Since her breakout role as young Diane Johnson on “Black-ish,” Marsai Martin has shown Hollywood that she has a lot to offer. The 16-year-old prodigy, who recently broke the record for youngest executive producer ever, sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to discuss her upcoming projects and what she considers authentic storytelling.
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When it comes to the kinds of projects she produces, the teen revealed that one of her rules on set was “no black pain” stories, saying that there’s room for much more.
“I have a couple of rules when you come into my office,” Martin said. “When you come into my office, don’t give me this — I don’t do no Black pain. If it’s Black pain I don’t go for it because there’s so many films and projects about that, so that’s not who I am.”
Martin wants to bring her creativity to Hollywood with projects that show the full range of African-Americans, and not just our plight. Though often historically important, many others have critiqued filmmakers for creating too many projects surrounding slavery and other examples of black trauma.
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Kareem Abdul-Jabar wrote an op-ed in 2019 on the topic, saying “I also worry that so many movies about slavery risk defining African Americans’ participation in American history primarily as victims rather than as victors in a continuous battle for economic and social freedom.”
Martin is currently working on “Saturdays,” a Disney Channel comedy about a young black teenager with her own skate crew. The show’s main character also has sickle cell disease, which Martin wants to bring awareness to as African-Americans are the most affected group. “It’s never been seen on TV or film before so I wanted to make sure this was a moment to shine a light on it — in not a bad way, because we don’t do Black pain, but to where our main character is still celebrated, still loved and lives her life the way that she wants to,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
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Over the weekend, the Black-ish star turned heads at the NAACP Image Awards with her sleek black dress, embellished with black feathers on each sleeve. After winning an award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by a Youth, Martin now owns 11 NAACP awards.
Though she’s making a name in her industry, the young boss makes it clear that she doesn’t base her success on winning awards. She told the Hollywood Reporter that although she’s grateful for the recognition, she doesn’t really need it, nor is it the driving force behind her work.
“We’re in a system that wasn’t created for us and it is what it is. We just keep moving forward, we keep doing what we love, we keep inspiring the people that are watching, and hopefully it goes from there.”
