DJ Qualls Is A Memphis Boy

Memphis Beat star DJ Qualls is a Tennessee native who is obviously proud of his roots, making this the perfect show for him. During a recent conference call with reporters, he waxed poetic on the many things Memphis has to offer, from the music to the food to the art scene.

DJ Qualls as Davey Sutton on Memphis Beat

“I mean I love the city. And what’s also great is that Jason Lee our lead he loves the city too,” DJ says. “The music goes a long way. I mean Stax – Isaac Hayes is a friend of mine. I did Hustle and Flow with him and those are my jams, 70s R&B. I would encourage anybody who reads the blogs it’s a touristy thing but there’s a reason why it’s touristy. Go down Bill Street one night, you’ll find blues musicians who have been at the same place for 25 years who all should have record deals and they’re doing it not for record deals, they’re doing it because they love it. And that is what I also love about the Memphis art scene. I mean it’s not just the music. There’s tons of independent films here. And like Craig
Brewer came out of that environment and there’s local artists. The Memphis art scene is amazing. It was then and it is now.”

Unfortunately, due to the lack of state tax credits, Memphis Beat has to film in New Orleans instead of in Memphis. It’s a passable likeness, but DJ is hoping that changes next season, even going so far as to tell his fellow Memphians to contact their legislator about tax credits.

“What I really want to urge everyone to do is if you want a show shot in your town we really have to work on our state legislature. We should be drawing these jobs to our own state.”

Working on a series, as a regular, is a new experience for DJ. Since he started acting he’s been primarily involved in films with some guest starring roles on his resume.

“[Being a series regular] is completely different because when you go on a show as a guest, you’re playing in somebody else’s house. They have a set rhythm. You never, no matter how nice they are, you never feel at home.

And so when I took this job I really you know I didn’t know what that felt like to have that sort of home feeling. And about three episodes and I loved doing TV. First of all, it’s an acting boot camp. You’re shooting so many pages a day. You’ve got to be on – I mean you have to be on all of the time. Our days are like 16, 17 hours every day. But I love it because you let your guard down on TV in a way that you don’t in film because on film there’s a beginning, a middle and an end. It’s a 2-hour movie. You’re going to be there for a set amount of time. But TV could go on for a very long time. So you really bond with your cast and crew in a completely different way.”

DJ already shared a bond with stars Jason Lee and Alfre Woodard before signing on to this project. He and Jason co-starred in Big Trouble, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and DJ guest starred on Jason’s NBC series My Name Is Earl a few times.

“It makes it easy for me,” says DJ, “because I actually do like him as a guy and my character looks up to him so much. The majority of my scenes are with him. And I like him as an actor but it’s most important I like you as a person if I have to be –if they have to be in your face like this many hours a day. We just shot a scene – I just finished doing a scene today. There were eight people in it. And I lost track at 62 times we did the same four pages. That’s a lot of time we’re spending together so you have to like each other and it’s great. I really like him a lot. I loved him on Earl. I like this better. I think it’s more suited to his personality. ”

DJ worked with Alfre Woodard on the movie The Core in 2003, and remembers her taking him under her wing. “I was brand new to the business. I’d been – I think it was maybe my sixth or seventh movie and she took me aside and sort of – and there’s no mentoring in Hollywood. And I’m very lucky that she took me aside and befriended me. And she’s sort of been a good sounding board and just an amazing friend. I live like a mile from her back in L.A.”

Memphis Beat has a different vibe from most cop shows, something the Nice Girls couldn’t quite put our fingers on, so we ask DJ what he thought separated it from the pack. As it turns out, he wasn’t quite sure, either.

“My answer actually comes from Juliette Lewis because I also couldn’t put my finger on it. I knew that I was having a good time and I really liked it. I asked her one night while she did our show, I mean she’s a huge movie star and I was in complete awe that she was even you know doing our show. And she said that what she loved about it was the fact that we are a cop show but we find the moments of humor. You can’t tell me that in a job that’s that sort of hardcore and that intense that there’s no laughter.

And our show does a really good job of fighting those light moments and really tough situations. And it’s fun to play for us too because we get to play comedy and drama. And especially for an actor like me who’s primarily known for comedy to get to play – have those great moments and those moments of release when I can make somebody laugh. I can also show off that I’m a dramatic actor too. And that’s what I really love about our show. Everybody gets their
opportunity to show that side of themselves.”

Another difference with Memphis Beat is that the majority of it is shot outdoors. Where many cop shows film on a stage with just a little bit of location work, DJ and his co-stars are outside for most of their scenes. While DJ appreciates the chance to include so much local flavor on the show, there is a downside to the location work.

“It is so hot. People are like dropping flies. I think Jason passed out a couple of times. I know I have. So we’re out getting local flavor, but we’re also out in the elements. And it’s really, really tough. It’s funny because when our guest actors come in from L.A. they don’t want to come back because our conditions are probably some of the hardest. I just did a movie in the Philippines and we shot in the middle of the jungle and I’ve got to tell you this rivals it.”

In addition to starting shooting on season 2 earlier in the year, DJ has another suggestion to beat the heat, both on set and for real cops: “I want to start a nationwide campaign to make cop uniforms out of cotton, not polyester. My crotch is so chafed from running down the street in humidity soaked polyester. Respect your policemen, they have a hard, hard life.”

The show is racking up some impressive guest stars, like Juliette Lewis, so we wondered who DJ’s dream guest star would be and what crime they’d be involved in. His answer was as adorable as he is:

“Somebody who I love is Julie Bowen. I love her. I think she’s great in everything that she does. She once did an interview in “Entertainment Weekly” and they asked her the same question what male co-star would she most like to star opposite and she said it was me. So I thought I had to pay her back the favor. And it would have to be something where we get to sleep together. I don’t know what crime that would be but she’s beautiful.”

Watch DJ Qualls in Memphis Beat tonight at 9/8c on TNT.