Anthony Anderson has returned to his comedic realm in the upcoming series ‘Guys With Kids.’ In the sitcom, Anderson portrays a stay-at-home dad who does everything from changing diapers to making baby formula for his infant children. Anthony acts alongside former ‘Cosby Show’ actress Tempestt Bledsoe to give the audience lots of laughs. Anderson recently interviewed with the Los Angeles Wave where he talked about the show and his teenage children.
Working with little ones on the set.
“As I’ve told every reporter who asked that question, the kids are the real stars of the show. That’s where the magic happens with them, and, you know, we’re kind of handcuffed and forced to go where they lead us. That’s where we have a lot of fun in these episodes.”
Securing the role.
“The script fell into my lap. I read it. It came from Jimmy. They offered it to me. It was great. I could see where this show could go. Everything jumped off the page at me and I just felt it was a no-brainer. It’s maybe easy, especially when you’re doing a comedy about stay-at-home dads, or about dads, to fall into that Mr. Mom dynamic where dads are naturally inept at doing everything from spilling the baby formula to putting the diaper on backwards. I called the writers and applauded them for not giving us the lowest common denominator to work with in these situations as actors. I mean, you can go for the quick and easy laugh all the time, but that’s short-lived. It goes to show that we’re all invested in this for the long run and it makes coming to work and bringing life to the words that are on the page that much more fun and that much easier.”
Anderson’s real-life kids.
“My daughter is 16-years-old, a junior in high school, who plays volleyball and has a boyfriend, who happens to be the quarterback of the football team. I never thought those days would happen. [Nathan] is 12-years-old and when I tell you the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, truer words have never been spoken. I just took him on an audition yesterday. About five years ago, he pointed to my wife and said: “Mom, I want to be an actor.” He’s come close on a few things, and one day he’ll get a job. I told him the other day, you can’t get what you want this soon; you just have to work for it and eventually the chips will fall in your favor.”
Watch Guys With Kids on September 26 at 8:30 p.m. (EST) on NBC.
