*Nicco Annan, who plays the character Uncle Clifford on the Starz series “P-Valley,” recently had a sit down with Ida Harris of Madamniore.com. In the piece, Annan spoke extensively about his character, the changes that he sees occurring in the Black community regarding acceptance and understanding of individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ community, and much more.
Annan, who has appeared in “This Is Us” and “Half Sisters,’ told the outlet how his connection to Ghanaian roots helped him gain a better understanding of himself as an individual of African descent as a child.
That awareness and confidence was essential to him being comfortable in any theatrical or cinematic incarnation.
“My dad is from Ghana, and I grew up with the affirmation that people who had a gap, they were special,” Annan told the outlet. “The ancestors were giving them a little something special to distinguish themselves. I was a 12/13-year-old hearing that story from my aunt back in Ghana when I visited.”
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“That trip had changed my life and my viewpoint of myself. So, it was always so important to me to kind of include all of us in the creation of the story. People could pressure you—not in this production—but [in general]”
Like many, Nicco doesn’t fit the mold of the typical actor, and trying to navigate the world of Hollywood, without a square jaw, blonde hair, big pecs and a six-pack, can become detrimental to one’s own mental well being.
“I’m talking about the scene where you have to lose weight. You got to be a certain size. You got to have hip creases, you got to have pecs galore. Listen, you know what it is?” he explained.
Said Annan of his unique attributes: “I think they are very impactful, empowering parts of myself that are interwoven in the character and one thing I just talked about is that Black pride. I think my journey of self-acceptance as a Black gay man is akin to Uncle Clifford’s journey in accepting her full self.”
“It’s the connective tissue of humanity that we all can feel when you see that character, whether you are a Puerto Rican plus-size woman and you’re relating to it or if you are a senior generation and you identify,” he continued.
The character Uncle Clifford is described as a non-binary strip club owner, and has become a fan favorite of all types of brothers and sisters-gay or otherwise. However, according to at least one YouTuber, the Uncle Clifford character was something of an afterthought.
Now they are perhaps the most popular character on the show. Who’d have thunk it? Casting, that’s who.
“It’s a testament to me, to the crafting of the character on the page that Katori has done. I’ll take some credit for breathing some life into her. I know the conversations that we had in the very beginning, back in 2009 when she first approached me with the character, and she was talking to me about why she wanted to create this character, all of that, it was built to be inclusive of all people. I will say people can think that some of the sassier parts of Uncle Clifford the more edgy sharp–I think the edge also, I was born in Detroit.”
P-Valley is on the verge of finishing up a wildly popular second season on Starz.
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