“P-Valley” star Nicco Annan was no stranger to Katori Hall’s play when signing on to star in the Starz TV series adaptation as Uncle Clifford, but he says the role in the show has allowed him to explore emotions and spaces that aren’t always afforded to Black men.
“Uncle Clifford can be so much to some and still so pure,” Annan told TheWrap’s Elijah Gil on The Impact Report. “I know that we don’t always have space where we can be vulnerable and be transparent, even on camera just as an actor to be able to be in this Black body, this chocolate body and be pensive.”
The role of a non-binary club owner has had a positive impact not only on those in the LGBTQ community but also those who perpetrate violence against LGBTQ people.
“The perpetrators, they have come to me,” he said. “For whatever reason, I haven’t had to seek them out. That is a blessing. That is also rare. What I’m experiencing is completely rare, it is not the norm.”
Annan discussed the empathy that his character provides to those who have been bigoted against LGBTQ people in the past.
“They quantify it and say, ‘You know I watch the show with my girl,’ and I love that too because it’s a family affair,” he said of those who approach him. “This brother said to me, ‘I used to beat up on people like you.’ And he said, ‘I never thought about their family.’ He was talking to Uncle Clifford in his head, he said, ‘I see you, but I never thought that you had a family, the person that I shot at.’ That told me that the charge that I have playing this role, it told me how much of a difference [we’re making].”
See the full conversation in the video above.
