Dewayne Perkins continues to make his mark on Hollywood.
A jack of all trades, Perkins is a comedian, actor, writer, and producer with an impressive and diverse resume that’s only getting longer.
Fresh off the success of The Blackening, one of the freshest and most successful horror-comedy films of the last decade, which Perkins co-wrote and starred in, the rising star is trading in the big screen for an Apple TV+ production filled to the brim with Hollywood royalty.
(Dalvin Adams)
The new series, headlined by Seth Rogen, is a comedy set in Hollywood at a major studio.
Perkins stars alongside Rogen and many others to bring the story to life, and it’s a highly relevant story, given the forever-changing nature of the business.
We hopped on a call with the hilarious and engaging Perkins, and in a wide-ranging conversation, we touched upon several things, including The Studio and so much more.
Enjoy, TV Fanatics!
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Let’s start by talking about The Studio, which is very hotly anticipated, coming out at the end of March. What drew you to that project? What about the project did you feel you wanted to be a part of?
Firstly, I think that Seth Rogen is a fantastic artist. He’s one of my favorite comedians, actors, and writers. He’s kind of been a blueprint that I’ve been following for my career because he does a lot of things that I would like to do.
So, that was primarily the biggest draw, and I’ve worked with him previously. I was a writer and did some voices on Sausage Party on Amazon, and the experience working with him was just really pleasant, and I love me a nice man.
And so I wanted to continue working within that camp. I just really love comedy. I have a deep, pure love for things that are really funny, and it was really funny. So, a combination of nice people and great material was a winning combo.
What can you share with us, if anything at all, about your character and who they will be in the series?
Yes, my character’s name is Tyler. He is the head of publicity within the studio that the show is based on. And he is, I would say, a character who just has a job and wants to keep it.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
That’s relatable, right?
Yeah, especially within these times. So yeah, there was a lot, it felt very close to myself. I understand being in spaces where you’re like, “Yeah, I’m just trying to keep my job. That’s it.”
No, I get that. When I saw the trailer and read up on the series, my first thought was, “What a timely and relevant project for right now!”
Agree.
Can you speak to that? Why do you think now is a time for a series like this?
Absolutely. In this particular time, the conversation around art and commerce is one that is very relevant.
And having that conversation around the expectation of that relationship, what that relationship looks like, and the execution of trying to exist in that relationship, I think, is something that a lot of people can find relevance in and feels universal, just with existing in a capitalistic society.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
And as it continues to get more capitalistic, seeing how that affects art and the people that are trying to make it.
Yeah, for sure. And I know you just spoke about how you’ve worked with Seth in the past, but the cast is a who’s who of Hollywood heavyweights. What was that filming experience like?
To be quite frank, pretty gag-worthy. I just kept being like, “Wow.” And I often joke about it, just like, “Wow, legend, legend, legend. And then me.” So it was very, very cool. I’m very grateful to have been able to experience working with people I have looked up to for a long time.
And to have that experience be so pleasant, to have a show that’s about big business, and some of the bad parts, and working with people who were showing me in real-time, some of the good parts was such a cool experience.
I’m very grateful to have done that and for them to have stayed so grounded and cool. I’m just obsessed with all of them.
I love that. Besides laughter, because I know it will be funny, what do you hope audiences take away from the series when they’re watching?
I think there’s something very beautiful and artful about seeing people pursuing their dreams, some of the barriers they face, and what they do to push through that is a very universal journey. And so I hope while they’re laughing, they’re also gleaning the human side of it.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
And that’s something beautiful: that combination of humor and real grounded emotions.
I wanted to talk about your comedy background. Is that something you always knew you wanted to do? Were you like, when you were younger, “I want to be a comedian.” Is that something you always felt like you had in you?
Not really. I’m a very go-with-the-flow kind of person. When I was younger, that was very much the vibe as well, where I was very open to anything that stimulated me in any way that made me want to continue doing it.
So, in high school, I started off as a football player. I was playing football, was a jock, and then I quit that because I was like, “This is so aggressive,” to join my school’s dance team then.
Because I was like, “Well,” I started taking ballet because I was told that would make me better at football. And I said, “Well, this is just more fun.”
From dance, I then found improv and sketch, took the director of my high school’s improv schedule, and also the director of the musical. So then I started doing musicals. And then that started me with performing in general. In college, I was in an acting conservatory, which was very dramatic.
And I was like, “Oh, I come from a comedy background.” So I started working at Second City, where I only started taking classes because one of my best friends was in a dance company that I was in.
She was taking a class there and was like, “Hey, you should come take a class with me. You can do comedy as well.”
(Apple TV+/Screenshot)
So, it was just something that I fell into. Then, specifically, stand-up came because I did a show in Second City in 2016 called Black Side of the Moon in DC that was half stand-up and half sketch improv. I was also involved in the sketch and improv part. But the stand-up comedians were like, “You should do stand-up.”
So then I tried stand-up for the first time when I was back in Chicago for Thanksgiving that year, and it went really well. And I thought, “Oh, this is a space where I have the most power in any kind of artistic lane that I’ve been able to occupy.” It was the best art form to really showcase me in the most unfiltered way.
And that was something that changed my career because it allowed people to see me in ways that they hadn’t before, which was as a full person. You could see that I could write, you could see that I could perform, you could see that I’m funny, you’re seeing the stories that I’m telling you, which are about my life.
I think it allowed people to see me in a way they hadn’t been able to see me before because I was stepping into lots of characters and not necessarily projecting myself. Stand-up was the art form that I felt really amplified me as Dewayne, the person.
And that changed people’s perception of me, how they were able to see me, and what I could do.
I love it.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Very grateful, very grateful to have.
I love the answer so much because I had some other questions, and you just answered them all in one big answer there. I was curious how stand-up helped you with acting or how you feel like it shaped you as an actor, which you touched upon there.
But I don’t know if you had anything to add about stand-up and how it helped you with acting.
I think stage presence and recognizing the relationship with the audience have helped me in the sense that I am very conscious that this is art that I want to be consumed by people, and if that is the case, then the people should be in mind when I’m creating art.
And so I think that has just given me a perspective of elevating my awareness and consciousness of how I want people to perceive it and receive what I’m doing, that I think gives me a greater sense of motivation and information to ground my characters in something that I feel people can actually take away with them.
So, I definitely think that it helps a lot because I don’t think performing is in a vacuum.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
I totally agree with that.
And so with stand-up, you don’t have control over who’s seeing it or who’s receiving it. So there is this idea of, “How do I create this with a universality that will connect to as many people as possible?” And that mindset I take with me to acting as well.
You’ve gotten a chance in your career thus far to do many different things. What is one role that you haven’t tackled yet that you think you’d like to?
There’s two in particular. I have a background in football, and I danced professionally for a decade. I don’t think people recognize how physical I am, and I would love to be in an action comedy or an action movie like John Wick. I think I would eat that up.
Also, I have a deep fantasy to bring back the dance movie, because I’m obsessed with dancing, and I would love to be in something like that. Lastly, I think I would really want to be a villain. I think because of comedies that translates to like, “Oh, funny, happy,” but I want to be terrible.
I want to terrorize people. I think I’d be great at that. Be a villain kind of a person.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Yeah, like an action villain. I could see that. You can combine the two.
Absolutely. That is my next goal.
I hope it works out for you.
What is your all-time favorite comfort show? I work for TV Fanatics, so we are just TV-obsessed. We watch a ton of TV, and I love to ask others this question and see what they love to watch. So, I have to know what your all-time favorite comfort show is.
Yeah, I watch a lot of television, so I think there’s a bunch of different ones, but my all-time favorite one, which I’ve watched many times and think I’m due for a re-watch, is Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It is just a show that I watched in real-time back in the day. And from season one to the last season, just the growth, the storytelling. I just think it’s a very well done show and combines with a lot of things that I enjoy. So that is very much a comfort show of mine.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
Is there anything you’ve picked up recently that you just started watching? Is there anything new out there that you’ve been enjoying?
Yes. I’ve been watching two shows. I’ve been watching The Pitt on HBO Max.
Oh, so good.
I love me a medical drama. I love that their formatting of every episode is an hour, so you can really sit in that. Love that. And then I’ve been watching Paradise on Hulu, with Sterling K. Brown. What a man.
Oh, yes.
[singing] What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man. So talented.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
And then the show itself twists and turns. I’m like, “What’s the thing next?” I think because I consume so much, I love it when something is shocking and surprising, and I can’t anticipate what is next because, as a writer, that’s how my brain works.
I’m looking at the patterns. I’m looking to see, like, “Okay, what are they doing with the power? Just turn that part off?” So, a show that forces me to? Obsessed.
Absolutely.
Paradise simply does that.
(Courtesy of Apple TV+)
We’ve edited this interview for length and clarity.
Perkins was such a delight, and The Studio is poised to be another hit series for Apple TV+.
Share all your thoughts about this interview in the comments below!
The Studio premieres on Apple TV+ on March 26th.
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