Inside the Black Actors Studio: Arguing for a Spin-off of the Bravo Series

At some point or another, nearly all of us have encountered the Bravo series Inside the Actors Studio. It's wonderful to see these actors outside of their normal controlled, tightly directed cocoons and engaging in a normal conversation. Many of us enjoy hearing them talk about their motivations, their techniques, and their aspirations. There is also the satisfaction of seeing actors who have reached the peak of their profession get the opportunity to perform a career retrospective, of sorts. We learn about the highs, we learn about the lows, and we find out how they got where they are today.

But there are three problems with the program the way it is presented today. First, there is a terrible dearth of African-Americans on the program (of the more than 200 solo interviewees, only 17 are Black). In the history of the program, only 4 African-American women have ever been interviewed. Needless to say, this leaves an unforgivable number of qualified minority voices who have been completely overlooked. If the program is truly interested in interviewing the world's most "accomplished actors," it seems that the producers have to find a way to bring Sidney Poitier onto the stage before trotting out Mark Ruffalo.

My second criticism is that the program chooses from far too narrow a field of actors. The premise of the program is that these actors are being interviewed in front of (and eventually by) a group of film school students. Why not produce a show performed in front of a more inclusive group of acting students? It seems reasonable that the audience could also learn about the craft from actors and actresses who have spent much of their career on stage instead of on a movie set (like Sheryl Lee Ralph or Phylicia Rashad) or who found greater opportunity and success in television than in film (like Bill Cosby or Garrett Morris).

Finally, nearly everyone interviewed on the show is either a director or is an above-the-title name. Outside of cameo appearances, can you recall a Will Smith performance wherein he's credited anywhere below the second male lead? And while it's entertaining to hear about Will Smith's career, it might be more practical to learn about the acting business from his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Alfonso Ribeiro. Ribeiro was a child star; he's done Broadway, television, commercials, and films; he's worked as an actor, as a crew member, and as a director; he's been in music videos, an instructional dance video, reality television, and he's even hosted a game show and performed animated voiceover work. The point isn't that Ribeiro's an ideal guest. Instead, think about how many incredible opportunities there are for fascinating interviews within the African-American acting profession if someone would take the time to look for them.

So why wouldn't Black Entertainment Television consider creating a version of the show aimed at an African-American audience? The average season of Inside the Actors Studio lasts 12 episodes. If one wanted to make an all-Black version, he or she could produce an absolute murderer's row of acting prowess in the first season alone, even limiting the names to those who have never appeared on the flagship program: Denzel Washington, James Earl Jones, Ruby Dee, Bill Cosby, Sidney Poitier, Angela Bassett, Cicely Tyson, Phylicia Rashad, Tyler Perry, Andre Braugher, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Charles S. Dutton. Another interesting concept would be to keep production costs minimal and interview as many actors as one could over the course of a season. Bill Cobbs, Harry Belafonte, Common, John Amos, Rosario Dawson, Omar Epps, Michael Clarke Duncan, Diahann Carroll, LeVar Burton... that's just the first four letters of the alphabet.

This show wouldn't have to be quite as stuffy as the Bravo version - Inside the Actor's Studio bucked the normal network trend of hiring someone young, good-looking, and engaging. It would be important to choose someone with acting experience (to relate to the guest), but at the same time not someone who could overwhelm the guest. It's easy to picture a Morris Chestnut or an Ananda Lewis in this role.

In short, there's a niche available for a production company to create an important, educational, entertaining program aimed at the African-American community. These actors have a right to have their stories recorded as well.