, has created the series “Send Help” and most recently served as the Haitian cultural consultant on Marvel’s “Wonder Man.” The eight-episodes series premiered on Disney+ on Jan. 27.
The Haitian Times interviewed Jean Elie to get a better understanding of his role in Marvel’s reimagining of the superhero’s story.
The Haitian Times: What does a cultural consultant do?
Jean Elie: It’s about access. It’s being able to find people who can take on the mantle and do the job. This is my first cultural consultant role. It’s a matter of someone reaching out and production being serious about authenticity. Marvel did an amazing job of choosing to make the character Haitian and in seeking support and creatives who could do re-writes, speak to dialect, speak the language and show what the lived-in culture looks like.
THT: You’ve mentioned in other interviews that being an actor means putting on the skin of other people. You have a multicultural cast in “Wonder Man.” Tell us what this means to craft this “skin” as the cultural consultant.
Elie: It meant a lot. A lot of times, we watch shows and watch movies and they don’t necessarily get it right as far as the family dynamic, how people really treat each other, what the mother and sons’ roles are, especially when the dad is not present.
When I got put on the project, it was talking about how the dynamic goes in the hospital scene, how the mom is going to always check in with the older brother, how when Simon, Trevor and Eric were in the kitchen and they were arguing in front of Eric in English. That was all in English. And, I was like nah we can’t be all in English because Ayisien pa renmen pale devan moun, “Haitians don’t like to speak openly in front of others.” So we have to switch between English and Creole for the conversation. I helped craft that situation.
When the producers and writers were asking, what other Haitians can we put in the scene, I was able to be like these are the Haitians I know. We were able to get these people in there and allow the authentic Creole to be spoken.
When it comes to the actors, working with them, it was a lot of speaking on context and why we do the things we do and how we move as a culture, so their performances don’t feel performative. We wanted to make sure they weren’t just mimicking sound. So I had my aunt speak in English and Creole so Martha (played by Shola Adewusi) could listen to it.
THT: What else did you do to capture the nuance of Haitian life?
Elie: The location, what the house looks like, what it felt like. Haitians, especially granmoun, they hoard a lot. They do not throw away anything, and if you throw anything away, it’s going to be a problem. The kitchen needs to be organized chaos, with pots, doums, epis, and the silver coffee maker. The food, the marinade, the banan.
THT: What is your quintessential, funny doum story?
Elie: I was in middle school. I remember I got some Nikes from my cousin. Other than that, I had K-Swiss or hard bottoms. I didn’t wear them for a couple of days. We were playing hide and go seek and I was hiding in the doum. I open the doum and I see my sneakers in there. I asked my mom, and she said, “ou pa itilize l.”
THT: Why is it important to have Marvel reimagine Wonder Man in this way?
Elie: You would have to ask Andrew Guest, Yahya [Abdul-Mateen II], or Kyra, who was in the writer’s room. But from what Andrew was saying, they wanted to showcase the Black diaspora more specifically. They wanted to explore the Caribbean and eventually found themselves in Haiti.
THT: Why is it important to have that everyday Haitian family life depicted?
Elie: Because we’re not seen like that. It’s either Vodou, church and you’re not really getting to get a breadth of what the family dynamic is. Making sure we’re seen that way normalizes us and makes it feel universal which then brings people closer to one another.
If people can’t relate to you and only see stereotypical images of Haitian culture, there’s a barrier to engagement. Whereas, if you’re seeing yourself invested in this family, that breaks down barriers and gets more people interested in the culture; it makes people more invested. When it’s a call to action, people are more likely to step up and support.
It’s important for Yahya, who has a name, and Marvel, with its huge platform, to show this because Haitian culture is often misrepresented. We rarely see what family life really looks like.
THT: What parallels do you see between Wonder Man and Haitian culture?
Elie: His ionic abilities – the ability to summon energy within himself, making himself impervious to attack. His hard headedness, his willingness to succeed despite trials and tribulations. I love his resilience; that’s a trait us Haitians have. By hook or crook, we make a way for ourselves.
THT: What do you want the viewer to take away from the show?
Elie: I want them to see themselves; I want them to see the struggles of pursuing things that are outside of the normal family scope. I want them to see the trials and tribulations of what it is to be an artist. I want them to understand what the nuance of Haitian culture looks like on TV and film. So, when the next project comes along, they can point to “Wonder Man” and say, “I like the way this family is represented. Let’s do more of that.”
Jean Elie hopes his role as a cultural consultant will help pave the way for the production of “Brother Voodoo,” another Marvel character who returns to Haiti and embodies the power of his dearly departed brother. He says that knowing that others can mirror his work means a lot to him and he does not plan on changing his approach.
“When you’re doing your own projects, put in your culture,” he said. “That way people can see that you know what you’re talking about.”
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