Richard A. Williams

Fred Williamson, one of the biggest stars of the Blaxploitation era, had three rules for every movie role he took. He explains: “My three rules have not changed. One, you can’t kill me in a movie. Two, I have to win all my fights in a movie. Three, I get the girl if I wanna. Now, that was the smart part. The girl was the smart part because I know they weren’t gonna let me have the girl. So they had to give up something. So I gave them an out. The out was, “Hammer, you can’t have the girl.” “Oh well, okay, dang. They can’t kill me, but I have to win my fights.” First of all, how can I explain to some kids seeing all my movies and walking down the street — 15, 18-year-old kids says, “Hammer, I just saw your movie. That guy kicked your butt all over the place, man. Why you let him do that?” How am I explaining to him? I said, “Because they paid me a lot of money.” Then they’re gonna say, “Hey, you’re a sellout, man. You’re a sellout.” No. No way, no way. I have my rules, I live by my rules, and they will never change.” Clip from Black Caesar (1973) From Fred Willimson's interview with DJ Vlad, September 2023