Marcus Scribner Reflects on The 'Grown-ish' Lessons He Learned & Expanding His Production Company

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Actor/producer Marcus Scribner PHOTO BY MATT SAYLES

After growing up before our eyes as Andre Jr. on ABC’s Black-ish and Grown-ish, Marcus Scribner reflects on the latter’s final season, the lessons he’s picked up along the way and further expanding his Scribner Productions company.

How do you think you’ve grown as a person after starring in Black-ish and Grown-ish?

It took a long time, but I’m finally feeling more comfortable in my own skin, which I think was quite the journey. I’ve always been a really shy kid. I think Junior exemplified that as a character. I’ve just been feeling more comfortable saying what’s on my mind, speaking up for what I need and what I think is right. A lot of that is thanks to being on the show, and being put in positions where I had to converse with adults from such a young age and share my thoughts and opinions on where our character arc should go.

I had to step up as a lead when it came to Grown-ish for the past two seasons. And I attribute those skills to obviously my upbringing, my parents and my family, but also to the environment that was Black-ish and Grown-ish. They were a huge part of my childhood that I’m very grateful for. It’s been interesting to see Junior evolve as a character. Having somebody grow up parallel to you is odd. They would take a lot of my character traits and some of the things that I liked and incorporate [them] into the character, which, again, was crazy. But it’s been a really cool experience. I’ve learned from him a bit. I’m very excited for people to finally see the end of his arc.

You hinted at the next question, as I was going to ask you just about that parallel. Are there personality traits that you may share with Andre?

I think we're very passionate about what we're passionate about. We both love fantasy and sci-fi in video games and nerdy things like that. And I know Jr. slash Andre is also very passionate about those things. I think Andre has even more of a level of competence that I'm still striving to achieve in life, which I really admire about the character. His love and care for the people around him is something that I bring from my real life—not trying to toot my horn—with my family and friends. I really, really care about them and value them. And I think Andre has done that for years and years and years, always putting other people before himself. Tthose are two core traits of the character that that I definitely resonate with.

How I Learned to Fly was Scribner’s production debut. PHOTO BY MATT SAYLES

The characters on both shows are very relatable and show the variety of personalities in our community.

What I appreciated so much about our show was it wasn’t only diversity on camera. There’s a lot of diversity off camera. I thought it was an industry standard to have a set that looks like ours. There were people of color in every single facet of our production. I remember Laurence [Fishburne] leaned to me one day and was like, ‘I hope you appreciate this because it’s not always like this. I remember the first Black production was a bunch of years into my career.’ I think we did a pretty good job of uplifting people who started with us and creating a very diverse and inclusive set—just people who are good at their jobs, love what they do and are great to be around. It’s a family environment that I’m very thankful to have grown up in.

I definitely want to touch on your Scribner Productions. I was trying to find out what when it launched but I wasn't sure of the actual year. Was it last year?

I think it was around two years ago. It's been in the works for a while so the lines are blurry with in my head of where when we launched it. But [I had] the aim of uplifting young Black voices and putting us in positions and roles that really resonate with me and my father, who is my co-producer in the company. So far we've made one film, How I Learned to Fly, which is out on should be on Starz currently. Lonnie Chavis, Cedric the Entertainer, Method Man, aka Cliff. It was an excellent film about two brothers learning how to survive on the streets after their mother is taken from them. I had a lot of fun and resonated with my character Daniel. Lonnie is such a talented young actor; I learned a lot from him. And our dynamic was amazing. It was so much fun to film. We shot on a shoestring budget. No offense, I’m not a huge fan of all the press.

I know.

I like this because it feels conversational.

I love when talent rambles, just because I know you guys do press junkets and all these interviews. I you know all get asked the same questions over and over again.

So you asked about Scribner Poductions, which doesn’t come up a lot.

Because I want to get more into that. I didn’t watch the movie yet as I didn’t know it was on streaming now. But I did check out the trailer. I always appreciate when actors step out of their comfort zone. And of course, we've known you to be more comedic. And I know you got into some more dramatic roles with How to Blow Up a Pipeline, but I feel like How I Learned to Fly is digging a little bit deeper. What was that experience like for you?

For me as an actor, and just a person in general—I think you’ll hear this from a lot of actors—I overthink so much. I’m thinking about 20 million things at once while I’m trying to just be present in the scene, take in what’s happening around me and work with my scene partner. [This film] was a really cool exercise in being present, stepping outside of myself and just feeling what I feel. I was surrounded by such great actors, as I was with plenty of other projects in the past, but this was a very different character for me. I don’t often get to be pissed on screen and just lose my sh-t. It was fun. And it was freeing because it’s like I have all those kinds of things built up inside of me. And this acting thing is a nice release.

Everybody was so talented and perfectly cast. It was interesting, too, because I produced it. So being able to put on that hat and then switch back to the actor hat on the fly was a new ability that I had to flex. It was a learning process. I feel like the movie came out very, very well. I’m very proud of what we did. Not to mention we shot it on a shoestring budget. So we were really there for the love. We’re like, ‘This joint is gonna be fire.’

I think when you have a smaller budget, the passion comes out more because you want it to succeed. And I feel like you grow a closer connection with your co-stars as well, because you all have the same end goal of really wanting to happen.

And you have a lot more creative freedom. I've been doing indies for a minute now. I love them because you get to do and say whatever you really want or feel in the moment. My favorite part is the collaborative process between you and your director, breaking down the character and understanding what you want from scene. I had a lot of fun.

The actor and his father (the company’s co-producer) are currently working on new projects under Scribner Productions. PHOTO BY MATT SAYLES

Now that I'm thinking about it. Did you produce any episodes of Grown-Ish or Black-ish before? Or was this movie the first time?

This is my first time producing. I've never produced an episode before. So that's my first foray.

Was there anything that you picked up from working with executive producers on those shows that you carried through for this experience?

As an actor, you prepare and make sure that you're ready for the moment. But your job is done after the cameras cut—outside of doing your press tour, or whatever promotional thing you have to do. And being a producer, your job is continuous. So it definitely taught me a little bit of empathy for producers. I'm always like, ‘Come on, y'all. We can do this. We can do this.’ Now I'm like, ‘We are stretched too thin, the budget is tight.’ So it definitely gave me a little bit more of a business-minded look at things. It was a great learning experience. Of course, being on Grown-Ish and Black-ish and getting to talk to our amazing producers — everybody over there taught me a lot. But on-the-job training is definitely the way to go.

What is your dream vision for this production company?

I want us to be the heroes of our own stories. I think oftentimes Black characters are used as a box to check. It’s like, ‘OK, we’ve included diversity, and we have Black people in this movie,’ but this character doesn’t feel fleshed out and doesn’t feel authentic. I love fantasy, I love sci-fi. So I want to create films that I enjoy, with people who look like me and think like me, which I think is very important. Because you can have a Black character who’s written by a white person. You’re like, ‘What the hell is this?’

“I WANT US TO BE THE HEROES OF OUR OWN STORIES. I THINK OFTENTIMES BLACK CHARACTERS ARE USED AS A BOX TO CHECK.” –MARCUS SCRIBNER

I think just creating characters that feel authentic in worlds that I really enjoy is the end goal. Who knows, maybe the first Black Lord of the Rings? I think anything is possible. Aragorn is Black in [card game] Magic: The Gathering. Big nerd shout-out. I hope anybody who caught that knows.

What is an album or song that you think defines both you and your character Andre Jr.?

Ah, dang, it’s hard. My albums are OnePointFive by Aminé and Nevermind by Nirvana. Let me think for Andre. This is hard. Just do a Drake album or something. Maybe we’ll do If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late.

I was thinking ofTake Care.

Take Care could be fire. Put both. He seems like a Drizzy fanatic.