Sixteen-year-old Marsai Martin has unquestionably made a name for herself in Hollywood. Starting out as an actress on the hit ABC television show, Black-ish, the talented teen has skyrocketed her career to encompass her own production company, Genius Entertainment, making history as the youngest ever producer on her 2019 comedy Little, and much more.
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Well, Martin isn’t slowing down anytime soon and recently, she sat down or an exclusive interview with ET’s Unfiltered to talk about it all. Below are a few excerpts from her interview. Take a peek at what she had to say as she dished on her favorite makeup, growing up in the spotlight, finding her voice, and more.
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Martin on having a platform to use her voice.
“I’m blessed to actually have the platform that I have,” Martin tells ET in her interview. “Being a Black girl, even in [a] white, male-dominated industry, you have to use your voice. You have to speak your mind for your audience.”
Martin on paving the way for others to follow.
“Back when I was in Texas, I didn’t see young Black girls who looked like me. I just thought they weren’t allowed to be on screen, and I don’t want anyone to feel that way,” Martin pointed out, before adding that she wants people to “really use their talents for the greater good” without worrying about “what they look like and how people will see them.”
Martin on growing up in the spotlight.
“I feel like I’m still the same me and that’s what I love about myself,” she said in the interview. “Going into Black-ish and national commercials, and even pitching Little at a young age, I was, like, nine or 10, and honestly I feel like at that age, I just didn’t care about how people would look at me.”
The teen continued, “I had a vision and I just went towards it I just saw it as a fun game. Even pitching Little, I was like, ‘I’m just talking to my homies… the heads of Universal.’ I really loved how back then, my mind was just carefree, fearless, do whatever without hesitation, and I feel like that’s how people should be these days. I feel like everyone is so on [their] toes, and don’t really want to use their platform because there’s ‘cancel culture.’ I want to do things because they make me happy, or make me feel good, and came from my headspace. I feel like everyone should think that way.”
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Martin on diversity.
“People are really realizing that Black women don’t get the same recognition as the ‘normal’ standard of beauty,” she says. “‘Normal’ is everyone, honestly. For me, it’s very important to have a diverse cast to where everyone sees themselves in anything that they do.”
To read the remainder of the interview, click here. The future is super bright for Martin and we cannot wait to enjoy the journey right along with her.
