← Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Straight Shooter with Stephen A.
Interview Only: Actor Anthony Anderson hypes new barbecue brand gives healthy advice and battles mercenaries.
00:34:26
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- [00:00]
Stephen A. Smith
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- [00:36]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [01:08]
Stephen A. Smith
My next guest is starring in the new prime video original movie G20, streaming on April 10th. He's perhaps best known for his role as Andre Johnson on a hit ABC sitcom, Blackish. I know him from a whole bunch of movies, not to mention Law and Order. One of the great, great actors of our time, as far as I'm concerned. Please welcome Emmy Golden Globe nominated actor, the one and only Anthony Anderson to the house. What up, Fred? What up, double A? How you doing, bro? How's everything?
- [01:42]
Anthony Anderson
Everything is going good, baby. My. Hey, my system is falling apart on me, Steve. My bad, baby. My bad.
- [01:48]
Stephen A. Smith
You can handle it. You can handle it. It's all good, man. Let's get right into it because I want to have. I want to get into this before you get cut off with your damn electronic ass self. I mean electronic inhibited stuff. I don't know what technological inhibitor. Listen, this film looks like a wild ride. In it, you star alongside the great Viola Davis and your daughter from black is Marcia Martin. Explain the premise in your character, please.
- [02:12]
Anthony Anderson
Well, you know what? I'm the first man you know. Viola Davis is the President of the United States. I'm her husband and I'm the first man of the United States, man. So that's my character.
- [02:24]
Stephen A. Smith
Now listen, I know you personally. You're a friend of mine. I got mad love for you. You as the first man thinking about the power of the presidency. Well, the presidency is under a microscope. The first man might be a little bit different. Not so much. What kind of nonsense did you get yourself into as the first man, I mean, what kind of ideas were you throwing out there? Because I can only imagine.
- [02:46]
Anthony Anderson
Well, you know what man? As, as the first man, like most first ladies, our voice really isn't heard that much. But we had a great time. You know, I'm there supporting Viola's character, supporting our family. You know, I'm a stay at home dad, ex military, married to the President of the United States, who happens to go over to Cape town for the G20 World Summit and it happens to be attacked by terrorists. And we have a great time doing it, man. We kick a lot of butt, get a lot of butt kick. We're both ex military in this film, so it makes sense for us to do what we're doing. And it's action packed and it's fun.
- [03:29]
Stephen A. Smith
Filled, so it's action packed. But it's not, it's not comedic. I mean, because it's you. I mean anytime we see you, you're making us laugh. It's not comedic.
- [03:37]
Anthony Anderson
No, no, not, not comedic at all. They may, there may be some comedic elements here and there, but, but definitely not a comedy. You know, we, we may have a joke or two to add some levity, but it's, this is serious business. See, this is serious business, man.
- [03:53]
Stephen A. Smith
So as, as, as the first man, I mean as you imagine a man being in the rent you to his woman. As black men, we know that's, that's, that, that's just figure because we all know that, listen, 95 of the time the women are getting what the hell they want. The 5% of the time, as Chris Rock would say, give us the big piece of chicken. I mean, our rights are very, very limited when it comes to our black women. So I want to know what kind was that part of, was that a part of the character that was portrayed by you and obviously by Viola Davis at all? She's in charge.
- [04:25]
Anthony Anderson
I mean, she's in charge. And for some reason on repeat, Beyonce's song was playing. We won the world, we run the world. And so that was just, I was just playing all day for six months in Cape Town, South Africa, man. So I just had to fall in line, Steven. I just had to fall in line and play my position, as we all do.
- [04:46]
Stephen A. Smith
When you think about what you've done in your career, comedic and obviously some serious roles, watching you in Law and Order and various other roles at this point in time of your career, what do you enjoy most?
- [04:59]
Anthony Anderson
You know, one, I enjoy going to work. You know, this is something that I've always wanted to do since I was 9 years old. And I've been blessed with the gift. I don't call it a talent, I call it a gift. And it's my responsibility to share this gift that I've been blessed with with the world. So, first and foremost, going to work, getting to do what I do, but then getting to work with people like Viola Davis, Anthony Starks, you know, Marcie Martin, and just the luminaries that I've been able to work with over the years in my career, that's what drives me and that's what satisfies me in this hunger that I have as an actor, getting up and going to work and gracing the stage and gracing the screen with some of our elite.
- [05:48]
Stephen A. Smith
So I'm looking at it from that standpoint. And, you know, you talk about the work and obviously, in this day and age, if you working, you living good. Because Lord knows there's. There's not enough people that's working in this day and age and what have you. As you think about what's going on, again, the first man in this film, Viola Davis, is the President. G20 coming out April 10th. I'm thinking about the climate, the times that we're living in. How much did that play a role in, A, in your willingness to accept such a role, and B, in what you guys actually did for, for. For the project itself. How much does the present administration or the present political climate play a role in all of that?
- [06:33]
Anthony Anderson
I'll answer the former, then the latter. You know, while we were filming this, this was over a year ago, so, you know, Vice President Kamala Harris was. Was vying for the. For the office herself. Right. And, you know, we thought this, you know, we thought we were hoping that she would be in office that, you know, would. Would resonate with an audience, you know, while we were making this film. But given the current political climate and the new administration of the new administrators that are in office right now, I think that's going to drive people to see this movie and gives it a set of. Of legs and a set of eyes that we probably wouldn't have had on it to begin with, having Viola Davis as an African American woman being president of the United States and running things the way that we would hope and want this administration to run these things. So I think it's a great juxtaposition of what's happening in real life and working parallel with what's going on in this film that we're doing.
- [07:41]
Stephen A. Smith
This administration has called out George Clooney and numerous other contemporaries in your industry for things that have been said, manners in which the President has been portrayed, et cetera, et cetera. And one would surmise that at some point in time, folks in Hollywood may feel a bit compelled to be careful about what they do and how they do it, in an effort to be as real and as authentic to their craft as they could possibly be, while not provoking the ire of politicians in this day and age, particularly doing a show of this nature. Is that something that entered your mind of Viola Davis's mind at all? Or is it about I don't give a damn? I'm Anthony Anderson, and this is the role that it calls for me to play. And I'm going to do what I do.
- [08:32]
Anthony Anderson
You know, I can't speak for Viola. I can only speak for myself. But, you know, we have our First Amendment right, you know, to free speech, and we have our own opinions about the world in which we live. And, you know, as long as I can be my authentic self, live in my truth, and speak my truth from my position and my perspective, I want people to respect that, just like I would respect their position and their perspective. It's not about what I'm me. I'm Anthony Anderson, and this is what I say, and this is how I'm going to live, and this is what I'm going to do. We also have to be conscious of what it is that we say and how it may not only affect our livelihood, but how it may affect the people that are part of what it is that we do. But we also have to be informed about the things that we are going to say about the positions that we want to take and not just jump on a bandwagon. It's like, oh, well, I heard this. We have to do the work ourselves and find out so we're not misinformed and we're spreading misinformation. And again, it's just our opinion, our individual opinions on the world in which we live and how we see it and how it's affecting us. And I think that's only fair.
- [09:56]
Stephen A. Smith
Let me go back to the film, because the film, like you articulated, was shot in Cape Town, South Africa. What is this I'm hearing about you ending up in the emergency room after a fight scene going wrong? Explain yourself, Anthony Anderson. Explain yourself. What the hell happened to you?
- [10:10]
Anthony Anderson
You know what? Some guys got a little overzealous on set, Stephen, and, you know, an accident happened. It was a fight scene. We were supposed to do some things. I was supposed to be thrown into a chair. Well, they threw me into the chair and missed it. And the arm of the chair hit me in the small of my back, and it felt as if it had touched my kidney, man. And I immediately dropped to the floor and found out that I had a deep muscle bruise that was just going to take weeks to heal from within. But one monkey don't stop no show, man. I continued throughout the night and work and ended up in the emergency room for five hours. Nothing was fractured, nothing was broken. And it just gave me a story to tell as I'm sitting here talking to you.
- [10:56]
Stephen A. Smith
I ain't mad at that. As long as you all right? I'm all right. Why Cape Town, South Africa, though? Why there?
- [11:01]
Anthony Anderson
You know, that's, you know, the G20 summit, global summit takes place all over the world. And this particular year was taking place in Cape Town. And we're in our film, so that's where. Why we decided to go there. Exotic locale. The people there were great. The production team that was there, it. I, you know, it was a beautiful thing working amongst our brothers and sisters. And in Cape Town, South Africa, bringing a production like that, this huge American production to South Africa was great for the country, was great for us. And I'm thinking about going there, buying the house, man. That's how beautiful it was. Really? Yeah. That's how welcoming it was. Yeah.
- [11:48]
Stephen A. Smith
Wow. You know, I, you know, listen, I got to get over there. I've been promising I'm gonna get over there. Well, some of my boys have asked me to come to Ghana. Somebody asked me to come to Rwanda, and obviously Cape Town and Johannesburg. That's definitely someplace I'm planning on visiting as well. I gotta ask you this. As, as. As you sit here right now doing the kind of things that you're doing, you reflect on the career that you've had. What do you miss most right now in this time in your. At this time in your life about whatever most joyous perspective that you've had in your career? What. What's missing right now, if anything at all?
- [12:28]
Anthony Anderson
Wow. Good. Great, great question, man. Great question. What's missing? I. I don't think anything is really missing. It's always about the next adventure now, you know, I had a long run with. With our television show Blackish for eight years on. On abc. I miss the family there that I built with this cast of eight years. You know, I. I watched these. These young children that we got to hand pick and be a part of our show, grow into young adults now and to Be a part of their informative lives or be an informative part of their lives. Growing up was a blessing to have children of my own and then to have the second set of children that I got to work closely with, sometimes even more intimately than my own children, because I spent so much time on set. So I won't say anything is missing from my life or my career. Career like that, but I miss those times that. That I spent on that. That set with my cast. You know, Tracy, Jennifer Lawrence and everybody. You know, it's one of the reasons Marseille Martin is in G20. You know, we were looking for a daughter, and I was like, you've got to hire Marseille, because I know what she's going to bring to this role for this. And I had a great tent. I had a great time working with her for eight years. Let's do it on the big screen.
- [14:00]
Stephen A. Smith
And why, by the way, the young lady is already an executive producer creating content and all of that stuff. She's a star. Make no mistake about it. Let's not forget in. We all love Tracy and the rest of the crew. You know, I'm thinking about that. And when you think about the Blackish family, remember when we first came. You came on first take my day job at ESPN every weekday morning from 10am to noon, and you came on first take to promote Blackish before it launched. And remember what I said to you? I said, the only thing I'm worried about is the name. Are you sure that the name ain't gonna. Ain't gonna. Ain't gonna provide an impediment to y'all success? And you were supremely confident that it would not get in the way, that if anything, y'all were gonna be able to build off of it and make it into the kind of show that it was. And lo and behold, we went from raving for decades about the Cosbys to raving about Blackish. I know you saw success coming. Did you see that?
- [15:01]
Anthony Anderson
We hoped for that, Stephen. You know, you can only dream for things like that. You know, when Kenya and I sat down and talked about what we wanted to produce for television, before we even had come up with the idea of Blackish, we were just sharing ideas about our family. And it was Kenya's idea to call it that because he said, you know what, Anthony? I feel like I went from raising a black family to a Blackish family, and called me a few weeks after and said, I got the title for our show. And, you know, a lot of people were hesitant about, you know, even tuning in to watching it because of what the name is or. And I was like, yo, that has nothing to do with the quality and the portrayal of these characters. What we were going to do. And you know, ish is adjacent to. We're not making a mockery of anything. So come watch this. And you know, the ish is now in the zeitgeist. You know, there are all kinds of issues out there that, you know, have come to light since the creation of our show. So we are happy and ecstatic about that. We were able to get two spin offs, grownish and mixed ish, on the air. That's a great time. And so for us to build that type of franchise and that family amongst the shows was just amazing for us. And that's something that we always saw, you know, we always saw that. And we took a page from Cosby, we took a page from what they did from the Cosby show and a different world and things like that. So, you know, that's where it all came from. That's where it all stemmed from.
- [16:43]
Stephen A. Smith
I love you on Black Ish. No doubt about it. As much as. And as long as we've known each other, I've never told you what your favorite role was. What was my favorite role of you, of your portrayal in this movie. Two Can Play that game. Two Can Play that Game with Morris Chestnut and Vivica Fox, man. Because, you know, it's like when I watch so many movies, right, I ain't gonna say names because I don't want to throw no shade on anybody, but I see stars and I see cats and they've got like, one of their boys that they. They tight with. But the advice is all. It's always. It's always lacking with Two Can Play that Game. You were breaking it down to Morris Chester. You were giving it to him. And I was like, take the words. I mean, it was just be. It's. It's the kind of stuff that I would say to my boys. You know what I mean? You had it like that. What was your favorite role?
- [17:42]
Anthony Anderson
You know, we'll start with that one. And I'd like to talk about play that game for a second because I watched it a few weeks ago in the middle of the night. It was like maybe 3:30 in the morning.
- [17:53]
Stephen A. Smith
Hilarious.
- [17:54]
Anthony Anderson
Through television. And it came on and I watched it in its entirety, and I had to send Vivica and Morris a text message like five in the morning. It was like, look, I know it's early. I know y'all not gonna see this no time soon. But I just watched Trooper Play that Game, and I haven't seen this movie in almost 20 years. I said, it still holds up. It's still funny. And the things that we are saying in this movie is still relevant today. And what's crazy, Stephen, is that my. My 25 year old son was going through the same thing that Morris Chestnut's character was going through just a few months ago. And he and his boy were sitting in my house, in my kitchen, and I was like, yo. I was like, yo, Nate, your boy is me in my movie. I did a movie about what you're going through right now. You're making the same mistakes that Morris Chestnut made. You need to see this movie so you can understand me, so you can understand this problem that you're going through. Stephen, he watched the movie and he was like, damn, dad, you right, man. He said, when did y'all make this movie? I said, man, almost 20 years ago, son. And everything we talk about it, it's still relevant.
- [19:04]
Stephen A. Smith
I gotta look out for your son. I gotta look out for your son right now. I gotta make sure I give you an opportunity to offset. Norris's nose was wide open. I mean, he was gone. He was gone, man. You know what I'm saying? I mean, Vivica had a whip. Now, you understand? I mean, that's what happened. You remember when you told him you were coming through the glass window and he just sitting in the way in the gym, just staring in the space and you, like, see the light, See the light, look at the light. I'm like, yo, you sure? So I want to make. I want to make sure you give your son an opportunity for Pops to help him out here. You ain't do. You ain't doing that to yourself. It wasn't like that, was it?
- [19:41]
Anthony Anderson
No. Hey, hey, hey. See, my son showed up at her house, man. I was like, son, you can't do that. Are you prepared to see what you gonna see if you show up unannounced? And my son was a man about it, and he was like, you know what, Dad? I was ready. I was ready to see whatever I needed to see, man. But I just had to go make this move. I had to do this. And I say all this to say he and his lady have a great relationship and they work through whatever it is that needed to work out. But I was like, son, you need to watch this movie next time before you go make mistakes like that.
- [20:14]
Stephen A. Smith
That's right. That's right. No question about it. So other than two can play that Game. Anything else stand out in your mind? I want to make sure. Because I know you love all the stuff that you've done, but stand. I just want to make sure.
- [20:24]
Anthony Anderson
Look here, man, the. The Departed, you know, getting to work with the cast that I got to work with, and being directed by Martin.
- [20:33]
Stephen A. Smith
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nixon. Yes.
- [20:35]
Anthony Anderson
Yeah, yeah. It just. The list goes on and on, man. Romeo must die. You know, I got to work with the great Aaliyah and Jet Li and things like that. Me, myself and Irene, Jim Carrey. I mean, yeah, I've been very fortunate in my career, Steve. So those are the ones. And look, I ain't gonna lie. I enjoy working on Kangaroo Jack, man. Kangaroo Jack. I mean, I. You know, I catch a lot of hell from behind that was. I was like, yo, I love doing Kangaroo Jack as well.
- [21:07]
Stephen A. Smith
I got you. I got you. Listen, I know you love working with the people that you work with, too. And recently I had the lovely, the incomparable. I mean, she's mama to us all, the lovely Jennifer Lewis. She was right here on this show. And, yeah, she told. She wanted to tell. She wants. She wanted to give you a couple of words. A few words. Play this, please.
- [21:28]
Anthony Anderson
Play this, please, and give Anthony, Anthony Anderson my love and tell him he's an asshole and I love him more than one.
- [21:38]
Stephen A. Smith
Make sure to do it. Can you imagine working with that fool for eight years?
- [21:43]
Anthony Anderson
Oh, my gosh.
- [21:45]
Stephen A. Smith
You did it. But you did it.
- [21:47]
Anthony Anderson
He won my heart, Anthony, so give him a big kiss. That's crazy. That's good. You know what? I don't know if she was on or off her medicine that. That day that she was on your show, but I love her nonetheless. Hey, Jennifer Lou.
- [22:06]
Stephen A. Smith
That's.
- [22:06]
Anthony Anderson
That is my baby. That. That is my second mother right there. That's the mother of all black Hollywood right there.
- [22:11]
Stephen A. Smith
Yo.
- [22:11]
Anthony Anderson
That's the mother of all black Hollywood.
- [22:13]
Stephen A. Smith
Serious. I don't. I don't think it's an exaggeration when you think about black mamas in Hollywood. It's. It's. It's her. Loretta Devine. It's one of the two to me.
- [22:23]
Anthony Anderson
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I've worked with both of them. Loretta Devine didn't play my mama. She played my auntie. Whoopi Goldberg played my mom in this other movie called Kingdom Come and Jennifer Lewis. So I've been surrounded by the mamas and the aunties my entire career, and I love it.
- [22:39]
Stephen A. Smith
There you go. There you go. Let me transition to something else that's near and Dear to your heart. Evidently you and Cedric the Entertainer are serious barbecue enthusiasts with a line of sauces, rubs, and products called AC Barbecue. How did y'all come up with the recipes for somebody's family recipe? I mean, what's that about? Double A? What's going on?
- [22:57]
Anthony Anderson
You know, we looked at the, we looked at, you know, we're taking barbecue to fast casual, man. We were opening up a restaurant here at the Century City Mall or the Westfield Mall in Century City. You know, Set and I have a love for food. We, you know, we take these fellows trips. We always rent these extravagant homes and Set and I are always the ones that are cooking and barbecuing. And we just had this opportunity to get in this space and there's no one that looks like us that are in that space. And we are talking about, you know, bringing barbecue back to what it once was, or not bringing it back. We're just talking about what it is, the community of it, the community aspect of it, the lovingness, the family vibe of what the spirit of barbecue is and where it comes from. And so we started AC Barbecue and we're having a great time. We've licensed our kitchen on seven colleges and universities. We have this first restaurant that's about to open here in April May at the Westfield Mall. And so we're excited about that. We got products in stores, so we couldn't have been more excited about it. We have this, I can't tell you about this collaboration that we have, but we have a collaboration that you will hear about in a month and it's about to be big with us and another fast food franchise. So we're excited about that.
- [24:26]
Stephen A. Smith
Okay, and you also partnered with Magic Johnson's what is it, Sodexomagic to take AC BBQ to HBCU campuses?
- [24:34]
Anthony Anderson
Yeah, yeah, we partnered with Sodexo Magic and that's how we got our kitchen, AC BBQ kitchens on these HBCUs and colleges and other. All colleges and universities. We're on the University of Cincinnati, Jackson State University, Howard University, and there are four or five other universities that have AC Barbecue kitchens on them. So we're just excited about that. Our partnership with Sodexo Magic is beautiful. And we're just here to do it, man, and just, you know, be in a lane, you know, look, one of our sayings is, you know, we're rooted in culture and fueled by community. That's what AC BBQ is all about. Rooted in culture and fueled by community. Just bringing everybody together to celebrate and to love on one another through the spirit of barbecue, staying with HBCUs.
- [25:27]
Stephen A. Smith
You left Howard University after your junior year, I think, and I think it was. You talked about it being because of financial issues or whatever, but how did it feel to recently receive your degree from the Chadwick Boseman College of fine arts in 2022? How did that feel?
- [25:42]
Anthony Anderson
It felt great, Stephen. And I'll tell you about this full circle moment. Taraji Henson gave the commencement speech the year I received my degree. Taraji and I were classmates at Howard University in the College of Fine Arts. Denise Saunders, who was the assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts, helped me, assisted me in getting back into school to finish my senior year. She and I were classmates at Howard University and the College of Fine Arts. Dr. Felicia Rashad is the dean of the College of Fine Arts. She and I are colleagues and friends in this industry. She handed me my degree from the College of Fine Arts. And that year that I received my degree in 2022 was the very first year that they renamed the school and it was renamed to the Chadwick A. Bozeman School of Fine Arts. And he and I were colleagues in this industry and friendly with one another. So it was a beautiful full circle moment for me to go back to the beginning, really, for me, it took 35 years in the making. I started Howard University as a freshman in 1988 and left after my junior year due to financial reasons and had every intention on going back. And I was finally able to go back and receive my degree in 2022.
- [27:05]
Stephen A. Smith
I was getting ready to ask you, how much of a role did Nathan play in inspiring you since he's also a Howard grad?
- [27:11]
Anthony Anderson
Yeah, well, he played a great role. Unfortunately, he didn't graduate yet, but he got accepted in 2018, and he inspired me to go back to school. I always wanted to go back to school. And I said, you know what, son? You've inspired me to go back to Howard. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to walk with you in 2022. And unfortunately, real life got in the way of him, of my son. You know, my son's a young artist, musician, and an actor, and his career started taking off, so he followed that path, but I stayed true to mine as a promise to myself and as a promise to him and my family and my mom and everybody. Because when I started Howard, I would have been the first person in my family to graduate from a college or university. And so I had to finish the task that I started. It took 35 years to do so, but I was able to do it.
- [28:09]
Stephen A. Smith
You was also honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the university, right?
- [28:14]
Anthony Anderson
Yes, I was. Yes, I was.
- [28:17]
Stephen A. Smith
I mean, I can't imagine how that must have felt for you.
- [28:20]
Anthony Anderson
That felt great, you know, to receive not only that award, but the United Negro College Fund gave me an award the following week for the work that I've been doing with them in raising scholarship money for other HBCU students. And I have my own family foundation, the Anderson Family foundation, that this year I'm transitioning from the charities that I've been donating to for the last six years. But in my seventh year, because I went back to Howard University and receive my degree, I'm starting a scholarship at Howard University. So, you know, some students don't have to go through what I went through and put that on hold for as long as I put it on hold.
- [29:08]
Stephen A. Smith
You often tag your social media post Just a Kid from Compton. Cause that's where you from. Compton, la. I want to know, did you say ouch or do you say go ahead, dawg, when you saw Kendrick Lamar giving it to Drake? That's what I want. That's what I want.
- [29:24]
Anthony Anderson
Well, hey, first off, I got to say this. I'm a fan of both of the artists. So am I. Yeah. But you know what? It was great to see what KDOT was doing for the culture, for the city of Compton and what he did. So I had to root for him, you know, a thousand percent. And just to see where he is, where his career has elevated to. From where it. It once was. I mean, you know, he was always a star in our eyes. But to see, you know, this. This last year and a half of where it's gone and just to see his halftime performance show and just what it symbolizes and what it meant, you know, to people who were watching, who understood it, what it meant to the culture and. And what it spoke to. And what it spoke about was just. It was just a beautiful thing.
- [30:14]
Stephen A. Smith
Before I let you get on out of here, man, you were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 29. You've been a vocal advocate for better understanding and management of the condition, particularly in a black community. I want you to talk real quickly about what life changes you've made and how important of an issue this is for you, because it definitely is for me. I was like, point one, point away from being a full blown diabetic a few years ago until I really prioritized my health in a very, in. In a big time fashion. Talk to me about yourself and your journey in this regard.
- [30:44]
Anthony Anderson
Yeah, you know, I become diabetic at that age, man. And, you know, I always took it seriously. But, you know, there comes a time where you just have to make dramatic changes in your life and your lifestyle, and that's what I did. Unfortunately, I lost my father to complications from diabetes and once. But I was the first person diagnosed with diabetes in my family. My father had gone unchecked for over. For more than 20, 25 years. And I realized that once I was diagnosed, I looked back at the symptoms that my father had when I was growing up, and they were the same as the symptoms that I was having now. And so that's when my dad got checked out, and so we lost him to that. And that's why I partnered with Novo Nordisk to bring awareness to everybody out there who may be suffering from it or adjacent to it. We started a campaign called Get Real about Diabetes. And they can go to getrealaboutdiabetes.com to find out information about this disease. And it's really informational. And I go out to the communities and I talk to the communities, but in particular black men, because we are the ones that rarely go to the doctors, you know, myself included. My dad didn't go for 20, 25 years, and we lost him because of that. So I get out on this campaign and I share my story and my testimony with them, and I just talk about the changes that I've made in my life in order to live with the disease and manage it instead of dying from it. And it comes with sacrifice. It comes with hard work. But in the end, in the long run, it pays off.
- [32:30]
Stephen A. Smith
That's your personal journey. Obviously, you're trying to help many, many lives, not just yourself. Tribute to you for doing that. Major, major props to you for that. That's on a personal level, on a professional level, considering all that you have done and considering the show that you're on here talking about right now, G20 streaming April 10th on Prime Video, starring you, Viola Davis, and others, of course. When you talk about. When you think about what you shared on a personal level, what are you on a mission to share at this point? Professionally, since you're clearly qualified to share because you've done so many great things.
- [33:05]
Anthony Anderson
I just want to continue to make opportunities for myself, make opportunities for my mother, but also, you know, make opportunities.
- [33:12]
Stephen A. Smith
Mama Doris, let's pause right there. The one who's better than you at Domino's, let's not forget that.
- [33:21]
Anthony Anderson
Okay. Well, I mean, yeah. Yes, she is. I, you know, I, I learned from the best, you know, But I just want to continue to make opportunities for. For creatives and storytellers, like, people made opportunities for me to come out and be my authentic self and tell my stories from my point of view. And I just want to continue to be a part of that, you know, so that. That's what I'm striving for, to start directing more, to start creating more, and to start collaborating more with people that, you know, you would never know. I was like, oh, I never knew this is what you did or this is what you wanted to do. Let me be a part of that. Because you didn't know this is what I wanted to do and be a part of. So it's all about collaborations and just telling, you know, and being your authentic self and being in that space.
- [34:10]
Stephen A. Smith
Love you, bro. Proud of you. So good to see you. Looking forward to connecting yet again. I know you've been on the road a lot, doing a lot of great things. I'm just happy for you. Happy to see you in this space, in this place in your life right now. Really proud of you. Really happy for you. You're one of the great ones. You know how I feel about, you know, how much love I got for you. So much so that I got a surprise for you, because my, My career is kind of going decent, you know, I'm doing all right, you know, okay. And I got some. I got something new coming up. I have been. I have been asked to appear on Law and Order. I'll take it out there. I was like, what, what?
- [34:51]
Anthony Anderson
What?
- [34:51]
Stephen A. Smith
I mean, I mean, I got, I got to get. I got to get some tips from my brother. I got to get some tips, man.
- [34:58]
Anthony Anderson
Let me know. I'll run lines with you. If that's what you need, Steven, we can do it. I got you. Hey, welcome to the L and O family, baby.
- [35:07]
Stephen A. Smith
You know, I, I, I mean, there are worse things to achieve in life. No doubt about that. I mean, everybody. Has anybody been on Law and Order? So that's the way I look at it. It's to start a set new. Appreciate you, bro. Love you, man.
- [35:18]
Anthony Anderson
Appreciate you. Steven, always great seeing you, my friend.
- [35:21]
Stephen A. Smith
No doubt.
- [35:21]
Unknown
All right, buddy.
- [35:22]
Stephen A. Smith
Talk to you soon.
- [35:31]
Unknown
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- [36:14]
Ryan Seacrest
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