Tony Rock – All Of Us

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I’m in the airport heading to New Orleans to perform for Comic Relief.

Q.  You’ve been working also on the show “All Of Us.”  What can you tell us about what’s new with the season and with your character?

A.  Last year my character, Dirk, found out he had a fourteen year old daughter.  It picks up this year with my character facing all of the challenges of raising a teenage girl.  It’s going to be a big transition from being a player to being a father.

Q.  What originally made you want to be a part of the show?

A.  The show really found me, I was in LA doing standup and grinding away on that circuit hoping for something to come my way.  The casting director of the show saw me doing standup and thought I’d be a perfect fit for the character.  I went in and auditioned with everybody.  I was lucky enough to get the part!

Q.  What is it about your role as Dirk that really continues to challenge you?

A.  He’s a wild guy, he’s very opinionated, says whatever he wants to say whenever he wants to say it.  He has no regard for what people think and I wish I could be a little bit more like that in my real life.  But, I’m kind of more reserved so it’s kind of cool to step outside of my little box and be a wild guy for a little while.

Q.  The show certainly has a lot of comedy aspects to it and you’ve done standup comedy.  Does comedic timing come naturally to you or have you been constantly working at it?

A.  It’s something that’s come natural, it’s kind of like the way I talk.  When I talk to my friends, I just have that timing when I want to say something funny.  So, it really works out when the writers write something that is for me to say, they don’t really have to worry about me delivering it directly because I kind of always talk like that. 

Q.  Do you have a really memorable moment from filming on the show?

A.  It would probably be the episode that Will Smith directed.  He’s the executive producer for the show and he wanted to direct an episode.  Last season he directed an episode and that was really cool.  It got a lot of press and a lot of TV coverage and news coverage.  I think it really helped the show.

Q.  What is it about the show that continues to draw viewers in?

A.  It’s a couple that’s divorced that has a working relationship for the sake of their son.  That’s the reality of today’s society, a lot of people aren’t in traditional families with a mom and a dad.  They share time, they spend separate time with their mother and father.  So, it’s a real show and I think people, including the Black community, can relate to it. 

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  I like to play basketball, I like to box, I like to hang out with my boys or just with a special young lady. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular activity, book, music group or sport?

A.  I’m reading the book Pryor Convictions, Richard Pryor’s book.  It’s out of print so I had to actually find it on Ebay and bid for it.  I enjoy reading that and I just got back into the ring.  I used to box when I was younger, my older brother used to take me to the gym when I was younger.  I just got back into the gym because I have some spare time in LA when I’m not doing standup. 

Q.  What is it about standup comedy that you were really drawn to?

A.  It’s the truest art form there is.  You go on stage every night in front of a room full of strangers.  It’s jokes that you wrote and it’s the truest art form in my opinion.

Q.  What would you like to say to the fans and supporters of the show?

A.  Thank you for keeping a brother employed!