Over the last three years, Michael Jai White has reinvented himself.

With a physique that could place him in a body-building contest, White carved a name for himself with roles as Mike Tyson in the HBO film 'Tyson' and as 'Spawn,' the popular comic book character.

After a few supporting roles and a some work on various TV series, the New York City native found his way back in the spotlight when Tyler Perry cast him opposite Tasha Smith, Jill Scott and Janet Jackson in 'Why Did I Get Married?'

A year later, White played the gangster overlord Gambol in the second biggest grossing film ever, 'The Dark Knight,' in which he shared a few scenes with the late Heath Ledger.

Most recently, and following positive buzz at the Sundance Film Festival, White landed the leading role in the blaxploitation spoof 'Black Dynamite,' which played at the Tribeca Film Festival to sold-out theaters last weekend. ...

Directed by Scott Sanders, with White co-writing the script, 'Dynamite' is the story of '70s action legend Black Dynamite and his quest to find the killer behind his brother's murder.

Also starring in the film are Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Obba Babatunde, Kym Whitley, Mykelti Williamson, Bokeem Woodbine, Kevin Chapman, Tommy Davidson, John Salley, Chris Spencer, Phil Morris, Brian McKnight and Arsenio Hall.

In speaking with Black Voices, White talked about the film and its reference to the blaxploitation era.

How did this project come about?

Michael J. White: Scott (Sanders) and I wanted to work together for so many years. He had contacted me about another movie he had written. He asked me what I was up to, and I told about him about a project I wanted to work on, and he went nuts about it. He went ahead and got the trailer done.

Did you have any fears about going into the blaxploitation era?

MJW: No. The negative connotation that comes with blaxploitation came after it started. The movies that started the genre were powerful, and it was the first time we had strong representation as African Americans in the marketplace in films. Up until that time, we weren't even secondary characters. We are far more derogatory characters than the ones in the blaxploitation films. As a young man, I saw guys like Jim Brown and these alpha males -- Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly. They were a source of pride for the African American community. White kids grew up wanting to be like these characters. It was only later that that exploitative word came in, because Hollywood realized they could make these films on a shoestring budget and get all this money because there were audiences that drank it up. So the films were produced cheaply, and the story lines were lame, and the quality of the films weren't on par with the films that came out early. There were a lot of filmmakers making good films at that time that were African American.

Was there any concern that some of the cultural references of the '70s would be lost on people under the age of 35?

MJW: Today's audience is very sophisticated. People are introduced to the movie-making process all the time. You have the DVD releases with behind-the-scenes footage. Kids are quite knowledgeable. One of the things we had to do that I thought was interesting and in maintaining the feel of the '70s, we couldn't shoot in the same pacing rate. In the '70s, when you look at a film like 'Straw Dogs,' people brushed their teeth in real time. You couldn't do that in movies today.

Did you have a hand in casting?

MJW: Me and Scott wanted to think out of the box and let the audience recognize individuals you didn't think would be in the film. We wanted to keep it exciting.

Were you conscious of all the poses you did in the film?

MJW: Definitely. A lot of Black Dynamite is Jim Brown. He was a personal hero of mine. He was the first black superman action star, and I'm very fortunate to say that he's close to me like a surrogate father. He's been that way to me for the last 10 years. We play chess together, and I have beaten him only once. He has a brilliant mind. He does the tough-guy thing really well, but the whole warm and fuzzy stuff, when he's forced to do that on screen, it would come off a bit funny. Anybody who knows Jim Brown would know that he's not your frolicking type of dude.

Can you talk about the martial arts aspects and how you trained for this film? Did you do your own stunts?

MJW: Yeah. I've been doing martial arts since I was 8 years old. With the choreography, one of the styles of black belts I have is shodokan. That was really prevalent in the '70s, so I fought in that style. One of my best friends, Ron Ewing, is like a little brother to me, and he choreographed the fights, along with myself. It was fun. I didn't have to train for this.

Can you talk about the music in the film?

MJW: LaVan Davis sang most of the songs. He's the lead in Tyler Perry's 'House of Payne.' He has an incredible voice. He's like Willie Hutch or Curtis Mayfield.

How was working with Salli Richardson-Whitfield?

MJW: Let me say something about Salli. We were so lucky to have her in the film. She was so wonderful, and much of the comedy wouldn't have worked without her presence. She was dead-on perfect. I've known her for a while, and I tried to picture friends that have that '70s look, like Pam Grier.

How did Arsenio Hall end up being in the film?

MJW: That's a funny story. When Arsenio read the scene that I wanted him to be in, the thing that clinched the whole thing for him, and he contacted me about it, was that we had a Captain Kangaroo pimp in the scene with him. He dug that. Ninety percent of the film is scripted and a few times we did some improv.

Did you ever consider giving Jim Brown or Richard Roundtree or any of the actors from that era a cameo in the film?

MJW: I thought that would be a mistake. We didn't want to destroy the illusion of this being a '70s movie. It would be too cutesy of a move and take people out of the movie.

Have you spoken to Tyler Perry about where you see your character going in the sequel 'Why Did I Get Married Too?'

MJW: I have to keep that a secret. I have to talk to Tyler to see if it's cool for me to talk about it.

'Black Dynamite' will hit theaters September 4.