Author spotlight - Brief Article - Interview

Ebony, Feb, 2002

Bernie Mac

IN his new book, I Ain't Scared of You: Bernie Mac on How Life Is (MTV/Pocket Books, $23), comedian Bernie Mac opens up about his life and career Written with journalist Darrell Dawsey, I Ain't Scared of You contains wry recollections culled from Mac's childhood in Chicago.

EBONY Bookshelf caught up with Mac on the set of his new Fox TV sitcom, The Bernie Mac Show.

EBONY: Why did you write the book?

BM: This is actually my second book. But in the first one, it wasn't done the way I wanted. It was funnier. It was more Bernie Mac the character. This book is more the real me, who I am as a person.

EBONY: So there's a difference between Bernie Mac the person we see on stage and in movies and the Bernie Mac we might run into at the grocery store?

BM: Bernie Mac is just a character I created. That guy and the real me are two different individuals. He's a part of me, don't get me wrong, but I'm more reserved than he is. My patience is longer than his is. Bernie Mac is aggressive. Bernie Mac takes no prisoners.

EBONY: What message do you want people to come away from the book with?

BM: The book is about getting over fears, not being afraid to fail. That's what the title means. I get motivated by fear, so I'm not afraid to fail. But I had to learn that. So on a very basic level, that's what the book talks about, learning how to deal with fear. But there's a lot of funny stuff in there, too.