You can feel the excitement oozing off of Bell and McIntyre while on set; there’s a juvenile joy in the air between each take. They’re having the time of their lives. But best believe, they are not taking this opportunity lightly; they both understand the honor it is to join such a longstanding Black production.
“We’ve lost Snowfall, and Power Book II: Ghost [just ended],” Bell says, “So for me, this is one of those last classic Black [dramas], which I’m just so grateful to be here for. I think all of the cast, especially the newcomers, we know the responsibility. This is a beloved show. So we come in every day and we’re trying to do great work, because we know the shoes that we’re filling are pretty big.”
This level of commitment is exactly why Okoro Carroll was so particular about finding her new leading man, who she found in McIntyre. “I was looking for a new hero that we could really root for whose dream we could believe in as much as we wanted Spencer’s dream for him,” she says.
“Nathaniel McIntyre, he’s a star,” she continues. “And in addition to his killer, thousand-watt smile, he’s just a really great actor, a really hard worker. He had that special something where I’m like, ‘I’m rooting for you already, and I barely know you, and I’m writing these characters.’ I literally sat there in his audition and I just kept writing down on my pad, ‘I’m rooting for him, I’m rooting for him,’ which was the thing we were looking for.”
Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker, Nathaniel Logan McIntyre as KJ, and Osy Ikhile as Cassius in All American season 7Troy Harvey
This is McIntyre’s first big role, and it’s the moment he’s been waiting for. “I think one of my biggest goals as an actor is to inspire people who look like me,” he says. “Telling these stories, to learn from these characters because they’re real characters who go through real struggles concerning our people. I would’ve never imagined I would be on All American, this awesome show, and to be a lead at that. So I just hope [people are] inspired by this.”
