The Breakfast Club - Damson Idris On Snowfall's Return, Saweetie's Piano, Rich Paul, Jay-Z, Denzel Washington + More

Episode Date: July 6, 2022

Thee hilarious Damson Idris Joins us to talk Snowfall's Return, Saweetie, Denzel Washington and MoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You know him from Snowfall and a host of other things. His birthday is one day before mine. He's a fellow Virgo. Oh, God. Damson Idris. Welcome, son. How you doing, man? Welcome, son.

Welcome, sir. He said son. Why'd you call me yourris. Welcome, son. How you doing, man? Welcome, sir. He said son. Why'd you call me your son? Damn son. I didn't know your birthday was the 1st of September. You were the day before me on September 3rd. Oh, 3rd. Okay. A buddy of mine is the 3rd, too. Actually, the showrunner of Snowfall, Dave Andron.

Same birthday. Virgo's the best. Absolutely. They had us on New Year's. There you go. Now, the first thing you said was, I love New York because I love Jamaican culture. Yeah. What do you love so much about Jamaican culture, and what do you love? Obviously, the food. Dirt chicken.

Oxtail. I'm an oxtail guy. Oh, you and me both. Yeah, oxtail. Actually, I like to dabble in both. I like to steal food from whoever I'm eating with. Plantains. Do you guys say plantain or plantain?

I say plantain. I say plantain. I feel like that's the right way to say it I feel like I've been saying it wrong my whole life you had to switch through all different kinds of ways to say things so oh yeah yeah that's that's a part of my life impersonating people you don't have amazing Jamaican restaurants in London or in LA where you shoot? No? Nah, there's none, man. Not at all? Out here, I like Miss Lily's. Miss Lily's? I actually wrote on a gram yesterday. I was like, oh, where could I go?

People said Footprints. Oh, that's in Brooklyn? Footprints is good. Yes. Look, first of all, the best Caribbean food is in Brooklyn. We got Footprints. We got Suede. We got Caribbean Social. We have... This is New York. We have Tilly.bean social we have this is new york there's we have tilly we have oh we have one called the grill yes so there's another one as well i can't remember what the other one's called but i'm gonna try all of it today that's impossible but you say

footprint footprint is the best one to go um footprints is known for their rasta pasta and they actually opened a restaurant in manhattan called Jasmine's, and I think the guy who invented Rasta Pasta. I'm like a connoisseur of all these things. Wait, Rasta Pasta? Rasta Pasta. You know Rasta Pasta? No. Pasta with Caribbean, with chicken or shrimp or... What? If you want to go, I will set you up at all these restaurants.

No problem. Please, please. Oh, man. You know, my wife is Jamaican, part Jamaican, so that's what we have all the time. Wow. All the time. Jamaican culture is so prominent in the U.K. Obviously, African culture, but Jamaican, too. The majority of them came over to the U.K. in the 60s and 50s.

And, yeah, they just took over. So you like dancehall and reggae music also? Oh, definitely. There's this carnival in London called not in Hill carnival and we haven't been able to have it because of kovat but um you know the majority of time I wear suits if you ever want to see me ratchet this is that not in Hill con so do you still go out in London and enjoy yourself was to the point now where everybody knows who you are so it was difficult I'm

chilling man I don't really go out like I'll be in like a private little members bar or something I'll drink in some roms some red wine I'm chilling, man. I don't really go out. I'll be in a private little members bar or something. Drinking some rum, some red wine. I'm 30 now, man. Oh, God. Yeah, yeah. I'm not saying I'm old, but you know. I'm 30 now.

I'm going to retire, man. You're still young, man. No, but I don't know, man. I definitely see the difference between myself and a 21-year-old now. More than ever. Like the club, I don't like ever like the club I don't like the club like I don't like the concept of it um I stand at a bar people look at me like what you doing I like chilling you don't know what to do I like chilling at a bar like I don't like staying at the table and I don't like that anymore like I like chilling at the bar yeah man I'm just grown I'm I'm a

dinners guy now I like private members clubs okay that's my wave I saw you talking about how John Singleton told you to stay humble though amongst everything yeah for people that don't know the first time we actually met you you were up here with John Singleton yeah he don't remember you though and I definitely remember he's like, this is the first time I met you in the flesh. I said, nigga, I met you when John Singleton was here. Don't fuck with light-skinned niggas,

but it's all right. Oh, man. No, no, no. There's a couple light-skinned guys in the DSS. You're in there. But yes, how has that been for you, though?

Because obviously, Snowfall is such a huge show. You guys are in the fifth season. We've watched Franklin grow up, and he has got a lot of big things happening. But in real life, you've grown up, up, and he has got a lot of big things happening. But in real life, you've grown up too, and your star has grown up as well. Yeah, yeah.

It's a testament to John Singleton. You know, he really believed in me. And although I fought for the role like crazy, I auditioned like nine times. You know, he took me to South Central, opened up the car door, and said, if you survive, you got the role. And I was, like, walking around, had to be in character. You walked around South Central. Oh, yeah.

How was that? Break down that experience. Man, so I get to John Singleton's office, and I think I'm going to read the, I'm going to audition, right? It's like audition number eight or something like that. And then he's like, yeah, no, we're not going to read anything. We're just going to take a walk. So I'm walking around, and he's like yeah no we're not gonna read anything we're just gonna take a walk so i'm walking around and he's like don't break character and he's introducing me to people and you know singleton was like god in his community like people would

be like yo john you know and then they'd come up to me talking to me they're like yo what's up little homie i'm like yeah yeah what's up I'm just pretending like that I'm from there. And then his mom came. And, you know, I'm British, so I'm saying a bunch of British stuff in an American accent. But he didn't know you were British, right? Oh, no, he knew. What were you saying?

What kind of British stuff were you saying? You know, like you guys say elevator, I say lift. You guys say trash, I say bin. Plantain. Plantain, exactly. So I'm talking in an American accent, and his mom comes like, oh, how lovely your hair looks today. I'm just going to go over there and throw something in the bin.

And she looks over at Jordan, and she's like, John, he ain't from here, huh? I was like, man, mom just took this role from me. Were you scared walking around South Central? I wasn't scared, man. I was with Jordan. That was my big brother. That was my big brother, man. I miss him greatly.

But as far as I get in this industry and on this journey, I'm always going to honor Singleton for being my foundation. Well, let's talk about the new season. So you're also producing on the new season. How did that come about? Wow. I forced them to give me a producer credit. No, when you've been doing this show for so long,

you pick up different traits, but at the same time, you want to be challenged. And my circles are so bossy today that they inspire me to want to be more of a leader. That's the truth. It's like if you hang around with certain types of people having certain types of conversations and they're like, yo, bro, you should go in. And then you ask and they're like, OK, you've been watching the yay doc you know and hove was like you know close mouth don't get fed like you know like it's true you know asking you shall

receive and and i asked and and they gave it to me and you know above all things i'm not the i'm not saying my level of producing is at the level of my acting ability my acting ability is quite horrible um i'm just saying i'm saying I'm being a sponge and I'm being given an opportunity to learn so that I can use my platform and my brand to create more opportunities. Now you play a crack cocaine dealer, right? Mm-hmm.

How difficult was that learning that? Because you're young, so crack, it really affected me and you, our age group. Growing up as kids, we would see crack pipes everywhere. We would see crack vials everywhere. He just did that to you. I know. I was like, wait a minute. He did.

You were just going to let him do that to you? You didn't see crack pipes and crack vials all over the place in Brooklyn? Not all over the place, no. Well, in Queens, it was all over the place. It was very, very big, very, very affected. I got family members affected by it and all that. So how did you prepare for learning that role? Wow. Well, I'm from Peckham in London, which is the South Central equivalent, in my opinion. Single parents, broken homes, dads in jail, police brutality, racism,

and drugs. Drugs was a major factor of my upbringing and my community. Everyone around me was involved. You ever sold drugs at all? No. No. What are you doing here? This guy is crazy. Everybody might have dibbled a dabble.

I apologize. Oh, my God. Has MVP ever sold drugs? Have you ever? No. You haven't? I've. So, so, so when I, has MVP ever sold drugs? Have you ever? No. You haven't? I've scammed, but no drugs.

You, you, my father's a retired police officer, so there was no drugs ever coming in my crib. Okay. Okay. Yeah. He would have been on you.

No, I never, no, no, I'm, I'm, I'm, yeah.

So, so, so basically I just, just preparing for the role was interesting. There's so much history, you know, on this drug. And the thing I love about the show, particularly season five, is I'm not sure if you guys are aware about the Lembias case. I was just reading about that because I didn't know it was a real person.

Oh, yeah, yeah. So he was a basketballer in Maryland University in 1986. And essentially, his unfortunate overdose created a snowball effect in America with the Clinton administration. It's basically how Clinton even became president in the first place. And they introduced mandatory minimums, right? So all these mandatory laws of, you know, getting caught with like a gram of crack was the same as 100 grams of cocaine. And what that essentially did was it broke up the African-American household.

And that's why so many fathers were gone. And that's why we see what we see today. And the show, season five, starts with that. Correlating to Franklin having nearing $100 million now. Living the high life. Beautiful place to live. Penthouse. Jerome and Louie are on horses.

Leon's like a Franklin in his own right. A boss girlfriend. Exactly. Loyal. So you're seeing him enjoying this lifestyle like so many people in the 80s did. But then you're seeing the demise of a community. You're seeing people like Wanda Bell trying to find a sense of redemption after everything that she's been through from being addicted to this drug.

Singleton would say that black people have been affected in many ways, but crack cocaine was the only thing that made black mothers leave their children. Wow. So it's a deep thing, man. Yeah, with Wanda in particular, her just even being able to try to find a job, and she can't even get work,

and she wants to be clean and stay clean, but that's a hard thing to do, right? I think a lot of people can relate to that, man. We're humanizing these these characters i always tell people who tried to throw and lump snowfall into the box of just a show with guns and fast cars and chains no that's not the story we're telling um we're telling a piece of history. We're educating you as well as entertaining you. And as Singleton would say, we're giving you a movie every week. Now, Franklin's trying to go legit, and we know how hard that is to do, especially when you have so many things in your past

that are always going to be catching up to you. And having a baby on the way, too, that's a big deal because you have to do anything you can at all means possible to make sure that you take care of this child that's on the way to that's a big deal because you have to do anything you can at all means possible to make sure that you take care of this child that's on the way you've made a commitment yeah to do that with your girlfriend i was thinking about this for some reason i don't really trust her and i know we're only two episodes in he has bad experiences with women yes and so for that reason i'm like what is about to happen? Wow. So my backstory with Veronique's character is essentially this. You remember in season three, Franklin kind of took the Mosleys out of that house.

He basically kind of conned this old couple out of their bookstore. So he was taken to court. And the person that was their representative was Veronique. And they won that case. And he kind of fell for her and kind of hired her on his team and wanted to build with her. Something led to another. And then, boom, now they're together. You know, the show is this drug trade is a tricky thing.

Loyalty could go so quickly when your life is on the line. And your life really is on the line 24-7. So, yeah, stick with the show, man. That's all I can say. Keep watching. I just don't trust her. I don't know what it is.

Yeah, she's... Yeah, yeah. Keep watching. Keep watching. Okay, so I might be onto something? You might be onto something. You might not.

Oh, well, you're a producer, so you should be able to know what's about to happen. Oh, I know everything. Goodness gracious. I've seen all... All I can say is I've seen all episodes. You're trying to get your stick twice on yourself. I know, yeah, exactly.

It's twice a day we try to get your stick twice on yourself. And then you killed your friend. Yeah. I felt like, okay, white rob, right? I feel like that wasn't necessary, but. Why do you think it wasn't necessary? Because people don't agree with you. I mean, okay, he was a little sloppy and he was telling your business.

He told dad about the CIA? Yeah. Yeah. But he could have, I don't know, that's your friend from like when you were young. Franklin's in a different place now. You know, he knows what's important. What's important is his family and the baby he has on the way. And I think a lot of people could relate to that, making horrible decisions.

Killing your best friend? Maybe he's going to bring down the whole your friend bring down the empire yeah he would he would he would have brought that and i was going to ask you know a lot of times in real life and not in just movies you see these drug dealers they make enough where they can get out but they can never get out yeah yeah is that what's going to happen to this character like just never get out because you always want to see you happen to this character like you just never get out because you always want to see you want to see the you you know what they do to the community you see the money that they make but you kind of want to see them ride off on that white horse but yeah it's never that white horse that's the game man that's the game and that's what we're trying to preach to these kids not preach but just let them know man it's that it's not worth it. It really isn't worth it.

That's what this show's teaching me. If you really look at this season, as much money as Franklin makes, he's not happy. What's the point of doing something if you're not? I act because it makes me happy. Correct. If it didn't make me happy, I wouldn't do it. So I think that's hopefully what I hope happens with Franklin

is there's a redemptive quality to him. You know, he's done some horrible things. I'm hoping by the end of it, he realizes that it wasn't worth it. And hopefully he can redeem himself in some way. You know, you also wanted to help other people get out of it and get into a legitimate business, buying these buildings and investing. But some people don't have that foresight and they're more content with making the money that they're making and doing what they do. Yeah.

And that's disappointing to see. Like, you're like, look, five years from now, you might not see this money right away. But later on down the line, you'll see this investment pay off. I also feel like people watching like to see Franklin still, you know, doing what he's doing. Yeah. You know how we're always rooting for the guy, even though he's not a good not a good guy yeah yeah we still kind of like don't want anything to happen to him i i hope that's a testament to how i play the character um but yeah you know we we always root

for these characters and we we like to empathize with them but i've honestly snowfall fans have said some wild stuff on especially on Twitter like wait like last season when my dad was about the you know he was a Black Panther and you know he was trying to fight for what's right and people were like yeah we gotta kill Alton saying the CIA's gonna kill the Black Panther and I was just like whoa what's happening and that's that's you know it's an escape

watching TV but sometimes we should sit back and you know I remember Push the other day he was saying don't be a surface

level listener don't be a surface level viewer when you watch shows like this I was going to ask is Alton dead though because some people

don't feel like it because we don't see him get killed. Go keep watching the show. Is he like a cop over there? No, I mean, that happened last season. This is the kind of things that people are talking about, though. He ain't gonna tell you. But every time he says you gotta see, then I

feel like, okay, he's alive. I was gonna ask, when it comes to American movies, and sometimes people feel that actors that don't live in America and they take these parts that it's a problem. I know when Idris Elba

comes up with some parts it was like, well, he's not American or yourself. Do you have a, what are your thoughts on those things? Man, I think it's a beautiful conversation

because I think it's going to push us forward and you can't help but acknowledge when a group of people feel a type of way. So it's just about listening, really. I will say I'm an actor. I make believe for a living.

So the very concept of my job is to pretend to be something else. What I do want to see, though, I want to see more people working in America, in the UK. I saw Tessa Thompson playing a Brit in a passing. That was fire. Denzel just did Tragedy at Macbeth. And there's examples of people working in the past. So Viola's about to do A Woman King. Forrest Whitaker played Idi Amin.

Denzel played a Brit in For Queen of Country. Acting is about transformation. I feel like acting is who does the best job. It doesn't matter who you are. Like people get caught up in, you know, let's say you have to pay a handicapped person and somebody might say, well, there's handicapped actors out there that can take that position. But my thing is who does the best job at the part.

If they're from Britain, if they're from Africa, it doesn't matter. Whoever does the best job because you're acting, it's part yeah you know yeah yeah and and you know it's a story at the end of the day the most important thing is that the stories being told representation is very key I'm not saying representation isn't key it's very key but we must realize that so much goes into making movies this is the movie business it's not the movie play you have to make money you know and and what's happening now is we're giving people opportunities so that they can um raise their platform so say you are a handicapped actor or a transgender actor

or whatever you're able to raise your platform so that you can be in a position to green light movies in the future that's what we're working at today in the industry which i think is brilliant um but right now if a movie's ready and a movie's ready to go now and you want to cast someone and jonathan majors isn't available and lakeith stanfield isn't available and those guys have green light power but this brit actor or this african actor has green light power, and they could get bums on the seat, you're going to cost that person. That's how it works at the top. I like to say we're playing at the NBA level of acting.

No shade to smaller projects, but when it gets up there, the field and the net is a lot wider and people are from different places. It's the same in sports. That's like saying Giannis shouldn't be playing. Because he's not like us at that level. And you need to work to get to that level. You need to put in the 10,000 hours and so many actors have. And what I'm realizing is the arrow is being thrown at actors

who have found success. But the reason they found success because they've been working for so long. Absolutely. Behind it. And, you know, they're finally at a place where they're able to benefit from it. But with me personally, I'm just here to do what makes me happy and to make my mom proud, man. And I've done those things. Everything else is a bonus um i always tell people you know

if you if you don't want to watch the circus you know buy tickets for another show you know it's no shade there's millions of people who love what i do um there's millions of people who this is a small thing but you know there's guys in in jail who hit me up like yo bro you got me through my sentence i'm supposed to stop what i'm doing which is why you do, there's guys in jail who hit me up like, yo, bro, you got me through my sentence. I'm supposed to stop what I'm doing. Which is why you do it. It's exactly why I do it. And you got millions of women who like you also.

And so. Oh, boy. What? You ain't want to ask the drug question. You're good. You're good the way you just. You get to this question. You see how she just. Yeah.

Just got into that life. She does this professionally. Are you still taking piano lessons or how is that? Whoa. Damn. So let's break this down. Where you still taking piano lessons? Whoa. Damn. So let's break this down. Where were you taking piano lessons? Where did we see him playing piano?

I don't know. Juilliard. Juilliard? No, no. Where did we see him playing piano, Yee? I'm just asking. I saw you were taking piano lessons or something like that. Oh, damn.

I did see a video of you. It looked like you were good with your hands. Oh, my Lord. Was that Sweetie's piano? Wow. Who's Sweetie? good with your hands. Oh, my Lord. Was that Saweetie's piano? Wow. Who's Saweetie? I don't know. No, no, no.

Me and that woman. You're blushing. I'm not blushing. I'm not blushing. I know dogs can be blushing. I'm nervous. No, no. Me and that queen are just friends.

She's a great piano player. I didn't say you guys weren't. I was just asking about the piano lessons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She's a great i didn't see you guys weren't i was just asking about the piano lessons yeah yeah yeah she's a great piano player and um and i didn't know she could play i didn't even think the world knew so i was like oh this is a cool moment i just posted but like people thought it was let me ask you a question like you know i don't know if angelina you could play the piano because i'm not at her house to learn um i don't know if Taylor, who's over here, our producer, knows, you know,

I don't know if she can play the piano. So, you know, how did you get to Saweetie's house to see that she could actually play the piano? Oh, no.

So we basically, that day, so she's a huge Snowfall fan, right? And that day, we were at lunch, I think, talking about how

we could collaborate because we actually wanted to get her. You went on a date before. No, it wasn't a date. It's work he said. Talking about collaborating. You know guys and girls could be friends. Yeah absolutely. Yeah I agree with you. That's exactly what me and and DR we're friends. Okay all right so go ahead so y'all you're on a date eating. Oh my gosh. Eating lunch. Yeah but... Or was it dinner? So we're having lunch

and then she wanted to show me her new place because I love CB2 and I was going to give her some ideas about furniture and art and then boom, we went and then she was playing the piano.

That's it. I was in there for like five minutes and I dipped out. She's a friend. She's a friend of mine. No, that's nice. I mean, of course, you guys knew that was going to make the internet go crazy, though. Yeah. Because people also would like, they would be such a cute couple.

Those people would be a cute couple, I think. But you were in a long-term relationship prior to that, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. What happened with that? Oh, boy. You should answer the drug question. This is going to be the one. Oh, my God. to that yeah yeah yeah why what happened with that oh boy this is we're still really close really good friends I was with her for a very long time I met her when I was 18 years old um who knows man who knows what could happen in the

future you know she's very much still in my life and we talked like every single I met her when I was 18 years old. Who knows, man? Who knows what could happen in the future? She's very much still in my life. We talk like every single day. It's so funny. People struggle to keep relationships with their exes. But I am at a place in my life now where everyone I meet, I want them to be in my life forever. Because I realized so many people are coming into my life, taking my energy, hearing my dreams, hearing my stories, and then they're gone.

And now they're telling that to the world. So I want people to stay in my life so I can keep that loyalty. And I made that decision with her, you know, and I know that's a woman that I'm going to know forever. So regardless of what happens in my love life, every relationship just has to deal with that. Did she call you and say, hey, a word, Saweetie's piano, dot, dot, dot. Did you get that text? Yeah. But like, no, she's cool. She's an amazing woman.

She's cool. She understands. She's an amazing woman. She's cool. She understands. She's a grown woman. You also talk about that Denzel is your idol as far as acting. Oh, yeah. So when you see, I don't want to mess up the young lady's name, but when you see the young lady interviewing Denzel and she mentions your name and he didn't know who you were,

break that down when you've seen it and how you felt. Like, you watch the TV, be like, oh, Denzel. And he was like, who that is? And then he asked the white guy white guy the white guy oh i don't i don't know who that is no it was it was insane so i was at home um and my phone's your house or sweetie's house wow i'm at my house okay your house so i'm at my house I'm at my house By yourself? By myself Alright just ask Yeah by myself And my phone's like Blowing up

And it's like a Bunch of articles And stuff like that And people are calling me And it was like Yo Denzel's like Talking about you I'm like oh my god

This is crazy Like So then Yeah He didn't know who I was And he called me That's an address but that was funny though that was funny but hey man like it's a new day you know um it's a new day and you know you could bash

uh you know getting notoriety through social media I'm not gonna lie like there's a lot of my kind of existence has been on that through my work and just through just being me And some people from the past still don't respect that But look what social media has done for so many people today And we have to start moving in the direction of the future but above all things and all of that noise Denzel Washington is my idol. He's like a god to me.

And I will never have anything bad to ever say about him. Did you ever get up with him after that? Did you ever speak? Because I'm sure people try to put you out again. I'm sure there's people that he knows that you know. No, I haven't seen him. But I like to fantasize that he's at home watching snowfall let me find out that boy good yeah because of how much people talked about it

i'm sure it made him feel like damn i should know who he is hopefully because it was it was crazy i will say though you know to journalists when you present a new actor or a new musician or someone you like like to some of these these giants please present them in the right way she presented me like I was all day I'm in my living room topless like so he's like social media is cute but do the work I'm like been doing like I'm working but but just just to you know so knows, I remember when Lil Wayne, when they were asking Lil Wayne about new artists, and Lil Wayne was like, I don't know who that is. And people were getting on him like, he's one of the biggest artists.

Lil Wayne was like, yo, I'm in my own bubble. I'm in my own world. And people got on him, and it could be the same thing. He could be in his own world, and like you said, he doesn't know. But I'm sure he knows now. I'm sure after this he did his homework. He had to. Yeah, man.

I would hope so. And like I'm sure after this he did his homework. He had to. Yeah, man. I would hope so. And like I said, man, he is just fantastic. You know, he's a great example of class, good taste, prestige. And that's the essence. And y'all never met before? Never met him. No. So you know what you're going to say when the first time you meet him?

When the first time you be like? Just thank you. Just thank you. Now, how many seasons So you know what you're going to say when the first time you meet him? When the first time you'll be like, just thank you. Just thank you. Now, how many seasons do you think Snowfall is going to go for? This is my last one. I'm done. I'm playing. Because it can't go on without you anyway.

I know, I know. You know, the show is great in a sense that it's creating so many opportunities, not just in front of the camera, behind the camera, man. Like, if you look at the people who are working on Snowfall, from the writers to the directors to the producers, it's just a diverse group of people, and it's exactly what this industry has been striving for. And that's great, to see a director like Karina Evans,

who I love, Karina, directed Drake's God's Plan. And she came in and absolutely killed it. I love to see stuff like that. And that's what shows like ours are doing for people today. But hey, you know, the story, there's always an end to stories like this. Yeah, I was thinking about that because, you know, like Issa Rae knew when she wanted Insecure to end. And so I'm sure they have an idea in their head. And then seeing where you are, your character is right now, trying to get out of the game, a baby on the way.

I feel like things are going to come to a head really soon just because as soon as you start trying to get out of the game and making those decisions that you have to make something. Yeah. Yeah. Something bad always happens. The animosity between Franklin Saint and Teddy McDonald's character is in full effect. And you know what happens when people cross him.

I like to see your character because you don't really smile and make jokes much on the show. But Flying the Plane was the one time I felt like we saw him, like, really happy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, this is everything Franklin's worked for. You know, his whole life he's sacrificed and done horrible things to get to this moment. So, yeah, we're going to see some joy this season. And the fact that he has a baby on the way, I think, is part of that, too. And let me shout me shut up it was

ebony that did it ebony with two bees i think she's the one that did the interview i just want to shout her out because i said i didn't know her name oh yeah yeah yeah what's next for you what is it what is some roles that you want to do wow is there something that you like i would love to do that role like that's my dream role is it an action figure something musical. I love playing real people. So I'd love to play Eddie Murphy, Sidney Poitier, Fela Kuti. I'm actually, I don't know.

Am I allowed to say? Do you know who Rich Paul is? Yeah. Yeah, I'm about to play Rich Paul. Really? Really? Rich Paul the agent? Yeah. He said, do I know who Rich Paul is? He has a show, something about him coming out, or it's in something where Rich Paul's a character?

No. Does he? No, I'm asking you. It's something where he's... Does he? I don't know. I don't think he has a show coming out, but he's a really good friend of mine, and there's people behind this window like, why did you say that? But he called me.

He was like, tell the world. And I think we should. It's time we start cherishing black moguls. I agree. And Rich is someone that people need to know. This guy has completely changed the game. I'm happy and fortunate to call him a big brother, and I can't wait to honor his

story. That's great. He actually, right here, approached LeBron in the airport selling jerseys. Exactly. I know his story. That's crazy. And that's how they met each other. Yeah, that's insane. And then he's, as a black sports agent, he gets looked at in a completely different way. The white sports agents were so angry that he was able to come in

and get the biggest NBA player. That'll be a good story. It's going to be amazing, man. And I'm really excited. We should start telling the stories now while they're alive. Yeah. Because I just hate sometimes when we wait until somebody passes away to tell that story. Yeah.

Like you want to give them their flowers now. What he's done for, how he's changed, like you said, the NBA and the sports agencies is just really amazing. Yeah, yeah. Remember they tried to make it so that you had to be like a certain amount of classes. It was a whole big deal. Yeah, yeah. Remember they tried to make it so that you had to be like a certain amount of classes? It was a whole big deal. Yeah, yeah. And it was really based on him.

They didn't want him to have the power he had. Completely transformed the game. And it's funny, I was at the Super Bowl. I was jumping from suite to suite. Yeah, we saw. Oh, yeah, yeah. And I was with him, Kevin, and Bron, too. And, you know, I'm just completely inspired by those people.

Like I say, I'm fortunate to be in some really good circles, man. I'm learning, you know. Who have you met that has had you nervous ever? Like, has there ever been a time when you were like, I can't believe? I've been really good, man. Like, I've met some amazing people like we met Prince and we were all

you know right up here we were all nervous it's funny like I'm about to be nervous but they know so much about my work that it's like

I'm almost not allowed to be nervous anymore it's like I remember when I when I first went to the the gold parties like Oscar night and Puff like introduced me to Hov that's how I met when I when I first went to the gold party, it was like Oscar night and Puff introduced me to Hove. That's how I met Hove through Puff.

And Puff was like, yeah, yeah, Hove, this is Dampson. Did you see like the new Denzel? And I was like, oh, nice to meet you. And Hove walked away and Puff was like, you see how you acting right now? Like ain't nothing a big deal. Yeah, keep that. Keep that. So ever since then, if I meet anyone, and it isn't like some hater stuff.

I love them, but I'm going to keep it in, you know, because, you know, at the end of the day, like I said, if I ever meet Denzel, it's just thank you. I'm not asking for a picture. I'm not asking for advice, anything. Just thank you. You've already given me everything just through existing. And I've got to ask you about D-Ray Davis' character.

My man. Shout out to D-Ray. On the show, man. It looks like he's using, but not just cold and allergies. Wow. No, he's got a cold. He's got that Omicron.

The whole time sniffing? It's summer colds, man. He's got allergies. You know? Yeah. Well, Damson has to's summer colds, man. You got allergies. You know? Yeah. Well, Damson has to leave now. Oh, man. Alright, good. I would try to get a couple of spoilers out of you, but... I know. You're really good, though. But I think I did well.

We appreciate you for joining us, brother. Congratulations and good luck with everything, man. I love the fact that you're producing. I can't wait to see what else you have coming up just because we met you a few years ago, and I think it's't wait to see what else you have coming up. Just because we met you so like a few years ago. And I think it's just amazing to see where you are and where the show is now. And a large part of that is because of you. Wow, man, that means so much, man.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. Well, it's Damson Idris. It's The Breakfast Club. Good morning. Hey, guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs,

the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag.

This is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that?

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I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best, and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you.

Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Jha. And I go by the name Q Ward. And we'd

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