In an exclusive interview with Blogxilla from GlobalGrind.com, R&B singer turned actress Keri Hilson opened up about her relationship with her NBA baller boyfriend Serge Ibaka, rededicating herself to God and her acting role alongside actor Vin Diesel in his latest movie ”Riddick.”
Here are a few excerpts from the interview below:
Global Grind: Going back to your Instagram, you look really happy. What’s different about Keri now versus Keri three years ago?
Keri Hilson: Thank you, first of all. Second of all, I hear that I’m glowing. That’s the word that I hear most often, for the past six months of my life, that I’m glowing. I don’t know what’s changed. I’ve been in a relationship for a year, I rededicated my life to Christ in April 2012, I came out of a really dark depression.
I am happy and I’m glad people can see when you are genuinely happy. For years I was smiling for pictures and I’m doing the same, but I think people can tell the difference. That’s just been a testament to the fact that people can really see your aura.
Global Grind: Did you reconnect with the Lord first, or with love first?
Keri Hilson: The lord. I actually met him (Serge Ibaka) maybe six months after I rededicated my life to Christ.
Global Grind: When you met your current boyfriend did you feel like, “this is a gift from God?”
Keri Hilson: Absolutely. And I also felt like God is a comedian, for real. He gave me everything I wanted and everything I thought I didn’t want. You know? He’s like, ‘Ha! You’ve got to trust me. Stop putting limits on who I am and what I do.’ I absolutely had limits – I had parameters. I had a huge blockage on the types of guys I would date and just when I was – I had tweeted something, ‘I guess it’s time for me to adjust the parameters of dating,’ or something like that, and it was months before meeting him actually, but it was just saying that sometimes you have to trust God and stop putting rules and limits and parameters on things. The moment I accepted that, was the moment he came my way.
Global Grind: You’re in the movie Riddick. What was it like when you had to get ready for this scene?
Keri Hilson: I remember being very focused and channeled into a very dark place. I had to let go of my personal life. It was a different experience for me. Where as music, I’m writing normally from my truth, in this art form, you have to find it. It’s your job to find how you connect with this character. That was different for me.
Global Grind: You play a prisoner; it’s such a dark scene. Was it fun for you to portray?
Keri Hilson: It really was. And I got to do my own stunts! That was the coolest.
Global Grind: You have a small role in this movie, but it’s very important.
Keri Hilson: That’s what’s up. What’s special about the part is that I wasn’t initially in the movie, but they did not want to lose me, so they wrote me in. Vin told me he was written in as well in his very first small role. It was the same idea. They loved his audition so much and they went with someone else for the role, but they did not want to lose him as an actor and that’s what he did for me.
In a sense, I’m really indebted to him for allowing me to play, allowing me to be a student again, allowing me to exercise a different muscle in a similar art form. That made it even more special for me. As small as it was, it really didn’t matter. He’s become sort of a mentor for me.
CLICK HERE TO REAL THE FULL INTERVIEW>>
Here’s a behind-the-scenes-video of Keri on the set on “Riddick.”
