Miami native Sheaun McKinney talked about his new role on upcoming series The Neighborhood and how it furthers his mission to open the conversations and change the views of African Americans in the U.S. His passion was more than evident and we can be sure to see more as he begins introducing his self-written projects.
Before you started acting, you were really great at playing football. Instead of pursuing a career in football, what made you pursue a career in theatre?
I still consider myself great at playing football. I grew up in Miami and when you grow up in the inner city of Miami all you want to do is play football. But, as great as I thought I wasn’t as great as everyone else around me. Then when I went to Miami Dade College my mom made me audition for a play. Once I did, I saw what it did to me as a person. It just helped me to grow and blossom. I stuck with it for a while and then I’d try to do other things. But then, it always ended up that acting was the right career path for me.
Excellence is defined as the state of eminence or excelling. You were gifted with a collegiate scholarship for theatre, you started a theatre company, Ground Up & Rising, with your friend, and you’ve been in countless shows and movies with notable people. How would you define your excellence and what would you attribute it to?
First and foremost, I attribute it all to faith. I believe that when you are in tune with your faith, anything is possible. Also, I have been blessed to have the greatest parents. My mom and dad are incredible human beings! They somehow raised three boys in the projects and we’re all upstanding members of society. I give them all the credit. Never ever did they bash me for having dreams for a career in the arts or doing anything that wasn’t a blue-collar job. They allowed me to find my way. I also got to a point in my life where I got over my pride. For most of us, if we drop down that ego lots of things are possible. Life is just so much more better if you chase things that are self-fulfilling in a way that’s giving. So yeah, faith, family, and humility, if I could have any excellence.
You mostly play comedic and dramatic roles. Why particularly those genres and what are your thoughts on venturing out?
That’s funny, because with my theatre company we only do intense, dramatic work, like in-your-face, heartbreaking work on stage. When I got to LA, people thought I was funny, so I got on first through comedy. I realize with the landscape of LA as an artist its best to transition from comedy to drama, because comedy is just one of those things you can’t teach it. You’re just funny or you’re not. And, people are more inclined to watch someone attempt to go from comedy to drama versus the reverse of that. So, I’m happy that it went this way. But I am planning to venture out and to try all things. My goal as an actor is to be able to play anything. That’s my job as well: to write and create for myself. On stage, I’ve able to play a variety of roles and that’s slowly starting to happen in film. I did a guest starring on Snowfall and people who know me from then can’t believe I’m the same kid.
You star as Malcolm on the new series The Neighborhood. What has it been like working alongside Tichina Arnold and Cedric the Entertainer?
It has been a dream every day. I’m sure you were and still are, as I am, a fan of those two. We’ve been watching them as kids and to be working with them now is crazy! I keep telling people that I think they are better people than they are artists. They can easily come on set and be “some kind of way,” but they are the nicest people. I don’t think the world knows how talented Tichina Arnold is. She is truly gifted. To be around Cedric the Entertainer, it shocks me every day. I’ve able to learn and grow.
Can you tell me a little bit about this series and some ways you have evolved as an actor?
The show was created by Jim Reynolds, who was a writer on the Big Bang Theory. The series is loosely based on him and his wife moving to LA from Michigan. They are two middle-aged white people who buy a house in an all-Black neighborhood. In many ways, the show is a microcosm of what’s going on in this country. We are at such a heightened state of opinions and of distrust of each other. We see that happening in society and in this show as this white family moves into this Black neighborhood. You see Cedric’s character react to all of this. What’s great about this show is that you get a very comedic blend, so people are inclined to listen. People will be able to learn something about each other because we all have these perspectives about each other that may be completely wrong. In The Neighborhood, you watch these two people, whether they like it or not, live in the same neighborhood. That is America. This show harpers back to shows like Good Times. We use comedy, but I think it’s really just about communication and the dialogue among each other.
How would you say your Afro-Caribbean background has influenced not only your acting in this series but throughout your career?
It’s always there. As an African American artist, my greatest fight is always to humanize African Americans. What I mean is, so much of what you see of us on TV and film is so extreme. You see us yelling and screaming or you see us slap-stick funny and you rarely ever get to see African Americans just be human, with emotions at different levels. This show allows you to see a family of humans, that has its problems like any other family, but it takes you inside. You see a Black family communicate. You rarely ever get to see that on TV. For me, that’s always the greatest plight for me as an artist.
Well, thank you so much for chatting with us at Urban! But, before you go can you still be what we can expect from you next?
You’re very welcome and thank you for having me! You’ll actually see me in a film coming up called Boss Level. You’ll see me in an episode of the HBO series called Room 104. Also, look out soon for my own projects to be coming out soon. I’m writing as much as I can because that’s my biggest goal: to write and create my own projects. So, look out for that more than anything else!
Sciler Williams
