'Black love has never been shown like this': Toronto actor Stephan James on his star-making role

Stephan James is on the cusp of majorstardom.

The 25-year-old Scarborough actor has a starring role in the film If BealeStreet Could Talk, set to be released in Canada on Christmas Day.

"It's a love story unlike anything we've ever seen in cinema," James saidof the movie, which premiered to critical acclaim atTIFF in September. There are rumblings it could be up for several Oscars in the new year.

The praise is welcome, James said,but the experience of working with a masterful black director, to bring to life a story about black love, originally written by an iconic black intellectual, was all the reward he needs.

"Black love has never been shown like this true love between a young black couple who are more than lovers, they aresoulmates," James said in an interview with CBC Radio'sMetro Morningon Thursday.

Listen to the full interview below:

If BealeStreet Could Talkis an adaptation of the1974 novel of the same name by writerand thinker James Baldwin. Set in the Harlem of the early 1970s, it tells the story of Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt and his fianceClementine "Tish" Rivers as their relationship struggles after Fonny is falsely accused of rape and jailed before his trial.

The film was directed by Berry Jenkins, who also helmed the filmMoonlight, which took best picture at the Oscars in 2017.

James said that when he first watchedMoonlight,he exclaimed aloud that one day he would work with Jenkins.

"I sort of put it out into the earth," he explained. "I really believe in speaking things into existence."

'I would do anything to be a part of it'

When he heard Jenkins had written a screenplay forIf BealeStreet Could Talk, James got his hands on a copy and filmed several scenes as a kind of digital audition. He sent the videos to Jenkins, who agreed to have lunch with him in Los Angeles.

"I told him I would do anything to be a part of it. I guess I convinced him, because after the lunch he offered me the role."

James is no stranger to Hollywood. He had a role in 2014'sSelma, and he won a Canadian Screen Award for his work as a young Jesse Owens in 2016'sRace. And earlier this year, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the television dramaHomecoming.

But this was a special project, James said.

"There's just been really limited perspectives on what it means to be a black man," he explained.

Playing Fonnywas an opportunity to be a "vessel that shows people: this is what black men look like.

"They are vulnerable. We get to see them sharing their darkest secrets and the fears that keep them up at night."

He saidthat he didn't necessarily have to go back to the 1970sfor inspiration. As he prepared to play a young black man imprisoned on falsified charges, James turned to the much more recent story of Kalief Browder.

'Art that reflects life'

At age 16, in 2010, Browderwas arrested for allegedly stealing a backpack. He spent three years in pretrial detention two of which were in solitary confinementat Rikers Island, a notoriously violent prison in New York City. He was released when prosecutors revealed they did not have enough evidence to try him.

Two years after his release, Browder took his own life at his mother's home.

"This kind of stuff is still happening today," James said.

Beyond Fonny's romantic relationship with Tish, the story explores friendships between black characters, in particular black men.

"I thinkthe fact that they can lean on and rely on their brothers is a special moment for cinema, and for the psyche in the minds of the young men that watch thisfilm," James told host Matt Galloway.

James saidhe has been living a hectic schedule, travelling to promote the film as its North American theatrical release dates approach.

He still loves coming back to Toronto, however.

"It's always a special feeling when I touch down at Pearson and I feel the coldwind as soon as I step outside of the terminal, and I think, 'Ah, I'm home."

As for finding his next big silver screen role, James saidhe's simply "enjoying the ride" for now. But he's always on the lookout for stories that tell of the human struggle.

"I really believe in art that reflects life," James said.