Q&A: Combs pursues new career "like any aspiring actor"

Combs: I didn't really pick it. My acting coach informed me that it was being revived on Broadway and I should go in for the audition. I was like, "You're crazy. I've never even done live theater, nor have I ever starred in a film."

She said, "Come on, this is what you want to do -- you can't be scared." I'm like, "Well I'm not scared, I just didn't want to embarrass myself." She said there's always a chance of that. But I just ran a marathon, I was feeling adventurous.

To be honest, this role right here -- after really reading it not as a student in school being forced to read it but reading it as an actor -- I was like, this right here is a role of a lifetime. So I auditioned for it on Broadway and they gave me the role.

THR: You were in amazing company with great actors in that cast, in a role that Sidney Poitier played on film. How did you approach going toe-to-toe with those actors and that legacy?

Combs: From the outset everybody was like I was crazy for even considering following in Sidney Poitier's footsteps. But I didn't get into acting to just try to be OK. I got into to be great. And what better way to be great but to follow in the footsteps of greatness and stand on his shoulders.

I didn't try to compete with Sidney Poitier, I tried to do it my way and do it the best way I could. So when I was on Broadway I was surrounded by great company, so every night it made me better. To be honest I was just starting out, so I was as good as I could be due to my experience, but every day I was focused on getting better and going deeper as an actor. And the only thing I could do was do my best and pray that I would make it offstage each night. And I did.

THR: Your draw was credited with bringing that play to a broader audience.

Combs: That was one of the things that was so successful about it. I was able to bring a new audience and also African-Americans to Broadway in huge numbers, record numbers that weren't seen before, and I was able to successfully tell them a story.

That's what you do as an actor: Make sure after people finish watching it they got the message, saw the story and they don't see P. Diddy up there. They saw Walter Lee Younger. That was the beginning. I was in search of Walter. I can't say I found him on Broadway, but I was committed to making sure when I went up to Toronto to shoot the movie (for ABC) that I would find him. And I did.

I wanted to make sure I wasn't being held up by the other actors, I was holding my own so I moved deeper, moved into a two-bedroom apartment up there, focused, just turned off everything and was able to help the other actors by being good. My confidence was at another level, and I felt like I was doing the role justice finally.

THR: How did you know you found the character?

Combs: It was just the anxiety to a whole other level and the pain I was feeling inside, the way you feel when you finally connect with a character, that for the time period you really become the character. I wasn't second-guessing myself. With acting you need more time to do it. I need more roles. The more I do it, the better I'm gonna get. The time I spent on Broadway prepared me for the film role. And also it was just the preparation and really just letting go.

I was scared a lot of times on Broadway. I honestly was in a place I never was. I was scared and needed time to get over that fear and to just jump. There were times I just let go and that feeling was something I loved and I was happy that I was able to do it.

THR: Did you buy a place in Los Angeles?

Combs: No. I stay in a hotel that I call home. I thought I was going to spend seven days (per month), but I am finding myself spending 15 to 20 days. It's just the patience and the time of developing things, searching for the right things, the right roles. That's the journey I'm on.

I'm a real strong New Yorker, like everybody knows me as that. If you come to New York you see my posters up everywhere, you're going to hear my music, you may see me. Like, I'm New York. So when I said I was serious about pursuing my acting career, I knew I would have to move out here. That was really hard. New York, they didn't want me to move. I'm only bicoastal, but they're not really happy with that. New York is not really happy with me being at Lakers games or being out here spending a lot of time with you guys.