Beautiful, uplifting, black art can be found in lots of places - even if most of the world is not looking.

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In February of 1996, an episode of the cop drama, New York Undercover, had every black woman I knew in L.A. buzzing about some fine black assassins.

“Who were those brothas on NY Undercover last night?” they wanted to know.

One of “those brothas” was Antonio David Lyons, a former Floridian who was living in N.Y. when he taped the show–one of his first appearing on Network television.

Since then, Lyons has been busy on film and TV screens playing memorable characters in at least 23 roles, including Don Cheadle’s lost and feared dead brother-in-law, Thomas, in Hotel Rwanda, and the role of Lawrence in American History X.  Now he has an acting career along with a singing career in South Africa, where he now resides and has been blazing the house and Gospel charts.  (Check out his latest release, Human Jewels, at Groundworksmusic.net.)

He is the perfect example of a man who did not look to Hollywood for the value of his art. Instead he has established his own international standard.  He has chosen to talk to Art Noir about how he gets down and how he does his thing– be it in the U.S. or South Africa.

Q . Why did you decide to become an actor?

A. Before I made the conscious decision to become an actor, it chose me.  I had never acted before my sophomore year at Southern University, but a coach for the forensics team asked me to audition for a play. I auditioned and was cast. Two plays later I changed my major from economics to Theatre Arts. I made that choice because for the first time I found something that I was not only naturally good at, but that touched people at a very core level. Reflecting back, people’s response to my work was just as important in the shift as my own joy at having discovered my talent.

Q. Also, when did you become a singer?

A. When I moved to South Africa. I’ve always loved words. I’ve always expressed myself through writing, primarily poetry. On what I now think of as my reconnaissance mission to South Africa, I became friends with a dj producer who was open enough to playing around with some tracks in the studio with me. Well that track become a huge success that laid the ground work for further collaborations with other artists and producers, but it was in that initial interaction that I discovered an additional level to my writing talent. I would listen to music and hear additional melodies as well as words. It was like the notes were speaking to me. It was beautiful and unexpected. Finally after a number of collaborations and writing for other people, it just felt like it was time to do me. [Thus], my solo project “Human Jewels,” was born.

Q. [For you] how are the two arts inextricably connected?

A. Both require you to use words to create life. Both require you to delve into the bits of yourself that so often aren’t revealed to others. You run the full gamut of your experiences. No pain, rawness, joy, sensuality, rage or jealousy can go unexplored if you want any of these art forms to ring true.

Q. How are they separate?

A. I think how the experiences live in your body can be very different. As an actor you’re called upon to live the experiences of others fully [via] your own personal journey, possibly providing an entry point into this life of the other. You have to live without judgments and full commitment or you end up pretending instead of being. And all of this happens in collaboration with others. It can be a very strange experience. I recently worked on an amazing play here in South Africa, called The Quiet Violence of Dreams, an exceptional story that explores contemporary South African culture. The themes in the play include homosexuality, violence, family murder, mental illness, etc. The most extraordinary thing about it was all the issues it forced the cast to face themselves and with each other. When you exist in a world like that you can’t make it through without sharing with others. It all got very real very fast.

As singer or vocalist it’s your stuff!  And somehow by exposing your stuff you can find a place of healing…of acceptance. But at the end of the day it’s all you. On my album there is a song called “Butterflies,” which is basically a love letter describing the feelings and longings that a particular relationship invoked for me.  When it’s good…it’s amazing.

Q. By the “world’s” standards, which of the two have you been most successful in?

A. I think that it would be acting. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of some amazing projects in the US and South Africa. Not many actors get an opportunity to be a part of films like American History X or Hotel Rwanda. I think that I’ve been blessed not only with talent, but opportunity…and the ability to recognize it when it comes.

Q.  What project/s are you working on now?

A. I’ll be acting in a couple of short films here in South Africa and continue to perform my music live. I intend to get back in the studio soon and create new music.  I’m not sure what will come after that. Many artists don’t know what the next “job” will be. However in a country like South Africa, it’s ok for artists to be multi-disciplined regardless of the fields those disciplines fall under.  In the US, people often want to put you in a box.  It can be very limiting.

Q. How does life inform your art?

A. That’s a hard one.  Art for me is like breathing. There is no separation between my life and my art.  I would say they both inform the other.  For example: I’ve turned down roles that depicted black men as two dimensional characters.  Why?  Because I have an intense relationship with my family, especially my nieces and nephews.  The love I have for them wouldn’t allow me to ever put them in harms way… I remember my niece was traumatized early in my career by my character being shot in a TV series.  She thought that her uncle had really been hurt. We had to reassure her that I was ok and it was just ketchup and not blood.  It was a light bulb moment…they might believe the reality of any character I portrayed.  I’ve also been acutely aware, since I was very young, about how white people or the majority society can view black skin. And a lot of it was based on stereotypes portrayed over and over in the media.  It was hard growing up seeing those images that in no way reflected my reality.  I strive to be more than my skin and more than a stereotype.  I’ve lived a very unconventional life. We as black men are role modes or cultural ambassadors whether we want to be or not.  As an artist I’m aware of how broad a platform that influence can be, so I choose to give by being the best me possible. Keeping watching me on the screen and listening to my music…please, check me if I slip up.

Q. How does being a black male artist in America differ from being a black male artist in South Africa?

A. In the U.S., you can never be just an artist, because the country is so racialized and politicized.  In South Africa, I think it’s an easier journey to pursue your craft, but it’s a hustle for artists the world over to be in a position to make your art pay.

Q. What does the black arts scene look like in South Africa?

A. The scene here is very vibrant. Two major arts festivals just finished here back to back; Arts Alive and Joy of Jazz. There are festivals that happen throughout the country year round. There’s another major one called The GrahamsTown National Arts Festival, which reflects all of the arts, but its theatre component is amazing. South Africa has great pride in its indigenous cultures and that permeates all disciplines. Whether it’s a classic jazz set with a vocalist singing in Venda, Xhosa or Zulu (South Africa has 11 official languages.) Or a poetry book launch were the poet is performing with a band made up of all indigenous instruments and her vocality flows from English to Sotho. You can even end up at a public lecture with Diaspora intellectual icons.  I saw Angela Davis last year. I find the country as a whole to be extremely inspiring.

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