Tyler Lepley on Discovering his Black Identity

You know, this is when I learned, you know what my skin color meant to some people. Yeah, the steak was still moving, but I'm still rocking with you. You know what I'm saying? One, two, three, I mean, don't get mad at me. Oh, shit. No, it's not foul. It's foul. You talking about that? It's strong, man. Everybody's talking about my personal life life back. Bro, that's actually good. It's delicious. I'm sorry. I don't know why we get so neat. No, this is great. This is rich. It's too fat. Tyler! What's up, neighbors? We've got Tyler Leppley pulling up to the house today. Now you may know him for being fine, or maybe it's Diamond from P Valley, or Ian from Harlem, or maybe you've seen his latest hit movie, Ruth and Boaz, that went number one on Netflix. He's an actor who has carved a lane for himself while staying grounded, and I bet he's the kind of house guest that will surprise you with his depth and his openness even more. Man, it's nice over here. Welcome to the house. Yes, sir. Papa Squat right there. Welcome to the palace. Tyler in the builder. How you been? Very good. Very good. Very excited about this with you today. I want you to come over here. Oh, you want to get right to it? You're right to it. Okay, well, let's get right to it. This is a little eye-best wines. Okay. And since we're having red meat today, we're doing a little fillets today. The red wine pair as well. It pairs well. And you would know, not only do you play a chef on TV. Right. So I play a chef on TV. I want to vine you on a, on Ruth and Boaz, come on. I ain't going to lie. I kind of left that on set with me, so you may have to do that to get me hit by some band, yeah. The wine you left behind, huh? But this is a little red blend you got with. Yeah, so this is a red blend. Eye-best wines is, I mean, it's a collective, a small group of black women who came together and said, "Why are we counting ourselves out?" And Ingrid has become a very good friend of ours, and so whenever we drink red, we drink eye-best wine. Oh, yeah. Now we're going to sit one for Ingrid right here. Here we go. Appreciate it. You know, they say your poor stops at the curve of the glass. Okay. But I go to other curve. I probably go about halfway. I got to have you in. Okay, well, then you know what I'm saying? He said nothing. Hold on, I'll cut. There we go. You ain't said nothing. You're on TV now. So a beautiful Sunday, I appreciate you opening up your home to me, brother. Let's get it, brother. Absolutely. Oh, that's good. Right? Okay, Ingrid. Come on. It's really good. That's real good. I gathered that you were kind of a steak and potatoes kind of. Yeah. I can't go wrong with steak and potatoes. Okay, so we've got fillets and we've got twice baked potatoes, okay? Okay. We've got a little special situation going on the twice baked potato. We'll get to that when the alarm goes off. We've got surprises in here. Yeah, exactly. Let me make sure it's we all good. Yeah, I think we got to be good. Now, I have my steak well done. You know, I used to eat it well done when I was growing up. Okay, we relate. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then you know, I feel like I feel like as I started, not that I'm a steak connoisseur and I like that. But as I started like getting into it, just playing around with the texture, playing around with the flavor, I felt like it was a little bit fuller. Where are you going? Now I don't cross into like the blue or nothing like that. You know, no. I don't go lower than that. That's too far. That's too crazy. Okay. So I don't play with the line. But I would say like a solid medium. You mean a little medium well sometimes. Okay. I kind of like it in that area. So we got the garlic butter and we'll whip something up for you real quick. Right. Now, I'm going to be honest with you, I ain't never cook the steak medium. No? Nope. I was all good. We're just going to take it off a little bit before you. I think you take it off a lot. Okay. I heard about people putting in the oven. You ever did something? Yeah. Nope. Not today. Not today. I don't really put in the oven, but I haven't heard about that, too. The rule is I have heard. Don't touch it for the first sear. Yeah. You want to get that good crisp situate. That's extra on there. Right. So, you know, just go ahead and get that. So that butter get down up in there while it's cooking up, bro. I think. I'm going to be honest with you. I think I might be there. I'm just going to say, I look kind of good. I think I might be on the sun. Okay. Now, that's probably just a little bit more. Okay. That's a little bit more. You want a little bit more than I see. Not only are you an incredible actor. Thank you. But you also have. You're a businessman, entrepreneur. You've got a. You have a lounge. Yes, yeah. It's a. Leppley's kitchen the lounge is down the temple. Right. Yeah. We're coming up on two years this Halloween weekend. What made you say one Tampa and that a restaurant lounge was the way to go? First of all, I didn't want to do an L-A. Because it's too much. Tough out here. The minute you put it in one neighborhood, everybody's like, you've got to go where? Exactly, yeah. You know, everything's so spread out. So I had a group of. I had two groups of friends in Atlanta and also in Tampa that. You know, just had good business acumen. Just had experience in this lane. Yeah. So when I was thinking about going into it, I'm like, oh, I got to go one of the two. And then that vibe is just, you know, it's super saturated with that in Atlanta, you know? Okay. I'm telling you. I ain't going to lie, that might be the one. That's it right there. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. If you can smell what I'm smelling, I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. You got to let it rest for a little time. The hospitality business. Now, you know what? I feel like a little bit, it's a mixture of things. Like I was a product of. I'm just checking on the potatoes. Oh, yeah, for sure. You want them well done, too? No, I'm very, very well. Okay, first of all. So you got jokes. Yes. We're crazy. They are twice baked potatoes. They are very well done. No, I'm just playing. So I had success early. God bless me. God bless me. And I had always realized that you got to diversify a little bit. Yeah. I think a little wake-up call was the pandemic. Baby. A lot of people. That was coming in. It was like, "Okay, I can't be in this position again." How can I have that. I got to have more than one string. Exactly. I'm revenue. Especially when you. You know, you got a family, too. I got three kids. Providing four I retired. My parents are seven years ago at this point. So they live out here. That's incredible. Yeah, it's been a blessing. But it's like. You know what I mean? No. No. With me now. Speaking of diversifying, you got. I mean, of course, having to have nots. I mean, everybody grew to love you. You got started off. Exactly. On this show. I love that show. Incredible. Yeah. But then you got chef Ian. You got diamond head of security. On P Valley. On P Valley. And I mean. Boas. Now, are we going to root them Boas? Yeah. Brett. Yeah. The owner of the winery? Of the vineyard, the wine vineyard. We actually filmed on a real wine vineyard. So it just helped with. You know, it just helped with the feel of it. Like, maybe tough to do something like that on the stage. Exactly. You know, you got a shout out to Netflix and Tyler Perry Studios and the production of it for allowing us to be. allowing us to shoot it like that. You know, I really felt like it came off with the authenticity of the story. Also, I watched it. Brett. I was like. Oh my God. I said, "Oh my God." They're my. Yeah, I thought it was good. They're my. If you had to set the movie up for folks who are unfamiliar, how would you do it? And so it is a story that originates in the Bible, actually. So it's been around for a while. A long time. In the book of Ruth, specifically. So it's a love story set, you know, in that space where a young lady played by Saraya. She's doing her thing as a singer. She runs into some trouble and she's forced out of Nashville. Yes. And where she settles in Pagrom, she finds a job at this. at this vineyard that Boaz is the owner of. And that's the beginning of the love story. Yes. When you slice it with the wine. Yeah. and the country music. Yeah, like the story. And the black love story. Yeah. It just was like. Bra, I was like. You couldn't see it. That was it. That was it. I was like. Cheers to that. Cheers to that. So in the vein of some of your characters that you've played, and your real life in hospitality, I want to play a little "Get to Know You" game. Okay, let's get it. This is called "You're out of here." Okay. And I want to know if you have guys situations where people are out of there, or if maybe you would let that rock, you would let that rock. Yeah, okay. What was your question? Oh, are we allowed to. You want to. You want to report? Yeah, wait up. Oh, we almost there. Shit, I'm finna repot real quick. She'll go here. Matter of fact, you know, they hit me, too. A little quick top off real fast, am I? Did you say when? Ben, that's it. A little bit extra. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. A little bit extra. A little bit extra. That's it. A little bit extra. I just want to see you cut into that and see if you want to go more. See you soon now. Thank you. Yep. And you just tell me if you need to go more on that, or if that's ready. All right, see what I'm talking about. So it was definitely tender. Ooh, I think you don't need more on that. Ooh, it might be a little too tender. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A little bit more on that. Let's see, okay. Because the outside looks like it might be down. You know, the tips get. Okay, this is cool right here. Let me see. You can eat that. Oh my God. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's good. The tip is cool. No, no, no. That's got to get cooked more. No, you got it. Yeah. Oh my God. That's not even. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It won't lose food by all the trouble. That's not even cooked. Nah, I said I'm a foodie. So like, I was going to try it, but you're right. We got to put a say. I'm waiting for food going to illness. No. If you need to uncooked meat, there's food going on. Yeah, I'm trying. It's not my. It's balaz. What is up, neighbors? Okay, so I want to take this time to say thank you for all of your support. Your likes, your comments, your shares. This has been an incredible ride with you. And I love that y'all rock with it. So tough. wanted to take this time to ask you to check and make sure that you are subscribed to the show. We've got over 200,000 neighbors that are a part of this thing and the energy is real and I want you to be a part of it. It also makes sure that we are able to do all that we have planned for house guests to bring it to you. So come on, be a part of that. You don't want to miss it. Okay, now back to the episode. So your partner should pay for the entire table at your birthday dinner. What? Wait, what? I feel like this is a question for, like your partner, you're with the rest of the woman and he pertains to her man taking care of him. Yeah, because I would never, you come on, that didn't make sense. I asked my lady to pay for me and my boys. That's crazy. That's crazy. Right. All right, so it's my birthday. Okay, I'm not that sad. It's my birthday. I'll ever ask you set up the birthday dinner. It's ain't nothing but seven of us. What type of birthday boy are you? Are you the type like it's my birthday I craft? I want you or it's like my birthday. It ain't a big deal. It's just another day. Here's what I'll say. Okay. I'm with the birthday celebration can be a no thing or it could be a big thing. Okay. My thing is that if someone plans something, they should be willing, they should be accepting the responsibility of the cost of that something. Now, will I let them once the bill comes? That's another story. But if you if you weaken it, right, right, and you didn't plan it, you don't plan it. Yeah, then you know what I'm saying. Your girl invites you out to dinner for your birthday. Yeah, but you're just surprised. Okay. Now, you got 10 of your friends and her friends to surprise you for your birthday. Yeah, you asked me for the check. You know, honestly, bro, I really should and I don't know. Maybe I'd be a party poover here and there. Like I really probably should just let it right because you don't plan it. You don't plan to go ahead and rock with it. I'll probably slide out of my car. You don't do it anyway, forever. That's a gentleman. Mama raised your right. Yeah, I just feel like, you know, it's not even about who should do what I just feel more comfortable. Make sure you're good. So it actually makes me feel better. Let me y'all tell you everything. And also, like, you know, I think that the reality is, you know, is the car that she was going to swipe anyway. We'll swipe it later on. But it was it was it the car with your name on it anyway. Come on. Come on. Come on. I mean, they're getting right there who's like, it's still the same thing on the car. Maybe that's how that's a good middle ground. You know, you heard the cars should let her swipe it. She feel good. So I've been in, uh, maybe, well, it's never too, it's never too much because we had the crib. We just kicked it off on the Sunday. I would say that, you know, so I've been in therapy for, I've been in a few months. But I probably feel about a part, maybe like 12 years now. Yeah. And I've noticed, I've noticed that, um, trying to find the middle ground is, it's kind of really where I live at because, you know, heads and tails is a quote, you know, the polar opposites, but they're really, you know, they're, they're one in the same. You know, if I, if I get my head side, you know, I'm without something else, like something without, if it's all one or the other. Yeah. And it's like, yeah, we're talking about significant other fiancee in this case. But, you know, hearing life, this is, we all have a relationship in the room. I find the magic in all the relationships, like, by finding that middle ground. So for the house, guess game. Okay. I feel like that's the middle ground. That's the middle ground. Let her swipe my car. Here, you swipe the car. Take that swipe the car. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Get the blue. It's okay to tip less if the food wasn't great, even if service was fine. Okay. Oh, that's a good one. That's a good one. You don't know who's pulling tips. Right. And or if what establishments even still pull tips, some of them still is like, you learn what you got. And good guest service is like a fleeting thing. People don't care about it. They come up, come up, slap the drone on, they don't care how to say it's whatever. But if the food was bad, somebody got to know true, but is the server the one that's got to pay it? No, I feel like good service. You still can overcome the bad dish, for sure. I'm still going to tip the right way. Now, you got bad food, bad guest service. Now, now, come on. You do that. I'm on Google. I'm on Google. I'm on Google. I'm yapping right now. Can't believe. Don't go. Don't go. Based on the actual question, I'm still, I'm still going to tip the because we got good guest service. Okay. So they're saying you came out, you came out. The the steak was still moving, but I'm still rocking with you. Full with shitty, but you got good guest service. You feel me? Wow. Honestly, that's probably probably close right now. What you think? What you think? Well, I think this is part of this is like a tender. Yeah, yeah. That's a good steak. Yeah. Okay, let me see that plate. Here we go. We're going to find it together. There we go. I feel like you might be straight now. Let that rest. Let that rest. Let that rest. Hold on. See the inside. Oh, yeah, we're talking about something right now. We let all that juice. Let the. The. The. You. Let him marry me with the French call it. You. Okay. Now, you see these potatoes, right? Yeah, you see him? Yeah. It's twice baked. Twice baked. Now, you might think that's just a potato. Okay. You might and you might not be wrong. Now, it's not what's underneath. Okay. It's what goes on. You see that? It's not what goes inside that potato. The real star here is what's going to go. Damn, I just noticed that. On top. Oh, that's the refrigerator. Yeah, it's gorgeous. I like that. Shit, fly. Thank you. I was thinking, I'm like, where's the fridge? Yeah, what did they eat? I like that. Oh, yeah. You can tell we use the refrigerator. Oh, yeah. You got some money for sure. Yeah. We're going to top our potatoes with a little caviar. Okay. A little caviar. You know, how do you elevate a potato? I think he's all the way up. And so if you have caviar, I think you are so nice. That's what you was talking about earlier. There it is. You might go throw me a surprise party. Okay. You might say, you hit the man in blue card. Okay. So this is one of my favorite branches, one of the most well-known brands all over the world. Okay. Patrocene also referred to as patrocene. Patrocene. I call it patrocene. Dominic Devaro from Dynasty said patrocene. So I say patrocene. Yeah, we don't know where. This is patrocene. Beluga hybrid is America. It's hybrid. It's hybrid. Hybrid. Hybrid. Hybrid. Have you ever had caviar? Yeah. A little bump of caviar. Yeah. Anything that would they say? That's what they say. Come on. Come on, that's what we're saying. Two times. Come on. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. This one in particular is very salty. Okay. I figured it would perfectly for the potato. Go great on the potato. I want you to have the first first dip. The first. The first. I was talking about. Oh, it's nice and cold. That's a proper one over here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Make sure I can't leave my dog hanging. Hold on. Hold on. Come on now. Come on now. Bow. Bow. Check that out. You can go a little more now. I want to go a little more now. Yeah. Because - I'm not well versed with the caveat. I don't know if you'd go heavy hands with it. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Do you hear me more? - Hit that on his way. - Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Talk to me now. - I'm not telling you. - Telling you. - I just want you to get an idea for the salt content of this particular-- - Okay, cool. - Are you going to eat the strail here? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like-- - I'm in the sea. Crazy, right? - Bro, that's actually good. - It's delicious. - That's delicious. It's like buttery almost. - Yes! - That's real good. - I'm very surprised. - Thank you, Dominique. - It's perfectly fine behavior for your friend to take pictures of everyone's plate before you eat. - Ugh. - From, you know. - You're at it. - You're at it. - You're at it. - Yeah, my fiancee, that's just come with the game. Everything, everything, everything. Okay, bagel, yeah, you know what I'm saying? Get the plate right now. - You're going to be like, "No!" - It's rude to ask for separate checks at a sit down restaurant. No, depending on scenario. If you're just here with a few business colleagues or maybe a few friends like yo, like somebody, or somebody's ordering a bunch, we just order in a few drinks. Like, I feel like it's cool. And I feel like we need to normalize doing that amidst the right group without, you know, without all this anxiety. It's not a big deal. - And like, they can run 17 cards. - Yeah, they can run 17 cards. - They're now they bring the little thing it to the table. - Of course you are. - It's fine to help yourself in someone else's kitchen without asking, "No." - No. - No. - You're out of your asses, out of here. - Don't get me wrong. - If you've made it all the way to the house, - Yeah, so then. - It's operating at celebration for you. - For sure. - But if you wanna be in short to never get invited back, start going through here. - Yeah, just go through my shit. You'll never be invited back. - You can't see that last time. I'll go through some pictures. - I've learned a hard way from being in my fiancee's kitchen. You know, I'm saying get my ass out of there. - Get your heads out of there. - But, you know, I feel like the kitchen is almost like somebody's bedroom. So it's like, you know, I'm saying it's private. It's intimate. - Are you gonna make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? - No. - What? - Come on. And do you leave in everything? (laughing) - Ordering food right before closing is foul. - No. - It's not foul. It's foul. (laughing) - Oh. - No. - But we're on game. - No, I'm gonna say, if it's open, if it's open, it's open. I'm not down there all the time at Laplace, obviously, right? So, but here and there, I'll be down there and I did have a run in with the scenario like this. And because I had heard, like, you know, I got a little, you know, a bedroom because they're gonna tell you about yourself. - Oh, real quick. - Oh, yeah. - I had, you know, not the best review and they had talked about, you know, someone wanted to close early. Like, it was, you know, I don't know, the kitchen was supposed to be open till 10. And it was a little slow and it was 9.50 and you're gonna start closing it up, somebody called 9.55, and now they ain't got the order. And it's like, no, bro, if we close that 10, you take an order at 9.59. - Technically, you take the order at 10. - Yeah, you open till you close. - And I'm so sorry if you had plans for a birthday. - I'm so sorry, I know you got a birthday. - You should have planned it for me at 10. - Come on. - When you get up, you're on your show. My thing is that I do it a lot. - So what happens is you get on Uber Eats. - Yeah, what's up with that? Is that a thing? - You get on the postmates. - Yeah. - And they give you your little, this is when you got a cutoff. - Yeah. - Yeah, I'm five minutes before the cutoff. And I can't tell you how many times the food has not arrived 'cause they were like this. - Oh yeah, that's not what you're doing. - That's not what you're doing. Man, you ain't seen the inner Karen come out of me so fast. To whom it may concern with screenshots and all. - The inner Karen is crazy. - I felt terrible. - That's hilarious. - At the end of it. - No, I don't think you, I don't think you're in the wrong. I understand why they might be a little upset but you're not in the wrong for that. - Oh, I agree. - Yeah. - Who's in the wrong? - Yeah. - Is you leaving early from work? - That's right. - Okay, so I think we're ready to eat. - Yeah, for sure. - Ready to do this? - Yeah. - Let's do it. - Who cares about your poops? Ollie does. That's why Ollie signs back to gut health lineup, help support your family's regularity. From daily probiotics to fiber gummies, your kittles will love. Find it all on Ollie.com. That's o-l-l-y.com. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. - I get so many headaches every month. 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Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, or Lambert Eaton Syndrome, and medications, including botchaline and toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. - Why wait, ask your doctor, visit BotoxCronicMigraine.com, or call 1-800-44 Botox to learn more. (upbeat music) - Let me get a cut of this, take a look at how it is. - Yes, I should say, I don't wait long enough, right? Now I must say, when you got medium, it's supposed to be a little pink on the inside, that's perfect medium. - No, come on now. - Brad. - Come on now. - That's it right there. I didn't even try my cap, y'all but. I can tell by the laugh it's already here. Just that subtle little bump on top, that's perfect. You put together a dish, man. If I see the liplies, I know where it came from. - You know where I stole it from. This is like summertime, but it's still hardy, it's still gonna fill you up, this perfect. - Yeah, speaking of full, I feel like your life right now is pretty full. - Yeah. - I feel like it seems to me, as a person looking at me outside in, you are winning on multiple levels. Is it feel that way? - You know, it's funny because, you know, you see the winds, you know, you don't see the losses really. Especially when we talk about social media and stuff, it's like what is really put out there, what do we put out there to see? - That's true. - I'm a man who's suffered lots of losses, you know. To get to some of the winds. You know, there's a saying from the audience, like that the phrasing is the overnight success. And in the business, the saying is there's, you know, there's 10 years behind every overnight success. - Right. - I've been in this thing for 15 years now, so there's gonna be somebody that's never seen me that watches, you know, gonna flick on, you know, turn on Netflix, they're gonna watch Ruth and Boa as well. It's seen me for the first time. And they'll be like, yeah, like where'd he come from? But at that point, it's 15 years in the game. - Right. - Did you always want to be an actor? - No, no. - No, you know, when I looked back, the writing was always on the wall. - I can tell by the build, I can tell by the build you didn't always want to be an actor. - No, I always thought I was going to be a, being an NFL for sure. - For real? - So I played P.W. football starting at like nine years old. And then by the time I got into high school, you know, I started getting serious. You know, I was pretty good. And my coach had pulled me aside and said, you know, it's time to focus on this thing. - Right. - Are you playing against like, there are a whole bunch of other black kids that you're playing against? Are you on the team? Are you one of only? Are you one of few? - On my high school football team, it was me and Jeremy. I was one of two. - Any crazy you could remember his name? - Jeremy, all the five. - Like, exactly. - First thing last, that was my boy. My dad was like a maintenance man. - Okay. - So we used to live on a summer day camp. - What do you mean? What's that? - You know like a summer day camp, you sang your kids too? - Yeah. - Was y'all live there? - Yeah. - And we had a house there and we got it for free. - I didn't know that. - We stayed on the ground so I was like, when I was growing up, people thought that I was rich. Because it was something like, it was like 50 acres. We had all, man, we had basketball courts. We had, you know, two lakes on it, big swimming pool. - We said, "Everything the light." - "Everything the light touches is our kingdom." (laughing) - Move faster. - He said, "But wait, what about that dope?" - He was never good at that. - It was paralyzed until they sold the camp. - Oh. - Right? - Day. - Now real life, man. - Now real life hits. - We gotta go live with my dad's brother for a little bit. Actually his sister, I'm sorry, shout out to Anne Sherry. - We lived in Vegas. - Okay. - And when I went to Vegas, it was all black. - Now how did you deal with that? 'Cause your father is Jamaican. Your mother is Italian. Your stepfather, your father is white. - Yeah. - So I was raising his white household. - And then you moved to black neighborhoods. - Yeah. - I went to Foothill High School. - Which was the bigger culture shock? - The team with only one other black athlete or Vegas. - I think the shock was Vegas because I had grown up around all white people. - Right. - You know what I mean? I had grown up, isolated. - Right. - And you know I'm also a only child too. So everything was, I was alone. I was always alone figuring everything out. - Also there's like an inherent loneliness that happens I think with the only child. - Yeah. - Especially when parents, when both parents work. - Yeah, it was the main reason I was always dead set on having more than one kid. - Really? - Yeah, always. Now so it was like they were planned and I always wanted that for sure. But I think the biggest shock was moving to Vegas for sure. 'Cause you know, we don't hold no punches. You're gonna tell how it is. So I just remember. - Where are your parents at? - Yeah, like where are your people at? Where are you at? - Yeah. - You hear by yourself. - Right there, right there. - They were? - Yeah. It was interesting too. It's like no matter the scenario, no matter if it was just two of us, like when I was outside of Philly, or when I was, you know, it was all of us. There were people that sought me out to make sure I was good. - Is that right? - Yeah. - When you're raised in a house and your mom and dad are white, they're raising a black son. - Yeah. - How you found, understood, came to know or connected with your blackness. - Yeah. - Did they put on in living color? (laughing) You know what I mean? - No. (laughing) - Absolutely. - You know what living color is. - Exactly, you know what it is. And you watched it. Like how did you find it? - You know this debate that we have in anthropology, I remember. - Nature versus nurture? - Yes. So for me, it was, in terms of the specifics of what you're talking about, it was all nature. It was something that I learned from my community outside of my home. To figure out who, who am I? - Where it makes me up. - Yeah. Like where do I fit in this thing called life? - Yeah. - What do I use on my hair? And you know, I remember I use a hairspray and it wasn't working. - Like it, this sounds silly. - But like quite literally, what do I do with my hair? - Yeah, like as a eight year old, you go through these things. - Like mom, you can, I go to great clips. - That's funny because don't get mad at me. - Oh shit. (laughing) - You wanted to ask her. - I didn't want one. I got one. (laughing) - I ain't ever grew my hair long enough, though. - With a rat tail and a guppy. - You know, they had to deal with a lot trying to raise the black, you know, a black kid, a black boy. And I remember, you know, man, my parents are just the best, though, my parents always just love me from the bottom of their heart, even when they didn't know what was going on. Like love will really, will really be enough. - Yeah. - Dog, I remember they most difficult day. And I remember, I was in second grade. - You're back there right now for saying I'm sorry because, you know, we'd be keeping it light the whole time. And this is just a real story, it is what it is. - Let's go. - I remember I was on the bus, and my boy, I ain't gonna say his name. - Okay. - You know, I'm gonna keep him, I'm gonna keep him out there. 'Cause he knew what he was doing. - Right. - When I was in sixth grade, I looked up to him as my boy, his wife. And I remember he got on the bus, and he was like, just like, you know, this is caviar. So the same way I would know that, I was like, it's informative. He was like, oh, do you know what a nigga is? His wife was saying this to me. - Are immediately, do you have a reaction or? - You know what, I didn't know what it was, growing up around, you know, my wife, my mom and dad. So, you know, but I just felt it. It was something in my blood memory. I knew something, you know, I knew something was up. - You knew what it was. - I knew something was right. And I was like, before I could even say no, I was like, no, he was like, that's what you are. - What? - And I was like, all right. And I remember I was just processing it for the rest of the bus ride. And his stop came, he got off. He was like, all right, all right, you know, I'm seeing you tomorrow. - Like nothing. - Like nothing. And I remember, he got off the bus. We got to my stop. Had a long, I had a long ass walk home. Got all of it to the end of the road. That was cool. By the time I walked in the house, I started crying. You know, some of these things that come out, they're actually not in your lifetime. They're from your blood memory. But, you know, you're, yes. - We passed them down. - From around through your nervous system. - Especially when it has been, when it goes unresolved, when it goes unhealed, when it goes unacknowledged. - I remember crying. I remember my parents being right there, like they was right there, like both of them. I remember my dad getting on the phone. Like chewing, chewing his dad out. Like my dad, my dad tried to, you know, stand on business, you know what I'm saying? - Exactly. - But I just remember how like, I just remember how quiet it was now. Like, what do they do, like what do they say? - And also, how do they ever anticipate this being your experience? - Yeah, you know, this is when I learned, you know, what my skin color meant to some people. - Yeah. - Even unpacking that and figuring it out from that day forward, it was like a nurture type of thing. So it was like, you know, there's a negative side to the idea that my skin color means something to some people, but then as I got around to us, you know what I'm saying? There's also a positive side to it. - That's what I'm saying. - Like, this means something. - Me means a lot. - Yeah. - There are some things that are understood immediately because we share it. - Exactly. - Right? If you are not white, there is an immediate understanding. - Yeah, it's like a commonality of pain or really just some type of commonality that we understand we don't venture something. - What kind of father are you? Are you like the, are you the dad, like at the games, it's like on the, going crazy on the sidelines? Are you, are you snack dad? How would you describe your like parenting personality? - All they have. - All they have. - And it goes back to that middle ground. It's like I feel like the reason the magic is in the middle ground, like I learned, you know, from just messing with therapy for so long is because we can all win with this. - Right. - You need a father to hold you accountable. You need a father to be there to listen to you. You need a father to tell you what to do, but also let you do your thing. For me, like I've learned, I've learned so much from what people do, right? Like my parents did so many things, right? So I think, you know, to answer the question, I'm really, I'm really all the above, 'cause like, I could be real stirring, 'cause it's like we need structure. You know, I feel like I had to get a slap on the wrist outside of my house, even something like that. I didn't learn in the house, you don't cross this line. I had to learn, I had to learn like by the police. And they don't treat me, at least they didn't treat me with no love. - It's certainly not. You're not the same way that some of your boys would have been treated. - I remember getting pulled out of shotgun point. I was like 13 years old. - What? - Pressed on my head, like pressed up on it. And am I-- - You like shotgun? - Yeah. - And I remember, I remember my boys, sorry. I'm honing while you're so deep. - No, this is great. - This is real. - You're talking about this one. - I don't mean this is great. Like, oh my God, they're gonna love this. I mean, this is great because what I mean by that, truly, what I wanna say to you is that like, I've seen many interviews with you. - Yeah. - In that I have seen enough to know that you don't open up to just everybody. - No. - And I appreciate that you feel the real intention of this space. - Yeah. - And you also are like, if somebody can get something from this, I wanna share that. So what happened? - I guess we fit the description of, you know, to white people who rob the gas station. - Okay. - And of course, I don't fit the description. But, you know, they pulled us out nonetheless. I just remember my experience versus his. And, you know, by this point, I'm 13. I don't, I don't been, you know, I wouldn't cry on nothing. This is normal at that this point. - You've experienced it before, yeah. - With police. - There's a different police teachers, but, you know, store clerks. I don't experience what my skin means, you know, in this, what, you know, in a white world. - Right. He was treated how? - You know, just step step on the side. I remember he was kind of like, just, he was just standing on the side of the road. - And you? - On the ground. - On the ground. - Yeah. - Like, whole body on the ground. - I mean, with a shotgun. - John about 13 years. - Yeah, yeah. But it's like, you know, there's, there's, there's trauma, there's upstairs downs. There's so many experience that go into, you know, figuring out who you are. Not that I needed to be held in that scenario to figure out who I am. - No. - But we also can acknowledge that that was absolutely fucking ridiculous. - Of course, yeah, of course, of course. But I think one of my skill sets is, you know, I can go, I can go around any group of people and find the through line. It's like, I can find the middle ground anywhere. - You see that in your characters? - Yeah. - And every great actor brings at least a seed. - You got to bring at least one, yeah. - Right, to every character. And I believe yours is this compassionate experience. - Yeah, I would agree. - That's not always on the page. I can't imagine it's not always on the page. - Growing up, I did tang sudo. Like taekwondo karate type, you know, like karate. - Oh, I remember the, he said it was a drink. - It was a tang sudo, that must be, I didn't read the rest of it. But I thought, yeah, to kill it with a tang called tang sudo. - Sudo. - Exactly, exactly. - So, I remember the Yin Yang was like their big symbol. - Okay. - And I remember I just always loved the idea of like, you know, as above so below. Like I just liked that idea. - Yep. - As I got older, so I was tattooed as I was always thinking about like, you know, what is my duality? Like, who am I? Even before I was a, like an actor, I've always, like thought about these things. - Yeah. - So like, my duality, the way I describe it is, I'm like, like a deeply feeling man, who's like constantly a war. - Yep. - You know what I'm saying with an adversary, the past, you know, God at one point, you know. So, this is Aries, he's the God of war. He's drawn to sword, you know, he ready to go to war. And this is Aphrodite, she's the God of subloven fertility. So like, this started like even like my tattoo journey. So, but like, even that idea, like I bleed that into, what you were talking about, like all my characters, I always try to figure out the first thing I figure out is like, well, what is their duality? 'Cause that's like, that's the one thing I need to like lock in. We can build out like a spider web from there. - And if I can understand their light and their dark, they're topping their bottom, we can get to him. - And now we can get the other colors in there. Like Diamond was, you know, he's a grizzly bear. Like, you know, when you see him in the wrong light, it means death. - The last three episodes of P Valley. I mean, he walked around with every time we saw him is what he was, he had on. - But then with Mississippi, he was a teddy bear. - Literally, come to me here. - Yeah, so it's like, you know, once I find that, we can build out from there. So yeah, I do, I appreciate you for noticing that. I consciously bring that in. - I'ma just say that P Valley, in particular, the fact that the last shot at a show was you getting tucked into a, ever going night, night. (laughing) - In the back of a cutlass Supreme. - Well, where do you see these things? - Damn. - This is three, $3 is off the chain. - What can you tell me about where we pick up for season three? 'Cause we are dying. - Yeah, like that's the most difficult part. It's because they, because what they wrote for my character storyline, because it is the, because it is the cliffhanger. - Right. - Even the like the basic things I wanna say, like technically give it away. - Okay, are you alive? Damn. (laughing) - Okay, is there a note? All I know is the ring was, apparently the ring was a dead giveaway. I had to go back. I was like, what the fuck was his ring? - Well, I'll tell you before you figure out whether he's dead or not. Katuri and the rest of the writer's room over at P-Valley, you know, they're like Jordan with the pen. - Yeah, it's like scary. - It's like scary how good they are. The way that they let you know what happened, like to him and what was going on. - Right. - Before you figure out whether he's dead or not, like even that is just, it's something that, bro, you got it, you have to tune in. It's not one of them joints where it's like, oh yeah, they just playing as a cliffhanger. By the time you understand, it's like, I could have did without it. Like it's not that. - Are you mad? - Tyler or Diamond? - Both. - No, like what you mean though. - Either one. - Tyler, it's Tyler, Matt. - No, not 'cause I understand, you know, every story has to have a-- - But like, it's Tyler, Matt. (laughing) - I ain't bad. - We got 10 episodes. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah, nine this next season. - We got nine episodes. (laughing) - Blake Twight. - No, no. (laughing) - It's crazy 'cause they be hitting me up too. Like, y'all, can you not, you know what I mean? - It's the pink gong stand. The pink gong through a lot, yeah, yeah. - And gong lost Mercedes, Mississippi, you know. - I wanted to tell you something about her, but I can't. - Who? - Oh my, I'm Mercedes. - What you mean? (laughing) - It's a new lease. - We got a new lease. - Well, let me just answer your question. So the pink, the pink is around. - Okay. - Going through some changes, okay. - But the pink is around. The clover does its job to, to, you know, stand on business and make sure it does stay around. - It's clocking everybody. - But everything, everything that's in and out of it, the people that come in and out, is like everything, everything has changed. - Are you a little murder still friends? - In real life. - In real life, yeah, that's my dog. - Damn, you heard it, he said in real life, yeah. (laughing) - In real life, yeah, that's my dog. - Damn. - You know what I like most about Alphonse? Is, you know, his commitment. - What he brings to that role, the humanity, and how nothing seems out, landish. - Yeah. - None of his choices seem like, why the hell would he-- - As great as the writers are and the production, everything I'm telling you, like as an actor, like that's him. Little murder couldn't be further from Alphonse, since they're completely different people. But when you watch Little Murder, no matter if you agree with him or disagree with him, you feel where he's coming from. - Every time. - That's Alphonse. - Ooh, so you're a little murder still good? - Oh yeah, we good, that's my dog. - Okay. Who would you say is more the most to you? You're a character from Had to Have Nuts, Boaz. - You got Chef Ian from Harlem, and you got Diamond. Those are like the big tent poles. - Yeah. - I'll say that, you know, the ability to go to war, about what you love, and they get your hands dirty for what's right, like that's me in Diamond. - Okay. - You're leading a woman right where she's at, and you know, not expecting anything in return, and you know, loving her for where she's at. - Boaz. - That's Boaz. - That's me in Boaz. - Woo! - Like we had talked about, we had talked about that. - Oh no, just give it to her. - Let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, let me just, at the white when she was picking them grapes and you said, "Hey, what's your name?" I said, "I'll be." (laughing) - What was such a beautiful moment? I love my name. - It was so great. - I lost my money, we'll take a break. She was like, actually, I want you to back up is what I want you to do. - And he was, yeah. - I think what I like most about the Ruth and Boa's story is it's kind of like when we're telling it. You know, right now we're in a space where, especially because of social media, you know what I'm saying? It's done affected everything. Even if you think it has and it has. - It has. - When we're talking about the dating world, everything is so conditioned on it. Like it makes me sick. If I pay the bills and you cook and you cook the food, that's just what we decided to bring to the table. It gets not conditioned. It's just, you know what I'm saying? I'll cook the food. - Right. - And it can change. - It's not big deal. - We can come back to the table and agree on something else. - So what are of Ian is you? - Like figuring his love life out in front of people. Just because of the nature of what I do. - Yeah. - I'm depending on what I'm doing. Even if it was some like, you know, it's time to marry her. Where to ring at? Like everybody's talking about my personal life. Like, you know what I'm saying? - It's wild. - It's crazy when you really think about it. - You really think about it. - But it comes with the territory. But I would say that's probably learning in front of people. - Right. - And really just having a big heart. I feel like Ian, part of what got him in trouble is the fact he got such a big heart. He loved so hard. - I love to get it. - I love to get it. - I love to get it. - You're like, you're like, you can't hate me. I've got a lot of years. - Hey, hey. - You've got to put a lot of place. - You've worked with some of the greatest in this industry. - Some, yeah. - Who surprised you the most? - Tyler Perry. - Tell me why he surprised you most. - You know, because someone that is that successful, like someone's up here, you know, certified billionaire, everything goes number one. Anything's touches go to gold. Like people like that because of who we are as a society, we allow them to not be humans no more. If he wanted to turn his nose up with nobody, with nobody trip, she, you got it. He's a billionaire. People just, people worship this surface level so much he don't have to be the way he is. You know, T.P. gonna sit down just like this and give you the game just, you know what I mean? - It's true. - And he's always like that. He was like that when I met him 13 years ago. - Right. - Still like that today. You know, we didn't work the whole time, different projects. I feel like the reason that is continuing to go like that is because, you know, he sets the tone as the North Star over there. You know, he gives us such a great example of how to be, how to stay. First of all, how to get it, but how to be once you get it. - How to grow it. - How to grow it. - Come on, you about to grow. - Well, it's grow today, man. (laughing) - What you gonna do today, oh? - As you grow. - As you grow. - Dream role. You get to pick. Next thing. - It's to create a writer, producer, starring in. - Okay. Are you developing scripts now? - Yeah. - Like the system of yours? - Yeah. - It's crazy because I'm actually doing it with my producer partner is Courtney Glouder. He has, he designed a big overall deal with Tyler Perry Studio. So it's still in my family, come on. So I feel like whether it's personal or it's business, my next step, like my main thing, I'll be okay to go into the dirt if I can like break bread with my whole family. - Let's go. - That's it. - Should we break a bread right now? (laughing) - You about to grow, man. I don't care what you say. Let's do this music. - I'll give it. (laughing) - Now I know you're a talented actor, but let's see what your music chops. - Oh, okay. - What do your music chops look like? Are you at the red side? - I'm gonna take the blue. - We'll take the blue. - We got a little game here. We call Remedy Ox. - Remedy Ox. - It's a very sensitive thing. Can't nobody just hold up? - I'm gonna tell you right now, most people can hold up. - Can't hold up. (laughing) - So we've got some prompts right here. - Okay. - But you can't just grab it. What's your regular hand? - We got grab with this hand. - You got to use your strong hand. (laughing) - You got to use your strong hand. - Bro, that's where the funniest movie of all time. - Can you tell me what that's strong hand? (laughing) - On account of three. - One, two, three. - I'm gonna say it. (screaming) - A 90s R&B song. - 90s R&B song, okay. So you got the iPad right here. You can cue that up. - You can't hear it, it's not okay. - I can't hear it. - Okay. - But you got to sing it so hard. - Yeah, you know, the interlude is like, you know. (humming) - Ah, the boy is mine. - Yeah. (laughing) - He's a bit, he's a bit, he's a bit. - He's a bit, he's a bit, he's a bit, he's a bit. (humming) - Okay, that was good. - That was good. - I'm going to go with a dictionary. - That was good, that was good. - One, two, three. - Yes. - A dance floor banger. (laughing) - John, are you finna go too? (laughing) (laughing) - Yeah, you gotta get your groove, find your groove. (humming) - Oh, I don't know. (laughing) - 17, yeah. (humming) - Hello. - Hello. - Hello. - That's it, well, pretty well. - Hello. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Yeah, that's it. - I don't know. - I want you to do that, I don't know where it's going. - The fact that no matter what I said, it was going to sound like that, I already know it. - We're not even 10 seconds into the song. - Oh, so it was so hello. - Yeah, I was probably like second year that second season to have to have nots. - Yeah. - Did everything change? - I mean, what happened to have nots? - Yeah, like first season, second season, when did you notice that things were different for you out in public? - Yeah, after the first season, you know, I was introduced to Tyler Perry's audience. So it was like, I remember him telling me about that too. You know, things gonna change, you know, they definitely did. - Really? - It's not often that you come in like that. So Tyler Perry got his own universe, you know? So like really, like ASAP. Like the first season, I was down in Essence Fest and it was out of control. I was going from like personal trainer this summer and by the next summer was out of control. - What made you fall in love with it? What about acting was like this? - I think the main thing was the fact that it was, again, I was going back to like this duality. It was challenging and intriguing at the same time. It was like I really liked it and it was difficult. And you know, I come from a place where like I've always been like naturally gifted at lots of things. Football's a great example. Like football, I was naturally gifted at it but like my gift was my curse because I didn't work at it. Cause I was just, I was fast, I was strong. I was like, I was naturally good at it. So I was never in the trainers room. I was never in the film room. I was never early. I was always late, you know what I mean? It took advantage of the fact that you could always rise to that occasion. - Yeah, so then you stunt your growth before you even get started. - Oh. - So I was personal training, maybe two months into it. And one of my clients had said, you know, we're looking for a small role in a small film. Can't find them on paper. He's like you sharp and audition to see what happens. - Yeah. - So I then I booked it. So like I was naturally like, you know, good at it, at least to get that small role. - Right. - You know, as I started going out on auditions, I was met with the opposite. You start going into casting rooms. They're not going to hold no punches. - None. - You know, so I started applying myself, but like even in the early stages, what I loved, what I needed the most about it was just my, like I needed to express, some a very expressive person. You know, I was finding this cool medium to like express myself and it was just fun. - Is there a role you haven't done yet that you're dying to take on it? - Yeah, like James Bond is dope, but that has to be a Brit. - Does it? - The Pope is from Chicago. - For real? Are you serious? - The Pope. - He's not Italian. - It's Chicago, bro. - Really? - The new Pope is from Chicago. - That's crazy. - But the president is from a reality show. - You can be anything you want, right? - I think that would be cool. Like, but like a Bond, a Batman or something like that. Like that would be dope. But I think more than that, like I think something on Broadway, I like doing things that are a challenge. - Come on, Tony. - Maybe Troy and Fences. - I was right here with you Troy. - Yeah, I said. - I was right here for all these years. - It's not. - One, two, three. - A strip club anthem. - I've been to many of those. - Oh, okay, come on. I might know some of these. - Okay. - So what's one I think you would know? - I'm not like a strip club veteran or not like that though. - No, just you've been on the show though. - Yeah, yeah. - You know. (humming) (humming) - Sounds like it feels like Cardi B. I know it's Cardi B. (humming) - Bought that yellow. - No. - I'm not a breath. - That's crazy, 'cause I knew it was, yeah, crazy. I didn't know the song by I knew who it was. - You knew it immediately. - Yeah, like she got the energy, yeah. - Yes. - What is it? - Wap. - Oh. - I should have known. I should have known that. (humming) - Yeah. - Damn. - Ooh, I'm sweating. - Yeah, you perform that one, right there. - Yep. - Huh. - There we go. - Okay. - A line dance track. Okay, guys, you know what? - Yeah. - You gotta remember my fiancee from Houston. - Okay. - So we need a line dance master here. (laughing) - Turn, turn, turn. (humming) - Hold on, hold on. - Good piece with that. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. (humming) - Ah. - Ah, shit, you know what? - I didn't know we were that far from the heart. - No, no, no, no, no, no. - No, no, no, no, no. - Where do you see it? - Yeah. - All right. Here we go. - Let's get it. - Okay. - Ah. - Got ya. - I messed up golfers. - Gotcha. I got this one. These are good, these are good prompts. - Yeah, you got some good ones. - Oh, it's a gospel song. - Oh, I'm so bad with this. - It's a gospel song, man, let's see. - You spent any time in Atlanta? - Yeah, a lot of time. - Okay. - I could spend more time in the church though. - If you was in Atlanta, you'd have heard of it. - Yeah, you'd be right here, anyway. - You're here to see the clip. (laughing) - You gon' hear this in the club, you see that, man? (laughing) - It sound like Kirk already. - It's Kirk. - This is Kirk Frank Frank. (laughing) - Yeah, you don't know. (laughing) - Who the hell is that? - Oh my God, I'm not in there. (laughing) - Woo! - Who is this? - Hold on a minute, I'll hold on. - Okay, yeah, great. What's the dance that go with it? - Huh. (humming) - I know the dance, I don't know the song, the song. (humming) (humming) - Is it Kirk Franklin? - It's Kirk Franklin. - I know it's Kirk, okay hold on. Here you go. (humming) - What is it? (humming) - If you wouldn't know a step, but you was gone. Yo yeah, stop, there you go, there you go. - Tie break. - Tie break up. - Three, two, one. - Oh! (laughing) - Okay. - What is it? - I don't know if I'm a movie soundtrack. - Ooh, you better have one. - It's like too many. - That's so many. - But you better have a good one. - I got a real good one. (humming) (laughing) - I gotta find the chorus, hold on, hold on. (humming) (humming) - Okay, hold on, hold on. (laughing) 'Cause if you go back and forth, you're not gonna know any of these parts. - Hey, you way. (laughing) - I think I'm changing songs. (laughing) - I think I'm changing songs, hold on. (laughing) - Now you pick the song. (laughing) - Oh, this ain't go away, this ain't go away. - No, you made that out of the no. - You got me three ones, D, okay, sing right? - Okay, let's see. (humming) - I don't, I think I know what it is, I think I'm gonna be singing a little longer. (laughing) - You know, what was that, I can't hear, what was it? (humming) (humming) (humming) (laughing) - I don't know, would you point that? - I can't hear it, I can't hear it. - You know what it is, you're not going there. You're like, what's the song though? (humming) - And I always learn to use it, I mean, you use it. - And you're gonna pick a song from a soundtrack. - That, come on, the E-song. - Bodyguard. - Yeah, bodyguards. - Brett, I guess, does that make you the winner of the game? - You know it makes me win. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Let's go. - Man, thank you so much for coming. - Man, thank you. - Thanks for coming. - I'm gonna have a great time, man. - I think it's time for a shot. - Come on, shot a clap. - Shot a clap. ♪ Maybe we'll laugh, maybe we'll cry ♪ ♪ But best believe we'll have a time ♪ ♪ Hey neighbor, come inside ♪ ♪ Musical guests and a little perspective ♪ ♪ Seeing the stars and a new life ♪ ♪ Hey neighbor, hey neighbor ♪