RUBY DEE & RZA IN 'AMERICAN GANGSTER': Legend and rising star featured in new film

Audiences are anxiously waiting the film "American Gangster" starring Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

The movie, opening this Friday, Nov. 2, chronicles the story of Frank Lucas, a 1970s heroin kingpin from Manhattan, and the detective sworn to take him down.

Directed by Ridley Scott, the mega-starred flick also features legendary actress Ruby Dee and rapper/composer RZA, who recently spoke with reporters about their roles in the film and the legacy of Lucas.

"I tried out like many other actors," RZA said of scoring a role in the highly anticipated film. "I tried out first for the character whose name is Jimmy. They liked my screen test, but they did not like the way that I was doing the character - he was more like a cokehead and I was doing more like a weed-head. But they called me back a couple of weeks [later] and told me I got the part, but a much bigger part. They told me I'd be doing the part of Moses Jones."

RZA's Moses Jones, a police officer working with Detective Richie Roberts (Crowe) on the case of drug lord Lucas.

"I learned a lot. I learned from Mr. Crow and the real police officers that were on the set making sure the lingo was right or the attitude was right," he said. "In some of the shots of the film, you see real police officers beside us. I grew up in New York City on the other side of the law. To get a chance to play a cop in the film is kind of ironic."

Another cast member calls New York home, too. Ruby Dee stars in the film as the Lucas matriarch, who is the recipient of much of the glitter gained by Lucas' drug trafficking. As Mama Lucas, Dee admits that she portrays a woman in deliberate denial.

"I think that she had a sense that [her son] was involved in something that wasn't quite right," she said. "She didn't want to acknowledge it. She wanted to believe that there was something more in store for [the family]. I think for a long time, she turned her eye. And there was no husband in the house. I think she was accommodating in the best way possible for a black woman at the time, and hoping - because he was personable and an intelligent man."

Dee continued that she was a witness to the benevolence of the "gangsters" of Harlem during that time.

"I lived in that period; I grew up in Harlem so it seems like something of that is in my consciousness. Thinking in terms of the Robin Hood agenda of those modern gangsters, as they mentioned in the film, on Thanksgiving they would come around with shopping bags with a turkey for the people. Some of them would ensure the maintenance of the building. There was a feeling of protection. If you needed something, you could go to the right person and they would help you out. It was so mixed up," she said.

RZA agreed, "It's a double edged sword. I respect how he treated his family, but at the same time, he was messing up so many other families."

It's that paradox that brings to the forefront the concern of telling these stories without glamorizing the crime. RZA spoke to that issue saying that telling the story is not really to blame. He himself admits to growing up watching movies "The Godfather" series and "Goodfellas" and becoming entranced with that way of life.

"You watch 'em and you become fascinated with the violence and the criminals," he said. "But a movie is a movie. It's based on a true story, but it's not a true story. For those who get inspired by the negative side, I hope they realize what happens in the end."

"It did tell the story of Frank's own impressions and having to accept the horror of racism at such a young age and then moving in the direction as a way to live his life," Ruby Dee said. "I did understand that. When he began to involve the family, [Mama Lucas] got afraid for the family and for him, because they did look up to him."

"American Gangster," also starring Armand Asante and Cuba Gooding Jr. opens this weekend, November 2, in theaters nationwide.

"When I take a look at this picture objectively, I'm horrified," Ruby Dee said. "It's such a sad, sad story. It's this broken life of a potentially brilliant young man."