Marcus Scribner was made for his role as Andre Johnson Jr. in ABC’s hit series “Black-ish.”
Anthony Anderson, Kenya Barris, and then-executive producer Larry Wilmore knew this in 2014 when Scribner thought he could connect with the Los Angeles, California, natives by shouting “WEST COAST REPRESENT!” during his audition.
The 16-year-old confessed that he thought he was being cool, but flexing his hometown pride actually just came off as nerd-trying-to-be-cool, which was something Andre would definitely do.
“We definitely have our similarities,” Scribner told The Huffington Post of his character. “We love video games, we love superheroes, some of those kind of things that are classic ‘nerd’ kind of things. At the same time, we’re very different. I feel like I’m not as clumsy or gullible as Andre Jr. but that’s what also makes him so fun to play because it’s like a different character. It’s somebody you don’t get to experience on the daily basis.”
As “Black-ish” goes into its third season, premiering Sept. 21, Scribner said audiences have seen Junior (and himself) develop but, one thing remains the same, black nerds are missing from television.
“There are families like the Johnsons that exists in real life and it’s like a large part of our population, so why not show that on television instead of the stereotypical roles they would cast black people in,” the actor told HuffPost. “I mean, obviously, there are those positive roles, there are those nerdy roles but there’s not a lot of representation of that on television. So I feel like just getting to be a part of a show that actually is about it is a blessing.”
And Scribner’s blessing seems to have made an impact on the show’s viewers, too. With episodes like “Hope,” which painted an accurate picture of the harsh realities black families face when confronted with the issue of police brutality, shows that the comedic series is in a league of its own.
The young actor said talking real social issues is what makes “Black-ish” so special, and it has racked up three Emmy nominations this year: one for Outstanding Comedy Series, one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a comedy series (Anthony Anderson) and one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series (Tracee Ellis Ross, the first black woman nominated for this category in 30 years).
Scribner said he’s proud of how the show proves that black people aren’t one-dimensional. Through his character, audiences see a clumsy teen who’d rather play video games and referee than be on the basketball court shooting jumpers. Andre is the anti-hypermasculine young black male that TV doesn’t always show audiences.
“I definitely want to [have] a super positive impact... making sure that nerds, black nerds in specific, are being represented on television. Cause I mean, to be honest, there’s just a ton of us out here,” he told HuffPost. He added that shows like “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Bernie Mac Show” helped to put on black nerds, but he said he’s looking forward to making the black boy nerd more visible, notably in his latest movie role as a coder in “Alexander IRL.”
While he’s holding it down for the “blerds” in “Black-ish,” he wants to make one thing clear for Hollywood show-runners:
“We out here!”
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