You may know Marcus Paulk from his spunk, antics and comedic timing in TV series like Moesha and movies like Another Cinderella Story, Roll Bounce and Taking 5, but you're about to see a whole new side of Paulk: the action hero.

Starring as David "Deke" Watkins, one of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, in the movie Red Tails (in theaters January 20), with this exploration of genre and showcase of absolute talent 2012 is looking like it will be a memorable year for Paulk.

George Lucas is the mastermind behind the film, bringing in Anthony Hemingway to direct, and it's not an exaggeration to say this project has been in the works for decades. So PCM's Allison was excited to have the chance to chat with Paulk, one of the many talents featured in the film, about the film itself, the training he underwent, his status as a triple threat and much more!

Read below to find out everything Marcus Paulk had to share with us and be sure to check out Red Tails, in theaters everywhere Friday, January 20, 2012.

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So this is an exciting time for you, with the release of Red Tails coming up on January 20th. Can you tell us a bit more about your role in the film?

My character is David 'Deke' Watkins; I would be the spiritual leader of the Tuskegee Airmen team. The movie is a big, high-flying, dog-fighting movie with a twist - with a little bit of love story in it. It's an amazing action-adventure George [Lucas] put together.

Prior to this, you've been involved with a lot of lighter, more comedic projects, everything from Moesha to Another Cinderella Story. So how was it you came to be involved with this project which is, as you said, a pretty serious, action-adventure film?

Well, the movie came up - people had been kind of hearing about it and I knew some people who knew the director, Anthony Hemingway, and he told him, "Man, you gotta have Marcus come in and read for one of the roles."

And, everybody in Hollywood was excited about it and buzzing about it and I actually got the opportunity to audition for, actually, the role that I booked. I went in, one audition, and Anthony and everybody loved me and from there... we made history!

What sort of training and preparation did you go through for this film?

Oh, we had some intense military training for about a week and a half and then we did a whole month of just training every day! I mean, I learned how to make a floating device out of my pants and pitch a tent blindfolded. It was pretty ridiculous, pretty ridiculous, but it was great.

I mean, the camaraderie amongst the guys was like a fraternity almost 'cause we really slept in a bunker together and woke up and had to make sure everybody was dressed the right way and [everyone had] hospital corners and checking each others' beds, stuff like that. It was really an intense, fun and different situation that was great.

Was that atmosphere from training similar to the atmosphere on set?

Oh yeah, it was a huge family, 'cause we all left our homes, you know, to go over to the Czech Republic to go shoot over there for about three and a half months, so everybody was just looking out for each other on and off set and just hanging out. It was just a brotherhood, it was amazing.

And filming on location, did you get time to go and explore the area?

Yeah, we definitely did. We shot in the Czech Republic and we also did about a week and a half in Croatia, which was really cool; there are some very beautiful sites over there. Yeah, we went to Venice, some of us. Me, Tristan [Wilds], Michael B. Jordan and Leslie Odom, we all went to Rome and hung out there for a little bit. Some of the guys, we bounced around, we went to London. [laughs] We had a great time of there in Europe!

So how was it for you when the filming was over to step out of the 1940s and back into modern day? Did you find yourself carrying over any of the habits you developed during filming?

I feel like, you know, every time I'm walking up and down blocks with people, they're like "Why are you marching?" and "You're struts are so long! You walk like you're ten feet tall," I'm like, "I don't know, it's just this military training. I'm just covering space. I'm covering ground here! Don't be mad at me" [laughs]. I can't snap out of it. No, I mean, you might often see me saluting people. [laughs] I love it, I love it!

The time, 1944, really sinking into that time and we're listening to the music and I love going back and just playing some of that old stuff for some of my friends and letting them hear some of the stuff that they were listening to at that time. And I'm like, "yeah, this is what we were training to, getting prepared for the role. Listen, this is the music that was hot then!" You know, and putting them up on that is really fun.

It sounds like a great opportunity to really be able to so fully immerse yourself in something like that.

You have to with something like this. I mean, not all roles do you get to, you know, really embody a time and a character and with the whole military situation, that's a whole 'nother world to get to embody that. And then, they were pilots, which is not just, you know, regular military. We read flight manuals which were thicker than the script! [laughs] We had those waiting for us when we showed up, so we could get familiar with the cockpit and really understand what it was; we had to know it top to bottom.

Being involved with a film that George Lucas has been working on for years [decades, really] and a film that is inspired by real-life American heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen, did those aspects effect you at all? Put any added pressure on you?

No, I don't think it put pressure on me; I think it just made it such a living situation. You know, really getting to talk to the Tuskegee Airmen and meet them and pick their brains and see how they interact with each other still to this day - I mean, these guys have so much life.

To be 80 years old, you just see them and they are full of life. [laughs] They get around a little bit slower, but there's nothing slow about how they talk. They're so slick; these guys are just amazing.

What is it you hope the audience is going to walk out of the theater having learned and taken away from this film?

I think people are going to take away from this film [that] anything is possible. This is a film is a project that has been wanted to be made by George [Lucas] for so long and it's a story that needed to be told. It's American history. People will really grasp that. These men were told that they couldn't do something and they went above and beyond and fought for their right to fight and fight for their right to just fight for their country.

And even still they were told things they could and couldn't do, but they definitely made a difference. You can do anything you put your mind to. I think people will get that out of this film.

Even with what George is going through - he went through a huge struggle just even making this film and getting everything going behind it, but, I mean, he put it all out there and he's making it happen and we're all doing our part. We showed up for him and we just want the people to show up and see the film and appreciate it and understand that this is important.

And you were telling me a bit about the movie premiere in New York before the interview. How was that overall experience for you?

Man, just being on the red carpet, I mean so many amazing people blessed that carpet. From George Lucas to, of course, the whole cast, [laughs] Spike Lee was there, I mean Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, James Earl Jones; Francis Coppola just showed up on the carpet and I was like "Oh, I know who that is!" [laughs] There's so many different faces. I heard the Mayor was there, I mean, it was just one of those types of events.

And shout out to KC Jewelers, who gave me some great pieces for the premiere!

Now, you're a music man, too, right? Can you tell us a bit about where you are with that?

Yeah, I'm doing some music now, actually. Right now I've been doing a lot of recording. I actually sold my first song on "Another Cinderella Story," the soundtrack, and I was actually in that film, so I got to do the film and the soundtrack; that was really cool, with Selena Gomez. I actually did a song with Drew Seeley, who plays Prince Charming in that film.

And now I've been recording and working on my album and I plan to drop some stuff in the springtime. Springtime is looking pretty good.

Do you think this could turn into a music career? You know, will you drop some stuff and then maybe go out on tour?

Definitely. Definitely a whole music career coming and I definitely want to blend the two worlds of the music and the television and movies and bring that all together 'cause, I mean, I've always loved music.

I started out dancing when I was young, 4 years old, out on Venice Beach, so I've always been around music. My dad used to sing and then working with Brandy and all these different artists I've always been around - I've just always been interested in music, but now I take it really seriously because I know that I've always been a triple threat and that's something I can actually pull off and do. And I love it, so why not?

We are Pop Culture Madness, so we love that you are a triple threat in the entertainment business. Is there any area, any interest, anything you just can't get enough of right now in entertainment?

Oh, man, I love Jay-Z's "Watch the Throne" album right now with Kanye West. They're great right now to me in my car. I went to their concert and I think it was one of the best hip hop concerts I've seen in a long time. They're just so professional and so on point. I love their work right now. Definitely Jay-Z stuff is bumping in my car, on my iPad. [laughs]

There's a lot of different artists and stuff that I admire right now in the music business. People taking things in a lot of different directions and doing a lot of different styles of music, but I think that there is a whole new generation that's coming along with real talented people and I think it's going to be a big, big, big, exciting things for the fans. Entertainers are coming back, I think.

Do you have any other upcoming projects in the works?

Right now I have the music and I have a couple of scripts that I'm up for right now, but I really can't speak about them too much. But there are some shows that are in the works that they want to attach me to and a few movies, also.

Thanks so much for speaking with me today. Do you have a final message for your fans and the visitors of Pop Culture Madness?

Hit me up on my twitter @marcuspaulk and, shoot, follow your dreams! That's a good one! [laughs]