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Daniel Ezra Speaks on Learning About HBCU's, UK Rappers And All-American Season 5 | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Oct 14, 2022
Daniel Ezra on Sway In The Morning.
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Daniel Ezra Speaks on Learning About HBCU's, UK Rappers And All-American Season 5 | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
https://youtu.be/Vtxp7gdeUp8
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0:00
from All American the season five
0:02
trailer
0:04
I've been watching this since season one
0:06
have to be
0:07
season Uno
0:09
Tay Diggs is the good friends of ours
0:11
what up Tay Diggs Tay said Swiggity can
0:14
you watch it I said of course I can I
0:16
was just watching it because of him
0:17
initially and then I recall Breezy is a
0:20
part of this show as well Reese has been
0:22
on the show spit fire bars before and
0:24
she and I also co-starred an Empire back
0:27
in the day Heather you remember I was a
0:29
co-star an Empire I did a couple you
0:31
know
0:34
this young man
0:37
who was a huge star of this show and I
0:40
say this because um he's such a
0:42
compelling actor you know I I know who
0:44
he is knowing who he is we've been
0:46
spoken with him before but when he's on
0:48
that screen and he becomes Spencer James
0:50
and
0:52
um he does it so well that it compelled
0:54
me to continue to watch this show All
0:56
American
0:57
um is a very realistic show to me
1:00
because if you grew up in LA or any
1:03
disenfranchised area or you know I don't
1:07
like to use the word impoverished but
1:09
you know marginalized marginalized area
1:11
and you go to school a lot of the
1:13
experience you don't just go to school
1:14
you go through life before you even hit
1:16
that campus and then you go through life
1:19
when you leave that campus and a lot of
1:21
shows don't really depict that
1:22
accurately uh and they definitely don't
1:24
do it as accurately as All-American does
1:27
so it made me learn to love these
1:28
characters because in these characters I
1:30
saw friends of mine you know what I mean
1:32
that would totally well represented and
1:34
then they did the home the offshoot
1:36
homecoming which I became a huge fan uh
1:40
Corey Hardrick is a good friend of mine
1:42
and yeah and every every episode I hear
1:44
Corey and say yo you killed the coach
1:46
you know what I mean and um and then
1:49
also it you know you see a lot about
1:51
HBCU on Campus Life which I think is
1:55
amazing
1:56
um that they do that so we have somebody
1:58
who's an anchor in this whole franchise
2:01
with us today and I want to welcome him
2:03
to the show The One and Only Daniel Ezra
2:06
is here
2:11
thank you what's up my uh my family back
2:14
home's tripping out my my little brother
2:16
and my best friend they all watch this
2:17
so oh they washed away in the morning
2:19
they're citizens what's the names Jordan
2:21
and Jamel what's up
2:24
baby Jordan what up baby when y'all
2:28
coming over man what y'all doing behind
2:30
us
2:32
baby Jordan's doing backflips right now
2:36
how old is he he's 27. oh man tell him
2:39
come on man come hang with us man come
2:42
do it like your brother doing it man
2:43
that's awesome man so what is it what is
2:45
it like for them your success
2:47
to them it's just it's strange you know
2:50
what I mean because they was you know
2:51
Jordan for example has been my best
2:52
friend since we were five yeah so he's
2:54
seen like from when we were kids and
2:56
then me deciding yo I think I want to do
2:58
acting and I think I want to try it and
3:00
he's always been like all right do it
3:01
like he's he's one of those people that
3:03
anything's possible uh-huh and so um
3:05
there was no hesitation I was like okay
3:07
if that's what you want to do then do it
3:09
and then so you know he's been with me
3:10
and my family has been with me through
3:12
the whole thing and so I started in
3:14
theater yeah you know I went to theater
3:16
school I trained you know Shakespeare
3:18
and Romeo and Juliet all of that all of
3:20
it all of it and so
3:22
um to go from that and then coming to
3:24
see me in plays that were you know half
3:26
full you know like 100c or tiny theaters
3:29
and 50 people watching to now watch me
3:31
on TV and coming to LA and seeing me and
3:34
everything is is it's it's a trip for
3:36
them yeah it's always weird seeing it
3:38
through their eyes the way they see it
3:39
it's probably even weirder seeing you on
3:41
like late night shows and doing these
3:44
interviews right yeah yeah yeah it just
3:46
makes like my family my me just makes
3:48
her nervous yeah does it make you
3:50
nervous yeah for sure yeah you know I'm
3:52
pretty uh introverted so um
3:56
you know coming especially things that
3:58
are live like this you know I'm always
4:00
like you're trying to like you know you
4:01
don't want to say the wrong thing and
4:03
stuff so I'm I'm it does make me nervous
4:05
but you know this is a relaxing this is
4:06
a very welcoming space you're in a good
4:08
space
4:09
how much money you have in your pocket
4:14
Oh Daddy I do think about though like
4:16
with the holiday season I don't know
4:18
something you said just came to mind
4:19
brought to mind
4:21
um when Jay-Z Hove and Kevin Hart they
4:23
were having a conversation and they were
4:24
talking about how since they've reached
4:27
this status the holiday season is
4:29
different when they go to like
4:30
Thanksgiving they'll have like random
4:31
cousins that are like so I have this
4:33
idea that I think you should fund do you
4:36
experience anything you make it that way
4:38
not really because my family which is
4:41
probably the thing I'm most grateful for
4:42
I haven't they don't treat me any
4:44
different so when I go home I have to
4:46
take the trash out okay same thing you
4:48
know like I'll go home I'll go to my
4:50
aunt's house and you know I'm helping
4:52
out and she's I'm babysitting my nephew
4:54
I'm you know it's all regular stuff that
4:55
I was doing before babysitting yeah oh
4:58
yeah they don't they don't really play
4:59
the Hollywood stuff it's it's like
5:01
they're so far you know they're like 5
5:02
000 miles away yeah for them it's just
5:04
something you kind of see on TV and make
5:07
fun of on TV you know so if I come home
5:09
and try to be that way at Hollywood it's
5:11
getting stopped dude look at you you're
5:13
Bollywood yeah you know yeah yeah yeah
5:15
it's funny though than that how do
5:16
introverts operate in Hollywood I mean
5:19
you chose the profession yeah I know
5:21
okay all right you know the lines you
5:23
got to go to work but you have to
5:25
promote and come out to places like this
5:27
red carpets and girls and all kind of
5:29
stuff how does that work for you for me
5:31
I mean I say no I say no I'm very picky
5:34
I'm very careful I you know I've tried
5:36
to
5:37
um because I know what it would do to me
5:39
if I was out constantly and yeah and
5:41
stuff I'd be I wouldn't be able to do my
5:42
job be a mess you know I mean so you you
5:44
try and protect yourself as much as
5:45
possible but you also know the game and
5:47
you know that you know things need to be
5:49
promoted and you want people to watch
5:50
and so
5:51
um I'm just very careful with what I
5:52
choose and the rest is just keeping
5:54
really good people around me Dia was my
5:56
Barber and also one of my best friends
5:58
so nice
5:59
um again I have so many people that keep
6:02
me humble and which I'm very grateful
6:03
for so he killing your haircut
6:06
yo he killed no no I mean kill him in a
6:08
good way the haircut looks great I ain't
6:10
saying you're killing the haircut I can
6:12
see the line you killed it yeah that's
6:14
what I'm saying
6:15
um uh Daniel Ezra is here we're talking
6:17
about all American
6:19
um season five have you been able to
6:21
make friends with Taye Diggs yeah yeah
6:24
he's like my drunk uncle
6:32
yeah he's he's really that funny like in
6:35
real life as you know and so we're
6:37
always cracking jokes we're always
6:38
playing pranks and you know our trailers
6:40
are next to each other so we have this
6:42
running thing of trying to like scare
6:43
each other and So like
6:46
um one time I was you know getting ready
6:48
for a scene and you know I was getting
6:50
ready and he could hear me like moving
6:52
around going over lines in my trailer
6:53
and he just banged really hard on the
6:55
war scared the [ __ ] out of me like he
6:57
was crazy and so we just were always
6:59
pranking each other we're always scaring
7:00
each other jumping out from corners and
7:03
yeah we have we have so much fun
7:05
Korean Grimes is my cousin really yeah
7:08
creams is everyone's cousin
7:11
oh he's really my cousin okay he's he
7:14
he's like the mayor he every knows
7:16
everyone you go out with Kareem in your
7:18
shaking hands with everyone yeah he is
7:20
yeah he's good people he uh you know we
7:22
uh we work out together and we hang out
7:24
together and he's introduced me to a lot
7:26
of other La people yeah I love Kareem
7:29
he's been one of the the best additions
7:31
and sort of assets to the show we have
7:33
he kind of took us through the um
7:36
the storyline with sort of like the
7:37
gangs and when uh Coop got into it with
7:39
the Bloods and stuff he really anchored
7:41
that storyline and so
7:43
um and into watching his character go
7:45
from that to now working at South
7:46
credential height and being
7:49
um a teacher and a tutor and being able
7:51
to connect with the students that in a
7:53
way that no other teachers could was a
7:55
really important storyline that we did
7:57
and he killed it he killed the man um
8:00
Daniel Ezra is here and um you mentioned
8:02
when we were talking about homecoming
8:04
that that was your first introduction
8:06
which is the spin-off to All American to
8:08
HBCU campus life right yes and they
8:12
don't have hbcus in the UK no HBCU is a
8:15
brand new thing to me really it was yeah
8:17
I was Jeffrey was telling me because she
8:18
went to Clark Atlanta and so she was
8:20
telling all about the divine nine and
8:22
all these things and it blew my mind I
8:24
yeah I never heard anything like that
8:26
what if they did how you think it'd
8:28
impact you know black folks in the UK I
8:30
think there'd be a
8:32
I think it would be good for them I
8:33
think it would you know a deeper sense
8:35
of Pride black force in UK are you know
8:37
very prideful and very um strong and and
8:39
together and powerful and there's a
8:41
beautiful thing happening now especially
8:43
in the UK rap scene of a lot of young
8:45
black artists coming together and
8:48
um showing love to each other and
8:49
there's a lot less
8:50
antagonism and beef now and there's a
8:52
lot more collaboration and so I feel
8:54
like a hvcu would only expand right in
8:57
it yeah it'd be great that's interesting
8:58
that's that's happening is that like on
9:00
a is that widely known that black
9:03
artists are galvanizing down in the UK
9:05
yeah I mean we're just you know the past
9:07
events of the last few years with social
9:09
media and Technology now when things
9:11
happen in like in the US we feel it in
9:13
the UK okay you know it's not like it's
9:16
not like we have to wait weeks for this
9:17
information when the George Floyd things
9:18
was happening we could watch those
9:21
videos almost like we would we were
9:22
there and so it galvanized a lot of
9:26
people and you know there's differences
9:28
but there's a lot of similarities and
9:30
there's a lot of connections and so I
9:31
think just coming off the back of that
9:33
through you know music which is our most
9:36
arguably one of our most powerful art
9:37
forms within like culture and Black
9:39
Culture specifically
9:41
um you just saw a lot of artists it
9:44
became more about Brotherhood as opposed
9:46
to beef and I'm better than you and I'm
9:48
you know there's still that sense of
9:49
competition because it's still it's
9:50
hip-hop at the end of the day you can't
9:51
really have it without
9:57
but underneath it or there's a sense of
10:00
um camaraderie and brothership that
10:02
you're seeing it with a lot of these
10:03
artists like stormzy uh I don't know if
10:05
you know storms he's kind of he just
10:07
released like a seven minute monster
10:08
where he and he basically brought like
10:10
Legends of like UK Black Culture
10:12
together in this epic video when
10:13
everyone was dressed in white and it was
10:15
it was very very cool and so inspiring
10:17
and and it was um
10:19
it was a powerful thing and you're
10:21
seeing a lot of people kind of uh move
10:23
into that lane now I love it me too man
10:26
that deserves a man but I'm gonna give
10:28
that a round of applause stormzy I mean
10:30
somebody I respect holy mm-hmm
10:32
thoroughly I think he's uh I think he's
10:35
a superb EMC yeah I think he represents
10:39
you I've learned a lot about UK culture
10:41
just through watching his music over the
10:42
years I got a chance to interview him
10:44
once on the red carpet at the uh
10:47
um European music awards for MTV back in
10:49
the day and not well a couple years ago
10:51
and then he's been on this show right so
10:52
when he came to town so who are some of
10:55
those other upcoming artists that you
10:56
take note to out of the UK
10:59
um I mean it's not upcoming he's a
11:00
legend to uh Kano Kano yeah Kano who
11:03
stars in Top way
11:06
for me if I had to pick a favorite UK
11:09
rapid BM and a similar thing you know
11:10
his his last album was was all about
11:13
um
11:14
it's almost like a Battle Cry to Young
11:17
Brothers to kind of talk to each other
11:19
and reach out to each other and be there
11:21
for each other and you know again he
11:23
grew up in the London Grime scene
11:27
um where it was very you know quite
11:28
dangerous and uncomfortable and to see
11:31
someone like him get older and look back
11:32
it's like all right all that's done now
11:34
now we're about uh Unity right unit yeah
11:37
salute to the UK man get him a round of
11:40
applies man you you got the juice now
11:42
yeah yeah I used to go over there and
11:45
hang out with Dizzy Rascal good friend
11:46
of mine I think he's a pillar in the
11:48
game and he was one of the first to
11:50
really bring the UK to the world through
11:52
rap you know and wait in the corner boy
11:55
in the corner yeah in the corner so he
11:57
always has to be mentioned Daniel I want
11:59
to um before you go we got this thing
12:01
called the mystery sack mystery sex
12:03
mystery side sounds sexual that's how
12:06
you took it
12:12
ain't nothing sexual about it but the
12:15
intro is a little sexual now go ahead
12:17
let's hear it
12:18
go ahead and reach in dig deep dig deep
12:24
put your hands into sway sack that
12:27
sounds gross it sways mystery sack
12:32
unshade 45.
12:34
[Music]
12:37
[Applause]
12:45
one at a time read them out loud and you
12:48
have to answer honestly oh this is
12:50
terrifying yeah it should be foreign
12:58
it's gonna make you a better person okay
13:01
who has the coolest home in Hollywood
13:04
that that person I know
13:07
Monet who is uh plays Tay's wife oh sure
13:11
yes that's what's dope yeah okay she had
13:14
a dinner at her spot and it was crazy in
13:16
these trees and yeah views the whole
13:18
nine yeah everything she's amazing too
13:20
she's cool wow okay so everyone's yeah
13:22
everyone's fun on all right that's
13:24
that's easy okay that was an easy one
13:26
that's easy this is just by the way this
13:28
is from our audience so though okay
13:32
what's one thing about your job that
13:35
annoys you
13:38
um
13:39
probably the early mornings the early
13:41
morning yeah that's how early last week
13:42
my quote like I was up at 3am oh gosh
13:45
and I got to I got to work and it was
13:47
still dark and it's like it's depressing
13:48
getting to like waking up and getting to
13:50
work and I think we shot the first scene
13:52
before it was light outside wow and I'm
13:54
not a morning person I'm very nocturnal
13:56
I like to you know I kind of come alive
13:57
at night time so a nocturnal introvert
14:00
a dichotomy all right a little cocoon
14:04
[Laughter]
14:08
this is easy okay okay
14:10
this dude is really nervous Tracy hold
14:12
his hand you got this oh okay
14:16
oh it's a good one what's been the most
14:18
definitive moment in your career
14:20
and what did you eat the day
14:23
man definitive definitive Definitive
14:27
um
14:28
it's probably gotta be
14:31
so uh in school there's a legendary sort
14:35
of uh actor called Adrian Lester okay
14:38
um I don't know if you're not sure
14:39
called hustle it was yes yes so he was
14:41
in that and he's one of our best and
14:44
biggest sort of British black theater
14:45
actors to do the legend seen him do
14:47
Shakespeare is is mind-blowing and um I
14:52
played
14:53
Othello in my second year of theater
14:56
school at the same time he was playing
14:58
Othello at the Royal National Theater in
15:01
London which is the biggest one yeah
15:03
he's from my City Birmingham I dm'd him
15:07
on Twitter just to let him know not
15:08
expecting nothing not only did he
15:10
respond but he said come and meet me
15:12
uh at the theater and so we met and he
15:16
showed me his notebook about the
15:17
character and we sort of talked about I
15:18
was a 19 second year data student had
15:21
just dreams of being an actor and stuff
15:23
and he took the time out to kind of sit
15:25
with me and talk about like life and the
15:27
role and everything and then two years
15:29
later I played his son on a TV show wow
15:32
wow that's beautiful yeah there's
15:34
notebook that's like giving you Here
15:37
lyrics yeah that's a rapper yeah it was
15:40
crazy and yeah two years after that I
15:41
played his son and and he remembered and
15:43
he sort of became a mentor for me after
15:45
that
15:47
um and yeah and that was yeah that was
15:49
probably the most like what'd you eat
15:50
that day what did I eat that day most
15:53
likely cereal okay
15:59
yeah I don't think my diet was as good
16:01
as it is now back then so yeah probably
16:03
cereal or something like that okay I
16:05
added a real quick question to the
16:06
mystery set because I just think there's
16:08
such a funny irony that a British actor
16:10
is playing in a series called
16:11
All-American and there's just so many
16:13
Great British actors that kill it with
16:15
the changing their accents whether it's
16:17
Daniel Kalua whether it's damson Idris
16:19
who are some Americans that you think
16:21
killed the UK accent
16:24
um because I don't be hearing I think I
16:25
think Robert Downey Jr played Sherlock
16:27
Holmes I killed and the thing with that
16:30
is that was tough Sherlock Holmes is
16:31
like James Martin that's a British
16:33
cultural icon you know um and so for him
16:37
for an American to do that was Brave and
16:39
did it so well
16:40
um so I think that was a really good job
16:42
um Denzel did a Shakespeare he did much
16:44
to do about nothing yeah and killed him
16:46
I mean he can do everything so
16:48
um he just did Othello too didn't he
16:50
yeah yeah
16:54
so I think those two those who kind of
16:57
first came to mind yeah when I see it
16:59
but I mean I've been out here and I've
17:00
had some really good British accents
17:02
from from the Americans out here really
17:04
I yeah
17:06
you know you know I think it is it's
17:09
it's we grew up I grew up on American TV
17:11
yeah so American accent's been in my ear
17:13
since I was a kid I grew up on like
17:14
Fresh Prince and my wife and kids and
17:16
moisha and all that stuff so so I think
17:19
it's it was easier for us to kind of
17:22
take to it because we've it's been in
17:23
our air for so long
17:34
everything right
17:36
um let me before you go and Heather I
17:38
know you got to go to Urban view you can
17:39
hit her directly at the happy hour whp
17:42
nice to meet you nice to meet you okay
17:43
thank you Mike shout out to your people
17:45
your brother and everybody thank you
17:46
very much why don't you bring us home
17:48
yeah yes
17:51
um one all-americ's my favorite show
17:52
thank you so much um I actually talk
17:54
about it very often
17:56
um very frequently uh I pull a lot of
17:58
you guys do a lot of a great job with
18:00
the social constructs uh Society I think
18:02
you guys doing really really well um but
18:04
the question I have for you is clearly
18:06
I'm hearing your training and your
18:07
thespian in theater school you're an
18:09
incredible actor I've always been
18:11
impressed by the news I've always known
18:13
that you were British even when I saw
18:14
the show I knew about you your ability
18:17
to get the Nuance of an individual from
18:19
South Central is so spot on and how you
18:22
do it were you able to draw upon
18:24
obviously you do your research I know
18:25
you do method acting the whole nine but
18:27
is there something in the united in the
18:29
UK that is very similar to something
18:31
else and so that you were able to draw
18:33
upon because I think there's some things
18:35
that you do that you just can't study uh
18:37
right yeah it comes out very natural for
18:39
you certainly yeah I mean that was
18:41
fortunately for me even though this
18:42
character was uh from a different world
18:45
you know I needed a different accent a
18:47
new sport it was a different culture
18:49
there was so much I could relate to his
18:52
life that you know there's a scene in
18:54
the show where um uh Billy Baker feels
18:58
bad for Spencer that he can't keep up
18:59
with his uh friends yeah like you know
19:02
their partying enough this money so he
19:03
gives he gives him some money and it's
19:05
like no no he's you know he's prideful
19:07
he's like no no and he takes it and it
19:09
is you know he doesn't buy Jays he
19:10
doesn't boil out he goes and fills his
19:13
mom's fridge like I've done that I know
19:15
exactly what that feels like to to be
19:18
the um the prayer of women the bread
19:19
wouldn't be the man of the house and and
19:21
sort of think all right I would love to
19:23
go and play with this but you know
19:24
there's responsibilities and things like
19:26
that and so there were certain things
19:27
about the character that I could relate
19:28
to very almost location he made the
19:31
location irrelevant you know um but yeah
19:33
there's definitely areas
19:35
and um places around the UK that feel
19:38
similar to South Central in terms of the
19:41
uh the uh what you said about you know
19:44
the life that happens before school and
19:46
then after school and you know you who
19:48
know anything could happen before school
19:49
Anything could happen after school that
19:50
that type of feeling that type of
19:53
um that's how you learn about life you
19:54
know sort of walking the streets with
19:56
your friends getting fights be you know
19:58
I learned all that at school how to
19:59
stand up to a bully how to you know
20:01
that's all Universe you had to stand up
20:03
to a bullying School of course yeah yeah
20:05
my school was real grimy
20:07
yeah yeah but for me you know you just
20:10
once you can look them in the eye most
20:13
bullies will back down they'll back down
20:15
yeah if you can stand up to I I know I'm
20:17
gonna get beat up but you're gonna have
20:19
to come and get it like because I'm
20:21
gonna look you in the eye most people
20:22
back down they'll back down yeah Daniel
20:24
Ezra man this is awesome
20:26
um thank you for joining us today come
20:28
back of course bring George with you
20:30
Jordan's coming Jordan's bugging right
20:32
now into your family
20:36
um salute to your family you know uh for
20:38
supporting you the way that they have
20:40
yeah and I could tell by your
20:42
disposition what type of environment you
20:44
grew up with inside your homes or love
20:46
all love and we sense it right here
20:48
brother okay so much absolutely I hope
20:50
you enjoyed your time with us bro all
20:52
right thank you very much man you
20:53
already know what it is Daniel thank you
20:55
for coming by
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