Jon Michael Hill and Blake DeLong in “Pass Over,” a Spike Lee joint. (Courtesy Amazon Studios)
Spike Lee has been bombarded with buzz following the release of his incendiary, based-on-reality picture “BlackkKlansman” about Colorado Springs’ first black police officer, Ron Stallworth, who infiltrated the KKK. Of Lee’s more than 35 films, it arguably is among his best, blending dark comedy with intensely thought-provoking and disturbing social commentary.
But Lee quietly released another exceedingly different but equally biting movie this year.
Lee’s “Pass Over” debuted at SXSW in Austin and started streaming on Amazon in April. It’s called an adaptation of a play by Antoinette Nwandu. Altogether the production stars just four actors. One of them is portrayed by 1998 Lake Highlands High School grad Blake DeLong.
I last saw Blake in a 2011 Super Bowl commercial alongside Ozzy and Bieber, as well as a superb movie that same year, “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
An impressive number of shows, movies and live plays populate his resume today.
While his “Pass Over” role required little in the way of screen time, it is a power-punch-to-the-gut part. Here he plays an unapologetic racist cop who periodically checks in on the two main characters. He takes sadistic glee in flinging racial epithets, unveiled threats and ensuring the two young men never leave the corner — that they understand “their place” in this world. His performance is chilling, impactful, infuriating. I mean, the dude is good at his profession, and I predict a continuous rise.
After Lake Highlands, Blake went on to University of Texas at Austin. “He began appearing in new and experimental plays in Austin’s vibrant theater scene in the early 2000s,” according to his IMBD bio, “and was subsequently recruited to return to the university as an MFA student in acting. He moved to New York City 2008.”
I unfortunately have yet to interview Blake DeLong; I can derive from his Twitter feed that he’s a hard worker, proud Longhorn alum and a fan of U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, Beto O’Rourke.
