After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store holdup, the Mercer brothers – hotheaded Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), ladies’ man Angel (Tyrese Gibson), family man and businessman Jeremiah (André Benjamin), and hard rocking Jack (Garrett Hedlund) – reunite to take the matter of her death into their own hands. As they track down her killer, they quickly realize that their old ways of doing business have new consequences.
In this character-driven action-drama from acclaimed director John Singleton (“Boyz N the Hood,” “2 Fast 2 Furious”) and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“Constantine”), four brothers come together to discover that they are bound by ties thicker than blood.
About the Story
“The Mercer brothers are tough, street-smart guys,” says Mark Wahlberg, the star of the new film from director John Singleton, “Four Brothers,” the story of four adoptive brothers who come together to avenge their mother’s murder. “They would probably be dead or in jail if it wasn’t for their foster mom. They may have gone their separate ways as adults, but they all realize the positive impact she had on their lives. And my character, Bobby, feels like he owes it to her to reunite his brothers and avenge her death.”
Academy Award-nominated director John Singleton directs the film. “Even in lawless societies, there’s a code – a set of rules that people live by. Wrongs have to be made right,” says Singleton. “In our film, each of the Mercer brothers has gone his own way, but they come back together to make right the wrong of their mother’s death. What unites the brothers is the code instilled in them by their mother.”
Lorenzo di Bonaventura produces the film. “The Mercer brothers – two black, two white – are linked by their adoptive mother. When these guys lose her – a woman who was only trying to do good in her life and the only person who ever believed in them – they set out to avenge her murder,” he says. “To me, that’s the critical element – this uncompromising action picture has a deeply emotional core.
“Evelyn Mercer was the glue that held these four boys together,” di Bonaventura continues. “They are brothers because of her. They have a family because of her. Now they must make a conscious decision to exact revenge for her murder.”
“I’ve never had something horrific like this happen to my family,” says Wahlberg. “I’ve thought about it a lot; how I would respond, how I would handle it. I think it’s a lot easier to say you would be able to forgive and forget when it hasn’t happened to you.”
Singleton adds that as the brothers avenge her death, they grow closer as brothers. “I’ve always believed that none of these guys entirely embraced the idea that they were brothers. But when they’re stripped of their emotional guard by the death of their mother, they’re able to discover how much they really care about each other.”
According to André Benjamin, the cast also became closer as filming progressed. “After hanging out with each other, feeling each other out, we fell into the characters that we play in the movie,” says Benjamin, who takes on his first starring role with “Four Brothers.” “It wasn’t anything we were trying to make happen – we just found those roles naturally. I’m an only child in real life, so I don’t know what it’s really like, but I can tell you that Mark was just like an older brother to us.”
“When people see the billboard for this movie,” says Tyrese Gibson, who plays Angel Mercer, “they’ll say, `How are they four brothers, when you got two white boys and two black guys?’ But a brother is not always somebody that’s the same race or even the same blood. We are brothers; you’ll see it in the chemistry and in the energy between us. No one will ever be able to take that away from us.”
Singleton says that he was immediately struck by how the script worked on so many different levels. “What really appealed to me was the fact that this wasn’t a straight genre piece, but a character-driven film with action and drama,” says the director. “Its different elements combine to lift it into a higher realm of storytelling that makes for one really action-packed ride.”
Previously the director of the acclaimed film “Boyz N the Hood” and the international hits “Shaft” and “2 Fast 2 Furious,” Singleton is also a filmmaker with his finger on the pulse of today’s audiences and rising filmmaker talents. He recently put on the hat of producer to bring the independent film “Hustle & Flow” to the screen. In “Four Brothers,” Singleton brings this story sense and stylish vision to a film that cuts across genres.
Wahlberg believes that Singleton’s vision for “Four Brothers” will bring the story home to audiences. “I think John’s the right guy to balance out the edge, the emotion, the humor, and the action in this material. He knows this world; it’s right in his wheelhouse,” says the actor.
di Bonaventura agrees. “John brings a sense of reality and humanity to his films,” says the producer. “I’ve always been motivated by pictures from the ’70s- it was a time when many movies seemed to reflect society back on the audience and had something to say about who we were and where we were going. I think that’s valuable and I’ve always tried to make movies that echo that sensibility. John has the ability to make movies on a contemporary level that speak to the audience in the way that I feel the ’70s movies did. There’s a truth to them; you can really feel the experience of his stories and characters. John brings that to the table in a big way.”
In addition to the tautly written script, Singleton says that the opportunity to work with Mark Wahlberg sealed his decision to direct the film. “When you find a good script, the next choice comes down to casting. I was really excited to be able to work with Mark. We’ve known each other for a number of years and have always talked about doing a movie together,” says Singleton.
Joining Mark Wahlberg – who portrays Bobby Mercer, the eldest of the four brothers in the film – are Tyrese Gibson as Angel Mercer, André Benjamin as Jeremiah Mercer, and Garrett Hedlund as Jack Mercer. Together, the four actors have a very commanding presence; however, the filmmakers emphasize that each actor also brings something unique and special to the table. “Mark is an incredibly smart and versatile actor who brings a lot of heart and soul to the roles he takes on. Bobby Mercer is a tough, no-nonsense guy, skilled in the ways of the streets.
He’s a guy who doesn’t listen to reason all that well, but he has that internal moral compass which I think all heroes need to have – which is, a sense of justice. Mark breathes life into the character, playing him with passion, honesty, and strength,” comments di Bonaventura. “André has a quiet, sensitive intelligence that is perfect for the role of Jeremiah, the most grounded of the brothers. Garrett brings a whole lot of edge and sex appeal as well as a playfulness to the role of Jack.”
As for the role of the charismatic rogue Angel, Singleton says that Tyrese Gibson embodies the role. “I couldn’t think of anyone better than Tyrese to play Angel,” he says. “Tyrese has a really cool demeanor about him; he can do a lot of wild things in a movie and people will still follow his character. He’s a very funny guy, on-screen and off-screen; whenever we do a movie together it’s an adventure.”
About the Brothers
The filmmakers took their time to find the four actors who were right for the ensemble. “We went into this with a very open mind about who was right and who wasn’t,” says di Bonaventura. “It was always essential to think about it as a foursome and not as individual characters; as a result, there were some actors we loved individually, but who didn’t feel right to the ensemble. The great thing about these guys is that, in addition to being talented and creative actors, when you see them together, they really look like they belong together. We were incredibly lucky to find the right group of guys who had the right chemistry.”
For Mark Wahlberg, the character of Bobby Mercer is, in many ways, very close to his heart. “I grew up in a very poor neighborhood, the youngest of nine kids and was constantly surrounded by family, mostly brothers,” says Wahlberg. “This feels very much like home to me; it feels like going back in time, except that now I’m the oldest, which I love – now I’m the boss, I’m making all the rules, I’m the one beating everyone else up!”
Comments Singleton, “The thing about Mark as an actor is that he’s from the streets. He reminds me of the actors from the early days of Hollywood that were boxers or wrestlers before they came into the film business. Mark had a really hard past before he came into acting and this is a role that really lets him access his background.”
“Bobby and I are the craziest ones,” says Tyrese Gibson, who plays Angel Mercer. “Angel’s got more of a conscience than Bobby; Bobby is just crazy. He really doesn’t think about the outcome of his actions.”
André Benjamin read the script and loved it, but admits he was initially undecided about accepting the role of Jeremiah – his biggest role to date. While surfing the Internet for some music, a CD popped up for a group called The Brothers Four. He’d never heard of the country band, but was convinced it was sign that he should come on board.
“The thing I like about Jeremiah is that he isn’t a one-beat character; he has different layers,” explains Benjamin. “He grew up with his crazy brothers, and they all ran the streets. But Jeremiah got older, settled down, and had a family. He’s the responsible one of the four brothers. But at the same time, he had to be able to snap. I think that was the challenge.”
“André and I have known each other for over ten years and he’s always been interested in acting,” adds Singleton, “and the camera loves his face; it’s cool because he’s really learning the craft, and he’s taken it to heart.”
Garret Hedlund plays Jack Mercer, the baby brother of the pack. “He’s a great young actor,” says Singleton. “This kid, he can do no wrong.”
“As the youngest brother; Jack gets hassled and teased a lot by his older brothers, so he moved out to New York to pursue his rock career,” explains Hedlund. “But these are brothers by choice, not by blood. And he’s dedicated to them and he’s loyal to them, which keeps him attached.”
“I like the fact that Jack is the outcast among his brothers – as the youngest sibling in my family, I think that’s the way it is sometimes,” Hedlund adds. “It doesn’t mean that your siblings don’t love you – in fact, when you get down to it, it’s probably a sign of an even greater love. But there’s a lot of teasing that goes on – like Bobby teasing Jack – and it can be merciless.”
About the Supporting Cast
“Four Brothers” features a supporting cast of award-winning actors and rising stars that complement the performances of the four leads.
Terrence Howard, whose star-making turn in the Sundance smash produced by John Singleton, “Hustle & Flow,” takes on the role of Lt. Green, a childhood friend of the brothers who has made good on the police force. “Green used to spend a lot of time inside the Mercer house,” Howard notes. “He played hockey with them – their lives just went in different directions.”
Despite the brothers’ willingness to take the law into their own hands, Green still has an affinity for them that runs deep. “I think Green realizes that they’re fighting for this woman who was completely innocent – that they’re determined to stand and fight for the righteous,” says Howard. “This is the one person in the world that showed them a spirit of love and someone took away that light. He sees them thrust back into this dark place, huddled together to find some emotional warmth, but they don’t know how to show it.”
Actress Sofia Vergara plays Sofi, Angel’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. When his mother’s death brings him back to town, their relationship changes in ways that neither of them could predict. “Angel’s always been in control in his relationships with women, and Sofi’s no different,” says Vergara. “But he does love her and he realizes that she’s the woman he wants for the rest of his life.
“Sofi’s a very passionate woman – full of life and crazy,” Vergara says. “She’s madly in love with Angel and she’s not afraid of trying to get what she wants – she’s not scared of these four boys. She won’t let them take over.”
Taraji P. Henson, who also worked with Singleton on “Hustle & Flow,” plays the part of Camille, Jeremiah’s wife, who is trying to keep her husband on the straight-and-narrow path abandoned by his brothers. Nervous about their visit but unwilling to break the bonds of brotherhood, Camille finds herself in the middle of Jeremiah’s crisis of character.
Taking on the role of Victor Sweet, the gangster who rules Detroit’s underworld, is Chiwetel Ejiofor, a British actor best known for his roles in “Love Actually” and Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda.”
“Chiwetel’s a British actor playing a Detroit gangster from the Midwest, and he really tears into the role,” enthuses Singleton. “Sweet is the villain of the movie; he and the Mercer boys are all from the same place. They’ve known each other for a long time. And now they’re all embroiled again over the death of Evelyn Mercer.”
The Bond of Brothers
In preparation for shooting, Singleton didn’t want to over-rehearse the brothers. “He wanted the dynamic among them to be natural,” says di Bonaventura. “So rather than rehearse a lot beforehand, he just wanted them to hang out. As a result of that, their personalities found a sort of balance. He was really right to do that. You can see the natural ease in the combativeness, the acceptance, and the love among the four guys.”
Wahlberg agrees. “The more we got to know each other, the more comfortable we felt, the more we pushed each others buttons. It was always good energy. As odd as it seems for all of us to be brothers, if you were around us you could actually almost believe that we were.”
Adds Benjamin, who in real life is an only child, “We fell into that whole brotherly thing: we joked and tripped on each other really easily. Mark really became the older brother and we all looked up to him. Me and Tyrese fooled around all the time just like he was my younger brother, and we all picked on Garrett just like you would on a baby brother – especially about his hairstyle.”
One way the group bonded was over hockey. Bobby is an ex-hockey player who never made it to the pros, but the sport is still his love. In the film, the brothers use hockey to blow off a little steam after Thanksgiving dinner in a ritual they call the Turkey Cup.
“Mark was the first one committed to the project,” says di Bonaventura. “And so he had the most time to get ready. He’s an incredibly dedicated actor, so he was skating an hour and a half or two hours a day. He worked hard for several months before he got out there. Garrett grew up playing hockey, so it was easy for him. Tyrese is a good athlete, and he ramped up pretty fast. Andre, also a gifted athlete, had never played hockey, or even ice-skated, so I think he found it a little daunting at first.”
“When I found out we’d be playing hockey,” recalls Benjamin, “I figured they’d just use a stunt double. But a week before the scene was set to shoot, daily hockey lessons showed up on the schedule. The first couple of days, I hated it. But by day three or four, I’m sliding and shaving ice. I’m no Wayne Gretzky, but I will ice skate again.”
While the idea of doing a picture set in the cold in the dead of winter appealed to Singleton, it was a real departure for the director whose films are usually set in much warmer climes such as Miami and L.A. “It’s a different look from any other pictures I’ve ever done,” he adds. “For me, making movies is all about the adventure of it. I’m actually using the winter as a kind of a surrogate character in different scenes.”
“We were on Lake Simcoe to shoot the scene in which Jeremiah and Bobby face off against Detroit mob boss, Victor Sweet,” says Singleton, whose biggest challenge in that scene was maintaining a pristine frozen lake. “The first day was perfect; the lake was evenly frozen and there was a layer of snow over the lake.”
One incident that rattled the crew happened when they were out on the lake working out a shot. “Suddenly, the ice cracked,” recalls di Bonaventura. “It was just resettling, but it was like a shotgun had gone off. Nobody wanted to admit that it scared the hell out of them.”
“The ice on the lake was about 18 inches,” recalls Keith Brian Burns, the production designer, who counts “Four Brothers” as his sixth film with John Singleton. “During pre-production, we looked at a number of different locations, but Lake Simcoe, which is north of Toronto, was in an area that freezes faster than others. We also wanted something that provided a sense of vastness, and Lake Simcoe worked well – it’s over 28 miles wide and with its enormous vista of winter white. It gives the movie a real sense of scale during a very critical scene.”
“The hardest day of shooting was the day we shot three funeral scenes,” recalls di Bonaventura. “It was cold and windy and we were at the top of a hill in a cemetery in Toronto. It was just sort of a mad dash of desperation to get out of there. It gave that scene the sense of distress and pain that everyone was truly feeling. You can see their breath and the constriction of their bodies; the cold gives a barrenness to the environment that defines a certain balance between urban and nature.”
They may play tough guys in the film, but the cast agreed that working outdoors in during the dead of winter was a formidable task. “I knew this was a winter movie,” says André Benjamin, “but I had no idea what we were getting into. I mean, it was so cold, there were certain scenes where I couldn’t move my mouth. I would have been okay if I had on the right gear. But I was in Jeremiah’s clothes, so I was just wearing cheap slacks, bad gloves and shoes, and a thin little coat.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tyrese Gibson is used to good weather, so filming in the cold was a big challenge for him.“We went through a lot of Chapstick on this film,” he jokes.
Despite the ice and snow and frigid temperatures, “it’s a hot movie,” says Singleton “It’s funny, dramatic, suspenseful… and we got four cool dudes in it that everybody’s going to want to see.”
These production notes provided by Paramount Pictures.
Four Brothers
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, André Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson, Sofía Vergara, Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson
Directed by: John Singleton
Screenplay by: David Elliot, Paul Lovett
Release Date: August 12, 2005
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexual content.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $74,494,381 (80.6%)
Foreign: $17,880,293 (19.4%)
Total: $92,374,674 (Worldwide)