Asante Blackk – This Is Us

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) It’s just been a lot of speculative projects that are coming up, but nothing concrete yet.

Q) How was Malik originally described to you?

A) Good question. He was described as a young teen father who would be a part of the three new storylines introduced in the first episode and he would have a big impact on Deja’s (Lyric Ross) life. That is really all they told me in the beginning because they didn’t want to give too much away, of course. But then after the chemistry read, they told me everything and I was completely sold.

Q) Talk about your audition process for “This Is Us.”

A) My first audition was a self-tape. A couple of days after that they asked me to come to LA to do a chemistry read with Lyric, which was so crazy because I’m a huge fan of the show from when it started. When Lyric came on the show in the second season, I was watching it with one of my acting friends (who I analyze performances with all the time) and our jaws just dropped. It was like, “Yo! Who is this girl?! She is really, really good!” So, it was crazy getting to go to that chemistry read and getting to read with Lyric. Lyric is just absolutely amazing and we just clicked right off the bat as far as chemistry. Right after that read they literally told me they wanted me to play Malik, which is the quickest audition process I’ve ever had. So, it was amazing!

Q) What is it about Deja that makes Malik so crazy about her?

A) I think it’s the fact that she’s an old soul. He sees her as very, very mature, which is attractive to Malik because he also had to be mature very quickly given the circumstances of having a kid. He sees her as someone very mature and just a good person and a really fun person to be around. She is someone who gives him that sense of still being a kid because he’s had to grow up so fast that he doesn’t really have the time to do all the things his other friends do. Even though he has amazing support from his parents who are willing to watch their granddaughter sometimes, that’s a lot of weight for a young man to have to take care of a kid. I think it’s there is a sense of security, in a way, from Deja but also, it’s that sense of freedom of being able to just fall in love and have fun.

Q) What kind of information were you given about his past relationship with the mother of his child?

A) There is actually only a tiny bit of backstory that Malik’s ex-girlfriend wanted to put the baby up for adoption and Malik and his parents didn’t want that. That was really it. I think this season they are going to dive more into it or in the upcoming seasons. All I knew was that Jennifer, Malik’s ex-girlfriend, moved to Georgia after everything happened. It seems like it had a big effect on her and her family to the point where she moved schools and went to live with her aunt. So, it seems that things didn’t end very well for them. So, I’m excited to explore them in the future.

Q) Malik’s parents are very supportive and helpful when it comes to the baby. What does that mean to Malik?

A) It means the world. It means the world because there are many, many cases where you see a young father or a young mother where the parents are always reprimanding them like, “You should have never been doing this in the first place.” I’m sure that Malik’s parents have had their moments of bitterness, maybe, but just the fact they are there and show support their son and really love him to the point where they are willing to give up a part of themselves to be there for him and for their granddaughter means the world. He made a mistake, but it seems like he’s on the more fortunate side of the mistake, which a lot of people can’t say. It just absolutely means the world to him.

Q) We saw in the season premiere that Malik was looking to make more money to help support his daughter. How will this play out in the rest of the season?

A) It’s definitely something that is constantly on his mind as far as ways to support his daughter. Even though his parents are supportive, he does not want to put that burden on them because he knows this is of his doing and he wants to kind of step up and really be a man at too young of an age, but he really has to because of the circumstances. So, it’s definitely something that is very much on his mind. That is really something that I think we’ll explore later in the show.

Q) While Malik’s parents are more open minded to him dating Deja we know that the Pearsons aren’t as warm and friendly. How far will Malik go to get their approval?

A) [laughs] You kind of already see it in what you saw last episode where Malik is just fully advocating for Deja and kind of standing up to Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson) in a way. Not necessarily being disrespectful, but just truly advocating for her because you can tell he really likes her a lot. He really does have interest in this girl. He may even love her. Malik might not admit it to himself yet, but I think that he very much does that. You’ll definitely start to see a lot more of him going to great lengths for Deja and just to prove to the Pearsons…Like he said to Deja in the park, he doesn’t have game. He truly just likes Deja and is here for her.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moments so far from filming “This Is Us?”

A) I think definitely getting to those very, very vulnerable monologues Malik and Deja give each other in the park where Deja goes first and just simply says, “You give me butterflies. I don’t know if I can trust you and I have plans for my life.” It takes a lot of guts for someone so young to be able to say something like that. And Malik comes right back at her saying he truly only has the best intentions and that he really, really likes her. I think that was a very beautiful moment simply because, first of all, Lyric is an amazing and outstanding actor. She is just such a great scene partner and I’m so happy to have her as a scene partner because it makes my job a lot easier. But those scenes with such vulnerability, you don’t see that a lot on TV with such young characters. So, I think it was something that was absolutely amazing to see in real time. It was very refreshing to see these two young lovebirds put their heart on their sleeve and tell each other how they felt and come to a conclusion that they still want to be together. It was beautiful to watch the performance in real life.

Q) As of now Malik has only met Randall and Beth from the Pearson family. Are you looking forward to sharing scenes with any other series stars?

A) Interesting. I am sure it will happen, but I’m not sure when exactly. But I’m sure it is going to be absolutely amazing when Malik meets Rebecca (Mandy Moore). I think that’s going to be very, very interesting. It hasn’t happened yet, but I think it will be very interesting. Of course, I’ve met Mandy and she is so nice, but I think that she is so good at what she does. It’s crazy because I’ve been doing a lot of interviews and I’ve been saying the cast is so good at what they do. Everybody in this cast is just absolutely amazing! We were doing a panel and Kenya Barris (the creator “black-ish”) was the moderator. She was like, “It’s kind of unfair the level of talent that you guys have. It’s kind of like the ’95 Bulls with Michael Jordan and his team.” It’s just truly amazing! I’m blessed to be a part of something that is so profound and so rich in actors and in writing and characters because everybody is so good at what they do.

Q) You are a part of social media. What has the fan response been like about your role on the show?

A) It’s so crazy because the first episode they were literally split in half. Some people were like, “That’s so cute!” Other people were like, “That boy with that daughter better stay away from Deja!” [laughs] It is very reassuring to see that after this last episode that everyone, for the most part, warms up to Malik which is absolutely amazing. There might be some problems, but I’m so glad that people are warming up to him and are invested in this young love story now. They are getting to literally see a love story from the time that it started and grow until the end. It’s going to be an absolutely amazing journey and I’m sure that people are excited to see where it goes.

Q) What else would you like us to be sure we share with our readers about your time on this incredible series?

A) I’ve said this before, but I think that when a show has been running for so long and it already has an established cast it’s hard to kind of be a newcomer and be a big part of a story in a cast that is so big, but also that already has that bond. It’s just absolutely amazing the “This Is Us” cast welcomed me as family. I already feel like they are a part of my extended family. They are all so amazing. But it also translates to the fans. You guys didn’t have to accept Malik at all. You guys could have been like, “We want our regular old Pearsons and that’s it.” Just the love and the reception from the fans is absolutely amazing. So, I thank the fans for allowing me to join the Pearson family in such a graceful way.”