Rico E. Anderson

March 19, 2022November 25, 2022 Rachelle Henry 0 Comments

RICO E. ANDERSON

An accomplished actor with an abundant career in television, film and theater, Rico E. Anderson is leaving his mark on Hollywood. He’s appeared on prolific projects such as STAR TREK, SWAT, TRUTH BE TOLD and many more. Using his voice to change the world, Anderson is passionate about his craft and the roles he portrays. Along with his career in front of the camera, Anderson is developing his portfolio behind the scenes as well. Illuminate was excited to have a talk with Rico about his upcoming projects, the importance of Black History Month and how representation matters.

ILLUMINATE: Welcome Rico!

This is Black History Month and a time to honor so many incredible people in history. I know your motto is “Representation Matters.” I would love to know who some of your inspirations are and how they’ve impacted your life?

ANDERSON: Sidney Poitier has always been a huge role model in my actor’s journey. My grandmother gave me a copy of his book, “This Life” to read (still have it to this day). That really helped shape my mission to show that pride toward who I am and my place as a black actor in a white dominated entertainment industry. And more importantly, shows why I belong beyond just playing stereotypical characters.

ILLUMINATE: What does Black History Month mean to you personally?

ANDERSON: Black History Month is a celebration, recognition and education in black excellence and contribution in the world. Black History is also American and World History. Black History Month goes way beyond just 28 days of recognition and honors an enormous place in History that reminds all how beautiful and rich African culture is and how over history, it has helped shape the world to what it is today from various inventions, business, culture, music, art, sports, food and most overall ways of life. Today, it is also a reminder of how important education is to all, no matter how much people will do whatever they can to try and sugar coat and erase it.

ILLUMINATE: What is a lesson you hope people learn during Black History Month?

ANDERSON: Black history does not start at slavery and end with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or President Barrack Obama or Treyvon Martin or George Floyd. Also, Black History is not all struggle and tragedy and life in the “hood”. The biggest “lesson” is to continue to learn. Never stop learning. Learn beyond what you think you know.

ILLUMINATE: You started your entertainment career in theater in the San Francisco Bay Area. How did you get started in the performing arts and what led you to moving to LA to pursue TV & film?

ANDERSON: It was actually in Chicago where my love for the arts began. As a little boy, my 3rd-grade class went on a field trip to a touring performance of The Wiz. I just remember sitting there, mesmerized and amazed at the performances and thinking to myself, “I wanna do that someday……perform.” I also remember growing up in a time where there wasn’t a whole lot of representation of people of color in television, more specifically African Americans. But many of the ones that I did see and admire made me want to do what they did even more. I wanted to be a part of what I knew in the future would be a huge change in the way Hollywood was run and the roles that were cast and reflect how society really is as a whole. All of this stuck in the back of my young mind and would not surface until years later when my mom, myself and then, two siblings moved to Berkeley, California. That’s when the bug bit again and that’s when I started performing in several plays and independent films throughout the SF Bay Area. I also majored in Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University. Now, to do what I wanted to do in film and television meant eventually making the move to either Los Angeles or Atlanta. I have been living as a working actor in Los Angeles for over 15 years and have been blessed to have had many television, film and voice over credits to my name.

ILLUMINATE: You have a recurring role on Apple TV’s TRUTH BE TOLD starring Octavia Spencer. Season 1 featured Aaron Paul and Season 2 featured Kate Hudson. Tell us about your character Herbie and did you expect the series to become as popular as it is? What do you hope for Herbie’s future?

ANDERSON: Herbie on “Truth Be Told”, manages the biker bar “The Knock” owned by the Scoville family. He is a longtime friend of the family and is very conscious of the various changes to the community, most notably, gentrification. Herbie knows and has seen a lot and has his ear to the street of all that is going on in the streets of Oakland. Whenever you come to The Knock, Herbie will always be there. Looking forward to Herbie being even more involved in all that is happening in the lives of the Scoville’s.

I always had high hopes that the series would do well. The star power alone spoke to that but also, because of the creator of the show, Nichelle Tramble Spellman who is an amazing visionary and writer in her own right. Ironically though, the show picked up more steam during the pandemic in 2020 and through the high streaming numbers, it tripled the show’s success.

ILLUMINATE: You play a younger version of Oba Babatunde’s character, Daniel Sr., on the series S.W.A.T. with Shemar Moore playing the protagonist, an older version of your son. How did you prepare to play young Daniel Sr. and how did you go about matching Oba so your character was cohesive with his?

ANDERSON: It’s one of the most challenging but fun opportunities being able to play roles like “Daniel Sr.” on SWAT. I’ve known Mr. Babatunde for many years prior so I was very honored to play this character and get in the headspace of who a younger Daniel Sr. would be. Based on the info given and what I already knew, I created around the character. Filled in the gaps from what was already there. I also drew on my own personal experiences and memories relating to what Daniel Sr. was going through. The first time you meet Daniel Sr., his 12 year old son (Young Hondo) was just racially profiled by the police. Daniel Sr. had to comfort him while letting him know that this is an occurrence that unfortunately happens all too often in relation to black men. The 2^nd time is 5 years later in 1992 during the verdict of the trial of the officers who beat Rodney King. Both times, I called upon both my own personal stories of being racially profiled as well as my thoughts and feelings upon hearing the verdict of the officers being acquitted.

ILLUMINATE: You are known for your work in the sci-fi genre and your love of STAR TREK. How has STAR TREK inspired you and what is it like to be a part of the STAR TREK family? What other sci-fi universes have you gotten to be a part of?

ANDERSON: Star Trek has inspired me in so many ways from the fun action element to the diversity in casting, story lines within that universe and stories that make you think about how today’s issues and problems are no different. It’s a mirror that makes us look at ourselves and our society and shows in many ways how things can be solved or agreed upon or worked out. Celebrating our differences is always key to what humanity is truly about. To say that “we are all just human beings” or “I don’t see color” robs a person of the opportunity to really learn about their fellow human and move forward toward a better future. Star Trek shows those possibilities and a future where that has happened in so many ways but also shows that we still have a long way to go. That’s what makes me so proud to be a part of the Star Trek family. I have met and continue to have so many great and nerdy lifelong friends to this day.

My association within the Trek universe has also branched me off into The Orville universe created by Seth McFarlane. I’ve also been blessed to have crossed over into the horror universe with such films as Hallowed Ground and Get Gone with scream queen Lin Shaye, 5^th Passenger starring a full main cast of Star Trek actors and I have been blessed to have met a ton of my fans at sci fi conventions for many years. It’s really a great and fun world to be a part of.

ILLUMINATE: One of your recent feature films was GET GONE where you played opposite of scream-queen legend Lin Shaye. What was it like getting to shoot on location in Oregon? Any funny behind the scenes stories?

ANDERSON: I love shooting on location. Not only is it a free trip to another location but it’s fun to be out of your comfort zone and shooting something like a horror film or whatever in a place that may be very foreign to you. And Oregon didn’t disappoint. From day 1, I had the best time hanging out in Cascade Locks. Because of the horror element, most of our shoots were night shoots. Lots of bugs. Very cold nights. I’m pretty sure my “cabin in the woods” where I stayed and one other location we shot at was haunted. Watching and chewing up scenes with Lin Shaye and Robert Miyano was a great opportunity and a wonderful master class in seeing their process of executing (no pun intended) their characters. But it was great working with such a fun cast and crew.

ILLUMINATE: What would your dream roles be?

ANDERSON: More Star Trek!!! More voice over work within various universes as well like Trek, Star Wars, Marvel and DC. I love stories involving Time Travel so it would be great to have something relating to that element as well. Series Regular on a television series. So many possibilities and the sky’s the limit. I’m excited for the future and all that it will bring. Stay tuned party people!!

ILLUMINATE: Tell us about some of your most recent and upcoming projects!

ANDERSON: I play Herbie on “Truth Be Told” which is streaming seasons 1 and 2 on Apple TV plus. I also recur as Daniel Sr. on S.W.A.T. on CBS and Paramount +. An upcoming project which I’m really excited about is “On Smoother Dirt” which is the story of Ernie Banks. I play the legendary Buck O’Neil. This film stars myself along with Louis Gossett Jr and Andy Garcia. We start filming shortly and preparing for this role has been both fun and educational. I’m really excited to start filming. Again, representation matters. I am super proud to be a part of something that represents that. It shows black excellence at a time when black excellence was not viewed that way. It shows Black History. It shows American History. People are going to be blown away by this film.