Vincent Jamal Hooper found Ellington’s soft-spoken voice by studying Phylicia Rashad.
In Netflix’s A Different World, Hooper plays Ellington Kendall, a Hillman TA whose Season 1 finale reveals he’s the son of Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet). Hooper spoke exclusively with BLKCinema.com about carrying that legacy, building Ellington from the ground up, his on-screen bond with Maleah Joi Moon’s Deborah and why the show matters right now.
Vincent Jamal Hooper on Ellington’s Huxtable lineage
Hooper said he learned about Ellington’s family early and used it to shape the character.
“My initial way in was, I learned about his lineage very early on, and so I leaned into that in terms of influencing who this guy was,” Hooper said. “He’s surrounded by a lot of influential, powerful Black women, his grandmother, his mom, his sister, his aunt. And even in his relationship with Cree as her TA, that feels like a very intentional choice. So letting that color the gentle way that he engages with other people and the comfortability he has in his own skin.”
To get there, he went back to the source.
“I went back and I watched a few episodes, or clips on YouTube, just to get a sense of the quality of his parents, because we are all byproducts of who we come from,” Hooper said. “I was trying to get a handle on some of their mannerisms and the energy with which they enter a space. People have highlighted online that he’s a soft-spoken guy, and I kind of pulled that from how Phylicia Rashad played her character, because she has this way of speaking that feels like velvet. So I was trying to pull from these influences to build this guy as a fully formed human being.”
How ‘A Different World’ honors the original
Hooper said he sensed the show was special while filming.
“When we were shooting it, I had this feeling, just looking around and seeing more Black people on a set or a project than I’ve ever seen in my whole career. There’s a comfort in that, but there was also a sense that, oh, this feels really special,” Hooper said. “This feels like one of those things where five, 10 years from now, folks are going to be looking at names like Cornell and Maleah and Vincent in other projects and being like, where did these people come from? It’s all going to lead right back to A Different World. I felt that while we were shooting it, and it’s just been nice to see what feels a bit like divine confirmation of that in the response that the audience has had to it.”
He credited the returning cast, including Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell, with bridging generations.
“We get a lot of mileage and a lot of wonderful grace by having Kadeem and Jasmine and Cree and Darryl in the show, with storylines that are really engaging. I think that goes a long way to endear us to the community at large,” Hooper said. “If you’re someone who’s never seen the original and you’re on the younger end of the spectrum, there’s all these very pretty young Black people on your screen that I’m sure will be really engaging for you. And if you’re familiar with the original version, we have those people in it. So you get that hit of nostalgia, but also the characters have evolved and grown along with you.”
Why ‘A Different World’ matters right now
Asked about the show arriving at a time when series centered on young Black casts are rare, Hooper said the timing feels intentional.
“I’m a preacher’s kid, so the thing that first comes to mind is, to everything there is a time and a season, right? It’s time for this show, given the sociopolitical climate that we are inundated with,” Hooper said. “I think it has been almost divinely positioned, the show coming out and having the cast that it does and the diverse exploration of the diaspora. I think it’s important to see Black humanity, and also to understand that it’s not monolithic, and to see the variety in it, that we can be a great many things. I think that’s helpful to us as a people on our own, and also in the greater conversation with these other powers that be in the world.”
He said reflecting the moment is part of the job.
“If we have the responsibility to do that, I think that’s what art is meant for,” Hooper said. “If we are not offering a truthful reflection, or at least an honest reflection, of what is out here, then who’s going to do that?”
Vincent Jamal Hooper on Ellington and Deborah
The season ends with Ellington and Deborah together, but Hooper isn’t making predictions about where things land.
“Whatever the endgame is, is above my pay grade,” Hooper said. “But in terms of the chemistry and the dynamic with Maleah in those scenes, I told her, this was maybe week two of shooting, the hype around her that she got for Hell’s Kitchen and all those things, it’s well deserved. She is easily one of the best scene partners I’ve ever had.”
“Any chemistry that people sense between Ellington and Deborah is really, at least on my end, from a place of, I’m just a fan of this person in real life, her as the artist and her as a person,” he continued. “So it’s very easy to translate that into onscreen affection.”
As for the flood of fan edits, Hooper said it still makes him laugh.
“It’s such an odd thing to open up any social media platform on a given day and be met with pictures and videos of yourself that you did not post. It’s like, oh, when did I take this? How did you get this shot of me on the carpet?” Hooper said. “It is really very flattering. It just makes me laugh.”
What Vincent Jamal Hooper wants from Season 2
A Different World has since been renewed for Season 2, and when we spoke ahead of the news, Hooper already knew who he’d like to share the screen with.
“Given Ellington’s family, it’s just stacked. It’s so unfair. Lisa Bonet, Phylicia Rashad, Raven-Symoné. I’m like, please, give us all three,” Hooper said. “I would just love to have the privilege of being in a scene with all of them.”
He also sees echoes of Ellington’s parents in his relationship with Deborah.
“He is very responsible and kind of focused. I get similar dynamics to his parents, and so knowing how his parents’ relationship turned out ultimately, I’m curious about seeing the potential rub of Deborah and Ellington, what they bring out of each other, and also how they change each other for the better,” Hooper said. “Maybe he could be a bit more cool and borrow that from her, and then maybe she gets a bit more of his stuff.”
Featured image photo credit: Netflix
Leave a Reply