The Kickin It Old School Interview

Section: Talent

Kam Williams

Miguel Nunez, Jr.
The Kickin� It Old Skool Interview
with Kam Williams

Headline: Kickin� It with Miguel

Miguel Nunez, Jr. was born in New York City on August 11, 1964. The
Dominican-American actor got his start in horror flick sequels such as
Friday the 13th V and Return of the Living Dead. Next, he appeared in a host
of blockbusters like Jumpin� Jack Flash, Harlem Nights, Lethal Weapon 3,
Life, Nutty Professor 2, The Faculty, Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Scooby
Doo before finally landing that elusive title role in Juwanna Mann, one of
those cross-dressing comedies that serve as a rite-of-passage for many a
black actor.
Since, he�s been in a rash of mediocre movies such as the Adventures of
Pluto Nash and Flip the Script while making more of a splash on TV where
he�s enjoyed recurring roles on Joey and Tarzan. Here, Miguel muses about
his latest role as Darnell in Kickin� It Old Skool, a comedy starring Jamie
Kennedy as a man stuck in time warp who has just emerged from a coma more
than 20 years after hitting his head while breakdancing.

KW: What�s the premise of Kickin� It?
MN: The movie is about a group of friends who are a really good breakdancing
team called the Funky Fresh Boys. This is the early Eighties. You see them
at about 9 or 11 when they get challenged by this little preppy group of
dancers. And one of the guys, Justin, played by Jamie Kennedy, does his
famous spin move, spins off the stage, hits his head, and goes into a coma.
He comes out of the coma in 2006.
KW: What happens next?
MN: Because of his situation, he has accumulated a really high hospital
bill. His parents are teetering on bankruptcy on account of the investment
in keeping him alive all those years. So, he enters us into a dance contest,
but it�s not the dances of the Eighties, and we have to come out of
retirement, so to speak, to enter it. We�re like old men now, 35, and we�re
going up against these really young hot krumpers� breakers� spinners� I
mean, it�s like super high-octane fast. Some of the best dance moves and
routines put together that you�re could hope to see. This movie is really
hot!
KW: Tell me a little about your character.
MN: I�m Darnell Jackson. I�m like the oldest in the group because I flunked
two years of school. We all hung out back then, but I�m married now. I got
kids, a bitchy wife [played by Vivica A. Fox], two kids that�s not mine. My
life is like� do-do. I�m coming up with all these crazy inventions, trying
to better myself, you know, make a better living for me and my family.
KW: And what is your relationship to Justin?
MN: I�m Justin�s best friend. When he comes out of the coma, he comes to me
first to help get the group together, because he knows that if he rallies
me, I�m gonna rally everybody else, and that�s exactly what happens. So, I�m
his best friend, and kinda like the conscience of the group. I guess we all
are, because we all have our own quirky sense of humor and sense of style.
KW: What�s Darnell�s motivation?
MN: Basically, I�m just an inventor. I�m a businessman. Straight up, I�m a
businessman, and I�m trying to come up with all these different inventions
like the people who came up with the Slinky. I feel like I can do the same
thing. So, I come up with all these different inventions, figuring if I
throw enough do-do against the wall, sooner or later, something�s going to
stick. This dance contest means something to me, because it can give me the
seed money to start my own inventions. That�s who I am. I�m a businessman.