Exclusive: Taye Diggs Talks The CW’s All AmericanPosted by Wilson Morales
October 23, 2018
Currently airing on The CW Network on Wednesdays is its new series ALL AMERICAN, starring Daniel Ezra (The Missing), Taye Diggs (Private Practice), Cody Christian (Teen Wolf), Bre-Z (Empire) Samantha Logan (13 Reasons Why), Monet Mazur (Castle), Greta Onieogou, Michael Evans Behling, and Karimah Westbrook (Shameless, Aquarius).
Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) is a rising high school football player and A student at South Crenshaw High. Compton is the place he calls home. But when Beverly High School’s football coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) recruits him to join the team in Beverly Hills, Spencer’s mother, Grace (Karimah Westbrook), and his best friend, Coop (Bre-Z), convince Spencer it’s an opportunity he has to seize. Now Spencer must navigate two worlds — the south side neighborhood that he knows and the affluent Beverly Hills world that has offered him an opportunity for something bigger.
When Spencer is forced to move in with Billy and his family to protect his transfer permit to Beverly, Billy’s son Jordan (Michael Evans Behling), the team’s starting quarterback, is less than thrilled to be sharing his father’s attention — or the team spotlight — with Spencer. While Spencer struggles to find his footing, he makes an unlikely friend in Jordan’s sister, Olivia (Samantha Logan), who is dealing with her own demons. He also quickly develops a crush on his classmate, Layla (Greta Onieogou), something her boyfriend, Asher (Cody Christian), quickly realizes — and so, he sets out to drive Spencer off the football team and out of Beverly Hills for good.
For Diggs, who was last seen on Fox’s Empire, this represents a new challenge for the Newark, NJ native. Having played a doctor, a politician, and a detective, he’s not only entering new territory playing a football coach, but he’s also playing a parent again, which he hadn’t done since his days on Private Practice.
Blackfilm.com caught up with Diggs to talk about his latest series.
What was the attraction to doing this series?
Taye Diggs: Oh man, the script. I loved that that they are dealing with a lot of the subject matters that have influenced me when I was growing up and are influencing me as I’m walk along into my older years and as a parent. The issues that they confront, I’m dealing with identity and race and sexuality. I love how this story doesn’t shy away from any of these issues.
Then you have the backdrop of high school football and high school in general. All that to me made a lot of sense, and I felt it needed to be heard and then talked about.
How would you describe your character Billy Baker?
Taye Diggs: I think this guy’s complicated and very layered, ambitious, talented, flawed, all of that.
When you say that and knowing the roles you’ve taken over the years, you’ve played a doctor, you’ve played a lawyer, now you’re playing a coach. How would you relate to him?
Taye Diggs: I mean as far as what that person is, that’s one of the least important attributes. It’s more who that character is. It’s great that I’ve never played a coach before, but that’s kind of the dressing, the cherry on top. How complicated that character as far as who that person is as a person, that’s what’s more interesting and challenging.
As folks are watching the series, are they going to get more of the sports on the field or more about the drama behind the sports?
Taye Diggs: I think a bit of both. I think that’s also what’s special about it. There’s enough football in it to keep football fans occupied but at the end of the day, it’s more of a character in that storyline.
Can you talk about the chemistry between you and the cast members?
Taye Diggs: I think we’re really lucky. In the pilot, we all knew that we had something special outside of the writing. We just clicked as a family immediately. The issues that we deal with in this program, they resonated with everybody in a distinct fashion and that brought us together. Then when you just take natural chemistry that existed, we immediately just started messing around with each other and joking around and we’re vibing in a very real and unforced way, and I think that’s going to come across.
Having watched you for nearly 20 years, and it’s funny enough, I recently spoke to your Best Man castmate Regina Hall on her latest film. That film is nearly 20 years old and as you guys are getting older, you’re now playing these parents. So with this series, you’re now a parent to a teenage son. What’s that feeling like when you’re now playing a parent and saying, “Okay, I can play a father now?”
Taye Diggs: Well, it was a little surreal at first because obviously I feel the same way inside as I felt 20 years ago. But one of the positives is that with age comes maturity and experience, and I know a lot more now and I can do more with the work that I get just because I have more experience. So the simple difference between acting like a parent and actually knowing what it feels like to be a parent, that helps with the work in ways that are undescribable. I’ve never felt more accurate in these characters that I get to play as a mature adult as opposed to when you’re younger with not much life experience, you’re kind of making it up as you go along.
So I’m embracing them. I’m trying to embrace it all.
As we are entering the football season, are you a football fan?
Taye Diggs: I am now.
So growing up, did you play the sport, did you watch the sport, is there a favorite team?
Taye Diggs: I played it once, you do when you’re in intramurals and Saturday mornings with the neighborhood folks. I’m from New York so the Giants, I guess. These days I’m kind of all over the place. I got a kid who’s in sports as well so whatever team he’s rooting for, I am as well. But it’s been fun getting back into it and having to learn this as much as I can.
You seem to be doing films and TV and other projects. How do you balance the work that you do whether it’s TV, films, or theatre?
Taye Diggs: Depending on the passion you find, it just works out. Whatever I have time for, I make. I got a lot of people that are helping me out but obviously this show is a priority and then everything else, after my son, everything else follows but I feel like when you’re really passionate about something, stuff ends up aligning in the way it’s supposed to.
When you’re telling people you have a new project, what’s a good reason for them to tune into All American?
Taye Diggs: Well, I think it’s a solid show and that it’s a really good story. It’s got issues that I think any person would find really interesting, and it’s American in that football is the backdrop. So there’s a little something for everybody in it.
All American airs Wednesdays at 9/8c ON THE CW
Episode 3 promo
