Interview Only: Actor Anthony Anderson hypes new barbecue brand gives healthy advice and battles mercenaries.

My Next Guest is starring in the new Prime Video original movie G twenty, streaming on April tenth. He's perhaps best known for his role as Andre Johnson on a hit ABC sitcom Blackish. I know from a whole bunch of movies not to mention a law and order. One of the great great actors of our time as far as I'm concerned, Please welcome Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor doing and only Anthony Anderson to the house.

What up, Fred?

What up?

Double A? How you doing?

Bro? How's everything everything? He's going? Good? Baby?

Hey, my system is falling apart on me. Steve, my bad, baby, my bad.

You can handle it. You can handle it. It's all good man.

Let's get right into it because I want to have I want to get into this before you get cut off with your damn electronic ass self. I mean, I'm noting electronic inhibit itself. I don't know what technological inhibited. Listen, this film looks like a wild ride and it just start alongside the great Viola Davis and your daughter from Blackest MARSI Martin, explain the premise and your character, please, well, you.

Know what, I'm the first man. You know, Viova Davis is the President of the United States. I'm or a husband and I'm the first man of the United States. Man, So that's my character.

Now listen, I know you personally, your friend of mine. I got mad love for you. You as the first man. Thinking about the power of the presidency, Well, the presidency is under a microscope. The first man might be a little bit different, not so much. What kind of nonsense did you get yourself into as the first man? I mean, what kind of ideas were you throwing out there?

Because I can only imagine.

Well, you know what, man as the first man, Like most first ladies, our voice really isn't heard that much.

But we had a great time.

You know, I'm there supporting Viola's character, supporting our family.

You know, I'm gonna stay at home.

Dad, ex military, married to the President of the United States, who happens to go over to Cape Town for the G twenty World Summer and it happens to be attacked by terrorists and we have a great time doing it. Man, we kick a lot of butt, get a lot of butt kicked. We're both ex military in this film, so it makes sense for us to do what we're doing, and uh, it's action packed and it's fun field.

So it's action packed, but it's not it's not comedic. I mean because it's you. I mean, anytime we see you, you're making us laugh. It's not comedic.

No, no, not not comedic at all. They may there may be some comedic elements here and there, uh, but but definitely not a comedy. Uh. You know, we may have a joker to to add some levity, but it's uh, this is serious business team, this is serious business man.

So as as the first man, I mean, as you imagine a man being in the second position, I mean deferential to his woman. As black men, we know that's that's that, that's just figured because we all know that listen, ninety five of the time the women to get what the hell a want. The five percent of the time, as Chris Rock would say, give us the big piece of chicken. I mean, our rites are very very limited

She's in charge, I.

Mean, she's in charge and for some reason on repeat Beyonce song was playing We Run the World, We Run the World, and so that was just I was just playing all day for six months in Cape Town, South Africa.

Man.

So I just had to fall in line, Steven. I just had to fall in line and play my position, as we all do.

When you think about what you've done in your career, comedic and obviously some serious roles, watching in the Law and Order, in various other roles. At this point in time of your career, what do you enjoy most?

You know, one, I enjoy going to work. You know, this is something that I've always wanted to do. I was nine years old and I've been blessed with the gift. I don't call it a talent. I call it a gift. And it's my responsibility to share this gift that I've

That's what drives me.

And that's what satisfies me and in this hunger that I have as an actor getting up and going to work and gracing the stage and gracing the screen with some of our elite.

So I'm looking at it from that standpoint.

And you know, you talk about the work, and obviously in this day and age, if you work and you living good, because Lord knows this, because there's not enough people that's working in this day and age, and what have you. As you think about what's going on again, the first man in this film, Viola Davis, is the President G twenty coming out April tenth, I'm thinking about the climate, the times that we're living in.

How much did that play a role a in your willingness.

To accept such a role and be in what you guys actually did for for the project itself. How much does the president administration or the president political climate play a role in all of that.

I'll answer the former than the latter.

You know, while we were filming this, this was over a year ago, so you know, Vice President Kamala Harris was vine for the for the office herself, right, and you know we we thought this, you know, we thought we were hoping that she would be in office that you know, would would resonate with an audience, you know

This administration has called out George Clooney and numerous other contemporaries in your industry for things that have been said, manners in which the president has been portrayed, et cetera, et cetera, And one would surmise that at some point in time, folks in Hollywood may feel a bit compelled to be careful about what they do and how they do it in an effort to be is really not as a as authentic to their craft as they could possibly be, while not provoking the ire of politicians in

You know, I can't speak for vile. I can only speak for myself.

But you know, we have our First Amendment right, you know, to free speech, and we have our own opinions about the world in which we live. And you know, as long as I can be my authentic self, live in my truth and speak my truth from my position and my perspective, I want people to respect that, just like I would respect their position and their perspective. So, and

But we also have to be.

Informed about the things that we are going to say about the positions that we want to take, and not just jump on a bandwagon and say, oh, well I heard this. You know, we have to do the work ourselves and find out so we're not misinformed and we're spreading misinformation. And again, it's just our opinion, our individual opinions on the world in which we live and how we see it and how it's affecting us. And I think that's only fair.

Let me go back to the film, because the film Like You Told You, Like You Articulated was shot in Cape down South Africa. What is this some hand about you ended up in the emergency room after the fight seeing gone wrong yourself?

Anthony Anderson explain, youse, what the hell happened to you?

You know what?

Some guys got a little Overzea was on set, Stephen and uh, you know, an accident happen.

It was a fight scene. We were supposed to do some things. I was supposed to be thrown into a.

Chair, but they threw me into the chair and missed it, and the arm of the chair hit me in the small of my back and it felt as if it had touched my kidney. Man, and I immediately dropped to the floor and found out that I had a deep muscle bruise that that was just gonna take weeks to heal from within.

But one monkey don't stop, no show man.

I continued throughout the night and work and ended up in the emergency room for five hours.

Uh.

Nothing was fractured, nothing was broken, And uh it just gave me a story to tell. As I'm sitting here talking to you, I am mad at that. As long as you are right, I'm all right. Why Cape Town, South Africa?

Though?

Why there?

You know that?

That that's you know, the G twenty Summit Global Summit takes place all over the world and this particular year was taking place in Cape Town. Uh and uh we're in our film. Uh so that's where why we decided to go there, exotic locale. The people there were great, the production uh team that was there. I you know, it was a beautiful thing working amongst our brothers and sisters in Cape Town, South Africa. Bringing a production like that, this huge American production to South Africa was great for

Yeah.

Wow, you know, I mean, listen, I got to get over there. I've been promising I'm gonna get over there. Well, some of my boys have asked me to come to Ghana, somebody asked me to come to Rwanda, and obviously Cape Town and Johannesburg. There's definitely someplace I'm planning on visiting as well. I got to ask you this, as as as you sit here right now doing the kind of things that you're doing, you reflect on the career that

Ah? Wow, good, great, great question, man, great question.

What's missing? I don't think anything is really missing. It's always about the next adventure.

Now.

You know, I had a long run with our television show Blackish for eight years on ABC.

I missed the family there that I built with this cast of eight years.

You know, I've watched these young children that we got to handpick and be a part of our show grow into young adults now and to be a part of their informative lives or be an informative part of their lives growing up. Was was was a blessing, you know, to have children of my own, uh, and then to have this second set of children, uh, that that I got to work closely with, sometimes even more intimately than than my own children, because I spent so much time on set.

So I will say anything is missing from my life or my career like that, but I missed.

Those times that that I spent on that that set uh with with with my cast, you know, Tracy, Jennifer.

Lawrence and and everybody.

You know.

It's one of the reasons Marseille Martin is n G twenty. You know, we were looking for a daughter, and I was like.

You've got to hire Marseille because I know what she's going to bring uh to this role for this and I had a great can't I had a great time working well for eight years, Let's do it on the big screen.

And why, by the way, the young lady is already an executive producer, creating content and all of that stuff. She's a star, make no mistake about it. Let's not forget in. We all love Tracy and the rest of the crew. You know, I'm thinking about that. And when you think about the Blackish family, remember when we first came, you came on First Take. My day job at ESPN every weekday morning from ten am the noon. You came on First Take to promote Blackish before it launched. And

I know you saw success coming. Did you see that?

Uh? We hoped for that, Stephen, You know, you can only dream for things like that. You know, when when Kenya and I sat down and talked about what we wanted to produce for television before we even come up with the idea of Blackish. We were just sharing ideas about our family and it was Kenya's idea to call it that because he said, you know what, Anthony, I feel like I went from raising a black family to a black Ish family and called me a few weeks after and said, I got the title for our show.

And you know a lot of.

People were hesitant about, you know, even tuning in to watching it because of what the name is or and and I was like, Yo, that has nothing to do with the quality and the portrayal of these characters what we were going to do. And you know, Ish is adjacent to We're not making a mockery of anything. So come watch this, and you know, the Ish is now in the zeitgeist. You know, they're they're all kinds of issues out there that you know, have to like since

That's a great time.

And so for us to build that type of franchise and that family amongst the shows was just amazing for us. And that's something that we always saw, you know, we always saw that, and we took a page from Cosby. We took a page from what they did from the Cosby Show and a Different World and things like that.

So you know, that's where it all came from. That's where it all stemmed from.

I love you on Blackish, no doubt about it.

As much as long as we've known each other, I've never told you what your.

Favorite role was. What was my favorite role of you, of your portrayal in this movie? What one could play that game?

Two could play that game with Mours Chestnut and Vivica fod Man, Because you know, it's like when I watch so many movies, right, I ain't gonna say naggscuse. I don't want to throw no shade on anybody, but I see stars and I see cats and they've got like one of their boys that they're tight with. But the advice is all it's always it's always lacking with two can play that game. You were breaking it down the more its testing, you would give it it to them,

You had it like that. What was your favorite role.

Uh, you know, we'll start We'll start with that one.

And I'm like, okay, that's the way they game for a second, because yes, I watched it a few weeks ago in the middle of the night, it's like maybe three thirty in the mornings, slipping through television and it came on and I watched it in its entirety, and I had to send Vibica and Morris a text message.

You're like five in the morning. It's like, look, I know it's early. I know y'all not see there's no time soon.

But I just watched you can play that game. And I haven't seen this movie in almost twenty years. I said, it still holds up. It's still funny, and the things that we are saying in this movie is still relevant today. And what's crazy, Stephen, is that my twenty five year old son was going through the same thing that Morris Chestnuts character was going through just a few months ago. And he and his boy were sitting in my house in my kitchen and I was like yo. I was like, yo, Nate,

Steve, he watched the movie. He was like, damn Dad, you right man? He said, what did y'all make this movie?

I said, Man, almost twenty years ago, son, and everything we talk about it, it's still relevant.

I gotta look at for your son. I gotta look out for your son right now. I gotta make sure I give you an opportunity to office. Noris's nose was wide open. I mean he was going, he was daring.

Man had a whip.

Now you understand.

I mean that's what That's what happened. You remember when you told you coming through the glass window and he's just sitting in the way in the gym, staring in the space, and you like to see the light, see the light. I'm like, yo, you so I want to make it. I want to make sure you give give your son an opportunity for pops to help him out here.

You ain't doing you ain't doing that to yourself. It wasn't like that, was it.

No, A see my son showed up at her house. Man, I was like, son, you can't do that.

Are you prepared to see what you gonna see if you show up on announce? And my son was a man about it, and he was like, you know what, Dad, I was ready. I was ready to see whatever I needed to see.

Man. But I just had to go make this move. I had to do this.

And I say all this to say he and his lady have a great relationship and they work through whatever it is they needed to work out. But I was like, son, we need to watch this movie next time before you go make mistakes like that.

That's right, That's right, no question about it. So other than two could play that game, anything else stand out of your mind. I want to make sure because I know you love all the stuff that you've done, but all the else stand out.

I just want to make sure.

Look here, man, the Departed, you know, getting to work with your past that I got to work with, and and being directed by Martin Jack Nixon. Yes, yeah, yeah, it just the list goes on and on. Man, Romeo must die. You know, I got to work with the great Leah and and and jet Lee and things like that. Me myself and I ring Jim Carrey. I mean, yeah, I've been very fortunate in my career, Steve, so though those are the one and look, I ain't gonna lie.

I got you, I got you, Listen. I know you love working with the people that you work with too. And recently I had the lovely, the incomparable. I mean, she's mama to us, all the lovely Jennifer Lewis. He was right here on this show.

And yeah, she told she wanted to tell me she wants she wanted to give you a couple of words, a few words.

Play this, please play this, please and give Anthony Anthony and just in my love and telling me he's an asshole and I loved him.

Make sure to do it. Can you imagine working with that fool eight years?

Oh my god, you did it, you did it.

He won my heart, Anthony, So give him a bit. That's crazy, that's good. You know what.

I don't know if she was on or off her medicine that that day that she was on your show, but I love hey, Jim, that's that is my baby. That that is my second mother right there. That's the mother of all black Hollywood right there.

Yo, that's the serious. I don't I don't think it's an exaggeration.

When you think about black mamas in Hollywood, it's it's it's Hallowretta Divine.

It's one of the two to me, Yeah, yeah, yeah, And.

I've worked for both of them. The Redda Divine didn't play my mama. She played my auntie. Whoopy Goldberg played my mom in this this other movie called King of Come and Jennifer Lewis. So I've been surrounded by the mamas in the unties my entire career, and I love it.

There you go, there you go.

Let me transition to something else that's near dear to your heart. Evidently you and Cedric d Entertainer are serious barbecue enthusiasts, with a line of sauces, rubs, and products called ac Barbecue. How did y'all come up with the recipes for somebody's family recipe? I mean, what's that about a double A? What's going on?

You know?

We looked at the We looked at you know, we're turned taking barbecue to fast casual man. We were opening up a restaurant here at the Century City Mall or the Westfield Mall in Century City.

You know, Set and I have a love for food. We you know, we take these fellows trips.

We always rent these extravagant homes and sed and I are always the ones that are cooking and barbecueing. And we just had this opportunity to get in this space and there's no one that looks like us that are in that space. And we are talking about, you know, bringing barbecue back to what it once was, or not bringing it back, but just talking about what it is, the community of it, the community aspect of it, the the lovingness, the family buy of what the spirit of

We have this first.

Restaurant that's about to open here in April May at the Westfield Mall, and so we're excited about that. We got products and stores, so we couldn't have been more more excited about it.

We we have this I can't tell you.

About this collaboration that we had, but we have a collaboration that you will hear about in a month and it's about to be big with us and another fresh food franchise. Uh So we're excited about that.

Okay.

And you also partnered with Magic Johnson's what is it, uh, Dexo Magic to take AC Barbecue to HBCU campuses.

Yeah.

Yeah, we partnered with Sedexo Magic, and that's how we got our kitchen. AC Barbecue Kitchens on these HBCUs and colleges and other all colleges and universities. We're in a University of Cincinnati, Jackson State University, Howard University, and there are four or five other universities that have AC Barbecue kitchens on them. Uh So we're just excited about that. Our partnership with the Dexo Magic uh is beautiful and we're just here to do it man, and just you know being a lane. Uh.

You know.

Look, one of our sayings is, you know, we're rooted in culture and fueled by community. That's what AC Barbecue is all about. Rooted in culture and fueled by community. Just bringing everybody together to celebrate and to love on one another through the spirit of barbecue.

Stay with HBCUs.

You left Howard University after your junior year, I think and I think it was you talked about it being because of financial issues or whatever. But how did it feel to recently receive your degree from the Chadwick Boseman College of Fine Arts in twenty twenty two?

How did that feel?

It felt great, Stephen and I'll tell you about this full circle moment. Taraji Henson gave the commencement speech the year I received my degree. Taraji and I were classmates at Howard University in the College of Fine Arts. Denise Sanders, who was the assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts, helped me our assisted me in getting back into school to finish.

My senior year.

She and I were classmates at Howard University and the College of Fine Arts. Doctor Felicia Rashad is the dean of the College of Fine Arts. She and I are colleagues and friends in this industry. She handed me my degree from the College of Fine Arts. And that year that I received my degree in twenty twenty two was the very first year that they renamed the school and it was renamed to the Chadwick A. Boseman School of Fine Arts. And he and I were colleagues in this industry and friendly.

With one another.

So it was a beautiful, full circle moment for me to go back to the beginning. Really for me, you know, it took thirty five years in the making. I started Howard University as a freshman in nineteen eighty eight and left after my junior year due to financial reasons, and had every intention on going back.

And I was finally able to go back and receive my degree in twenty twenty two.

I was getting ready to ask you how much of a role did Nathan play in inspiring you?

Says he's also a Howard grad.

Yeah, well, he played a great role. He's unfortunately he didn't graduate yet, but he was. He got accepted in twenty eighteen, and he inspired me to go back to school. I always wanted to go back to school, and I said, you know what, Son, You've inspired.

Me to go back to Howard. So this is what I'm going to do.

I'm going to walk with you in twenty twenty two, and unfortunately, real life got in the way of him.

Of my son.

You know, my son's a young artist, a musician, and an actor, and his career started taking off. So he followed that path, but I stayed true to mine as a promise to myself and as a promise to him and my family and my mom and everybody. Because when I started Howard, I would have been the first person in my family to graduate from a college or university. And so I had to finish the task that I started, and it took thirty five years to do so, but I was able to do it.

He was also honored with the how with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the university.

Right, yes, I was, Yes, I was. I can't imagine how that must have felt for you.

I felt great, you know, to to receive not only that award, but the United Negro College Fund gave me an award the following week for the work that I've been doing with them in raising.

Scholarship money for other HBCU students.

And you know, I have my own.

Family foundation, the Anderson Family Foundation that this year I'm transitioning from the charities that I've been donating to for the last six years. But in my seventh year, because I went back to Howard University and received my degree, I'm starting a scholarship at Howard University. So you know, some students don't have to go through what I went through and put that on hold for as long as I put.

It on hold.

You often tag your social media post just a kid from Compton because that's where you're from, Compton in LA. I want to know, did you say out or do you said go ahead dog when you saw Kendrick Lamar giving it to Drake.

That's what I wanted, That's what I want, That's what I want.

Well, look, hey, first off, I gotta say this, I'm a fan of both of the artists, so yeah, but you know what, it was great to see what kay I was doing for the culture, for the city of Compton and what he did, so I had to root for him, you know, a thousand percent. And just to see where he is, where his career has elevated to from where it once was. I mean, you know, he

It spoke to and what it spoke about was just uh, it was just a beautiful thing.

So I let you get on out of here. Man.

You would diagnose with type two diabetes at age twenty nine. You've been a vocal advocate for better understanding and management of the condition, particularly in a black community. I want you to talk real quickly about what life changes you've made and how important of an issue this is for you, because it definitely is for me. I was like point one point away from being a full blown diabetic a few years ago until I really prioritize my health in a big time fashion.

Talk to me about yourself and your journey in this regard.

Uh. Yeah, you know I've become a diabetic at that age, man, and you know I always took it seriously. But you know, there comes a time where you just have to make dramatic changes in your life and your lifestyle. And that's what I did. Unfortunately, I lost my father to complications from diabetes and one, but I was the first person diagnosed with diabetes in my family. My father had gone unchecked for over for more than twenty twenty five years.

And.

I realized that once I was diagnosed, I look back at the symptoms that my father had when I was growing up, and they were the same as the symptoms that I was having now, and so that's when my dad got checked out and so we lost them to that. And that's why I partnered with No Hole Oritis to bring awareness to everybody out there who may be suffering from it or.

Adjacent to it. We started a campaign called get Real about Diabetes, and they can go to get real about diabetes dot com to find out information about this disease. And it's really informational.

And I go out to the communities and I talk to the communities, but in particular Black men because we are the ones that rarely go to the doctors, you know, myself included. My dad didn't go for twenty twenty five years and we lost him because of that. So I get out on this campaign and I share my story and my testimony with them, and I just talk about the changes that I've made in my life in order to live with the disease and manage it instead of

That's your personal journey, obviously, you're trying to help many, many lives, not just yourself. Tribute to you for doing that, major, major props to you for that. That's on a personal level, on a professional level, considering all that you have done, and considering the show that you're on here talking about right now, G twenty streaming April tenth on Prime Video

I just want to continue to make opportunities for myself and make opportunities for my.

Mother, but also, you know, make opportunities. Pause right now, mama, one who's better than you at Dobbinoles. Let's not forget that.

What I mean? Yeah, yes he is. You know, I learned from the best, you know.

But I just want to continue to make opportunities for creators and storytellers, like people made opportunities for me to come out and be my authentic.

Self and tell my stories from my point of view.

Uh, And I just want to continue to be a part of that you know, So that that's what I'm striving for, to start directing more, to start creating more, uh, and to start collaborating more with with with people that you know, you would never know. I was like, oh, I never knew this is what you did or this is what you wanted to do. Let me be a part of that, because you didn't know, this is what

I love you, bro, proud of you. So good to see you, looking forward to connecting yet again. I know you've been on the road a lot, doing a lot of great things. I'm just happy for you, happy to see you in this space, in this place in your life right now, Really proud of you, really happy for you.

You one of the great ones.

You know how I feel about you, know nor much love I got for you, so much so that I got a surprise for you because my my my career is.

Kind of going decent.

You know, I'm doing all right, you know, okay, And I got something I got something new coming up.

I have been I have been asked to appear or law and order. I'll take it up. There After, I was like, what what what I mean?

What I mean?

I got I got to get I got to get some tips from my brother. I got to get some tips.

Man.

Let me know, I'll run lines with you. If that's what your need, Steve, we can do it. Got you, Hey, welcome to the l and O family.

Your baby, then, did you know? I mean, there are worse things to achieve in life, no doubt about that. I mean everybody, there's anybody been on law and order. So that's the way I learn is to start of something new. Appreciate you, bro, love you man.

Appreciate it even always great seeing you're my friend, no doubt.

All right, talk to you soon.

Fig