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Its this unflinching commitment and self-seriousness that make him an unlikely source of comic relief throughout the series.
On several occasions, his hardened persona is juxtaposed againsthis unlikely love for tropical fish.
Hes even become the source of an iconicreaction memeused online to signify bewilderment, shock, and confusion.
He currently plays Drew on ShowtimesFlatbush Misdemeanors, a multidimensional hustler who constantly torments the shows protagonistsKevinandDan.
Not to mention, when I was a kid, people said I resembled Eddie Murphy.
Mainly when I was outside of New York City, for some reason.
But that helped, too.
Then the opportunity came and I went to an open-audition call forClockers, and the rest is history.
I think there were glimpses early on in your output that comedy was an interest of yours.
Do you ever think of Wee-Bey fromThe Wireas being a comedic character?I actually do.
A buddy of mine has said that you could drop Wee-Bey into different scenarios.
Someone put up a meme on Instagram.
Its been off the air longer than it was on the air.
It doesnt get old.
I guess I have an out-of-body experience to be able to see that and understand that.
Subconsciously, if I was annoyed by it, thats what undoes that.
People use it for every little thing, and its right on point.
I actually see Wee-Bey as the model for a lot of the comedic work you do now.
It doesnt play like a scene of a person throwing their life away, it plays funny.It actually is!
So I dont know if any of us even adhered to the comedic undertone of it.
But I think the fact that we played it so straight and nonchalant, it resonates even more.
Someone just posted that on Twitter.
It was like, Wee-Bey had to be the most laid-back and nonchalant serial killer.
You played a similar drug-dealer character inStaten Island Summer.
Ill take what I can get.
I think it was aroundTop Fivethat I thought,Oh yeah, you could do this now.
you’re able to pull your weight.
The gangster stuff is hard.
They were such quintessential drug dealers and products of their environment.
They were so scary.
Its especially hard when youre not like these people.
I mean, Im not a serial killer.
To be able to do that, you have to go to a really dark place.
And then you dont want to overcompensate, because you have to be believable.
Theres a fear factor in there too.
It could all fall apart, like paper when it gets wet.
What was the genesis of that?
First of all, it has the most famous borough in the world in the title, Flatbush.
That alone got the hairs on my neck growing.
I watched maybe three or four episodes, and I said, Oh, this is smart.
This is smarter than I was expecting it to be.
I want to be a part of this.
But I didnt want to do anything conventionally.
I told them, I dont want to make an audition tape.
It was in the middle of COVID, and that was all you could really do at the time.
But Im an old-school guy.
They really need to talk to me.
They need to know who I am, and see whatever parallel universes Hassan and Drew are residing in.
And thats what happened.
They were like, Yeah, youre in.
You totally get this.
I think it was the perfect match.
No one ever wants to be at the end of an I told you so.
I think, with these characters, its not sustainable anymore.
They think,I wasted so much time and so many years throwing my potential away.
Thats where the revelation comes in with certain people.
They made you wear a Lakers jersey onThis Fool.
As awell-documented Knicks fan, I figured that mustve been tough for you.I know, right?
That was a setup.
That was a big-time setup.
But I wore it with good grace, for all intents and purposes.
Youve done a few comedic roles that dont fit the mold of the ones weve been talking about.
InTop FiveandThe Last O.G., your characters arent gangsters at all.
Its in a realm that were familiar with, but were just not used to seeing me do.
Now, we have to see where the manifestation and the metamorphosis takes me.
Im even open to character comedic acting, likeThe Klumps.
Im ready to dress up and put makeup on and really transform into someone else.
Ive done some revamping, and Im excited to see where it takes me.
