August 6, 2025 • 47 mins
In this exclusive episode of Brutally Honest with Torrei Hart, Flex Alexander finally sets the record straight. Mark Alexander Knox, better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer. He began his career while appearing on numerous of television sitcoms before portraying single father Flex Washington on the UPN sitcom One on One. Alexander also had a number of roles in many films including Modern Vampires (1998), The Force (1999), Out Cold (2001), Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs (2002), Gas (2004), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and Trigger (2020). Born in Harlem, Alexander is the son of Alethia Knox and Robert Whitehead. As a teen, he began dancing in New York night clubs earning the nickname "Flex" due to his acrobatic dance skills. After being discovered by DJ Spinderella, he began touring with rap trio Salt-n-Pepa and remained with the dance troupe for three years. In addition to dancing, Alexander also choreographed for Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah. In 1989, he made his stand-up comedy debut and eventually turned to acting, making his film debut in the 1992 film Juice. Alexander also was a regular cast member of the sketch comedy show Uptown Comedy Club from 1992 to 1994. Alexander's first television role was on the short-lived 1993 ABC sitcom Where I Live, starring Doug E. Doug. Despite being critically acclaimed, the series was canceled that same year. Alexander then guest starred on episodes of Sister, Sister and The Cosby Mysteries before moving to Los Angeles in 1995 to concentrate on acting. In 1996, he landed a starring role on another short-lived sitcom Homeboys in Outer Space. The series was critically panned and canceled the following year. Later that year, Alexander co-starred in yet another short-lived series, the Steven Bochco-created Total Security. Following Total Security's run, Alexander guest starred on Brooklyn South and The Parkers, and also had roles in several films including the 1998 direct-to-video release Backroom Bodega Boyz and She's All That (1999). From 2000 to 2001, Alexander appeared as Maya Wilkes' husband Darnell during the first season of the UPN sitcom Girlfriends. He left Girlfriends to star as single father Flexter Alexander "Flex" Barnes Washington on the UPN sitcom One on One, a series he created and produced.[6] For his role on the series, Alexander was nominated for three NAACP Image Awards and two BET Comedy Awards. In 2004, he portrayed Michael Jackson in the VH1 television biopic Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story, which garnered him another NAACP Image Award nomination. He refused to play Jackson with prosthetics, but did mimic his voice, copied mannerisms and had a makeup job done to lighten his skin tone. He also refused to "cast judgement" over the singer's legal troubles of the time and said "we should pray for him". Alexander returned to One on One for two more seasons, however, during the last season, his character was written out and reduced to a recurring role when the show's premise was rebooted. Following the end of One on One, Alexander had roles in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane, opposite Samuel L. Jackson, and the 2007 horror film The Hills Have Eyes 2. He also had a role in Clement Virgo's Poor Boy's Game, with Danny Glover. Alexander's most recent role was in a 2007 episode of CSI: Miami. Flex and his wife, Shanice, had their own reality show Flex & Shanice that premiered on November 1, 2014, on the OWN. In 2022, Flex was cast as "Pookie" in the stage adaptation of New Jack City: Live on Stage, written, produced and directed by urban playwright and film producer Je'Caryous Johnson. Alexander, a born-again Christian, married R&B singer Shanice Wilson on February 19, 2000. They have two children, daughter Imani Shekinah Knox (born August 23, 2001) and son Elijah Alexander Knox (born March 5, 2004). Alexander is a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. đź‘‘ This isn’t your average interview—it’s Brutally Honest. đź”” New episodes drop weekly! Subscribe for more unfiltered conversations that go beyond the headlines. đź“ŤFollow Torrei Hart on Instagram: @torreihart
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What Yes, wait a minute, nothing, man was taking out trash.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
He was cooking hot the hut.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Because I didn'teen any representation of us. Right. You don't
know if this man did for me. The true godfather
of black sicam Eric Monty. He wrote Coolie High Jefferson's
Good Times. I really don't know how I got Michael.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Really around town like he the sh what's up, y'all?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Is your girl Tory Heart here?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And I am back for another episode of Brutally Honest
with Tory Hart, and I am coming to you live
from Los Angeles, California, and today I have I would have.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
To say, Yeah, he's another living legend. I didn't had
a few legends.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
This week, and I got another one sitting right here
to my side. Not only is he an actor, he
is a comedian. He's a dancer, which some people forget. Okay,
that that's a flex. Okay, that's where the name flex
came from.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
He's a father, he's a husband, and he's just a
phenomenal person all around.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And I'm honored to have him with me here today.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So I need y'all to make some noise and give
some love to my dear friend.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Mister flex Alexander not found it?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Hey, we family that friend?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I mean yeah real, yeah, yes, yeah, I mean Flex.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
You was actually one of the first people that I
met when I moved to Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You and see, yes, how.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
She's she's great. Man. She's uh doing her musical now
forty forty Obama Musical. Okay, it's at the Kirk Dougers Theater.
She's recording, she's working, she's about to go to Japan
with Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis Japan studied.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So how is everything? How is life?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
You know? Life that way? I just mean, you know,
we take I take one day at a time.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, you know that.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I mean we talked. You know, we did. Let me
say something, this lady right here killed it. We did
a show together called New Jack City even Play, and
you know, we had some fun and I got to
see another side of Tori. I mean, not that you
didn't have that, but it was finally, you know, being
able to be showcased.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, I got to see another side of you because
you killed Pooky.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Thank you, y'all.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Anybody that know the New Jack.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
City movie, you know, okay Pooky, that's like an iconic character.
So for you to step in and embody that the
way that you did flex like I forgot about Chris Rock.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I just wanted to do something different. I mean because
I'm you know, I can't touch what he did, could
just stamp on it. I just wanted to give it
something different. And at first I didn't want to do it.
At first, I was like, man, because everybody always initially
you know, thanks to me for the funny stuff. And
I wanted to show another side. I was like, I
want to be one of the detectives. I wanted to
be Stone or somebody else. And it was my good friend,
(03:01):
our good friend, Chris Spencer, Chris that he is this
fingali Yeah, I called him. I was like, yeah, man,
they want me to do this. He said, Nikka, take
that role and kill it. Yeah, you got a license
to be funny, I said, you know what, You're right.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, And it's the fan favorite. Your character was the
fan favorite. Like we even amongst your peers that was
going to play with you, we always look forward to
seeing you coming out.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And killing your things.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I mean, I mean just the dancing, the acting, the
just as soon as you hit the stage. It was
just fun to watch you had a great time. Yeah,
and I mean we became family on the road as well.
So shout out to Alan Payne, daddy, daddy, k.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Uh yeah, everybody. Man, Yes it was it really was
a tret.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah Brown Okay, yeah he killed it man.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, she was rock.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Up bye baby, rock up by baby. She killed.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
We had four We had our ship and we got
to talk ship together. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
But it was fun, man. And that was actually the
first traveling stage play that that I've done. I've worked
with the producer here writer producer in la Don Welch.
Good brother. That was the first one I traveled with
and it was fun man. You know, as a stand
up you you thrive off of that live energy, right.
(04:35):
So it's just like you like, I couldn't wait. You know,
some people have an averse it has an averse effect.
They're like nervous. But I'm like, I love that lot,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
And we would pray before for ever show that you know,
we come together as a family, like we really were
a family on tour. I mean even before the play started.
Now see, you wasn't staying at the rinky dink hotels
like me and.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The other cast Okay, he was. He was in the plush. Okay,
flex was in the plush. He was in the five
star hotels.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Okay, four and four in a corner, four in the corner.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Won't let me tell you me And you know, we
had the other parts of the cast.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Okay, we would staying.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
But it was okay because one night we was coming
back from rehearsal, we all jumped in the pool.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
First of all, was not supposed to be in the pool.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
We came back from having a good old time at
one of them bars somewhere in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
We jumped in the pool. We were all fully clothed.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I jumped into my Jordans and Melvin but yeah, Melvin.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Was like, you're jumping in the pool of Jarns. I
was like, yes, yes, I'm jumping to the pool of Jarns.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I was like yes.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
So we had an adventure.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's why I really loved it more than anything, because
we became like this family unit and everybody's back and
that I think bought me.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And you.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Said we we go back, like, yeah, I used to
come to the house and yeah, back when I first
came out like it like it was it was good
to for us to reconnect, you know, in that light
and have that time together to you know, just to bond.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So that yeah, dope, dope, dope dope. Okay, So stand up?
What's going on with with stand up?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Are you?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I'm definitely back to stand up?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
What happened? So I started back again. A good brother
Chrispencer was the one who told me, man, you need
to get back on stage. Get back on stage. Like
I would hang with him go to shows, you know,
and I would we we'd be hanging out. I always
have just funny stuff to say, and you know, writing
or drop this in here. And he said, man, you
need to get back on stage. And I was like,
(06:43):
And then I got back on stage. It is probably
around twenty eighteen, twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, after taking like
fourteen years off.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Whoa, that's a long time.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah. Well you know I was doing one on.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
One okay, and yeah, you was getting that money I was.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I was. I tried to go out on the road
and do stand up while doing this show. I remember
I went and did this this show and Tampa, I
think it was the improv and I took my daughter
had just been born, money and Shanese came and went,
and it was a lot trying to jog, and I'm like,
(07:18):
I'm not gonna be able to do that weekend week out.
And then I was like, I'm making the money, so
why do I need to you know, And I shouldn't.
I should have kept doing it because it wasn't even
about the money. It's about that gap of fan base
you keep them with you, you know what I mean?
And that I remember I told d L that, like, man,
I didn't want to be I didn't want to be
(07:39):
away from my daughter. And you know, time passed and
I come back. She's eighteen and I don't know her.
You deal was like, man, leave him kids. Anybody as
a car.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
That is, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But yeah, like I you know, I missed that time
and so was like, get back on stage. I got
back on stage and it just it just reignited this
fire because I had more to talk about it. I
lived more life, you know, children, marriage, just all kind
of stuff, going through ups and downs, losing stuff financially
and you know, doing the whole TV show about it
(08:17):
and just just everything. And so then I got back
doing it and I was like getting really, I got
to about an hour and a half material and I'm
you know, and I had some guys who wanted to
put up some money to shoot a special because I
never shot a special, and I was like, I don't care,
you know, the areas here or whatever. I just want
to shoot a special, right, and COVID hit and I
(08:40):
was playing. I was shooting and I was going to
shoot it that June in New York and COVID hit
and I just it kind of yeah, yeah, then opening
back up and we kind of got back out there,
and then New Jack can and so I had just
(09:01):
started back again the New Jack came, so then I
had booked dates, had to cancel those dates, and then
we you know, and knew Jack went.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
For ships almost a yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
That that happened. And it just because it's been like
a stop and start. It's like when I start to
get back to stand up, something comes up. So then
I started again, and then I just got off the
road with Ja Carus his last play games women Playing.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Who was that with you, Payne Jones, Dimitri and McKinney,
Claudia Jordan's, Claudia Jordan's and oh my god, these these
stars who were born uh Erica Young and uh Naomi.
I forget her last name, I always do that. She
(09:49):
played the character Maggie. These like we all did the
same thing. We hung together, went out, we ate. We
really were cohesive.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I'm jealous.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
It was fun.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
It was fun, families, it was you know, it was
it was good. But it was good to do that. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Carl directed, you know directed, so it was just good.
I've known Car for a while. He and my my
cousin went to junior high school together, so I've known
Car for years, right, So he directed this and we
we really really have fun. He had out Jason's lyric
at the same time I saw you know, and and
(10:28):
it kind of got the big push in the money
because they had Alan and tragic, you know, but and
the title in the title. But I just got to say,
you know, games women Play, which is one of his
original pieces, was great.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And shout out to Jakari because I mean, thank you
for giving me that opportunity. First of all, because growing
up New Jack City was one of my favorite oh man,
so for me to be able to play kesha, yeah,
like I used to like really have my family watching
the movie every day, like y'all go watched this, Like,
(11:01):
you know.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I was an extra in the movie. That's a crazy thing.
You was a dancer, yes, but but it was another scene.
I kicked out of the scene because I didn't know
any better. So I knew Wesley already. So it's a
scene when they first Wesley's first coming in the club
and Ice t season and kind of pulls the glasses
down and looks. So Wesley comes in and I'm standing
(11:25):
there and I'm like, you know, what's up West?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
People was like, God, who is this?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Get his ass?
Speaker 4 (11:37):
They put me to the back so you can see
me later in the back.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I had to turn my hat around and I was
doing in the back, doing the wild I was a
little mad. It was another dude who got that scene.
He was just supposed to say like this like a nod,
and here I am. I didn't know any better. It
was an extra. I didn't know about. You know, I
couldn't speak and all that. So it was so funny.
And then when Mario came to the show in La
he actually came and he was blown away. He was born,
(12:04):
he said, he said he didn't imagine or he couldn't
imagine what they were gonna we were gonna do with
the show, and when he saw it, he was blown away.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Well that's because, like, because the movie is such like
a staple in hip hop. It's an iconic film, you know,
so for people to step into that role, it's like,
I don't know, and especially you know Mario, he was
one of the detectives in the movie.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
He's I believe he's one of Yeah, the director.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, so it's like, let me see what they're gonna
do on the stage and a play and then we
got all these funny people.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah you do that.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You did the l A show right, Yeah, of course,
the whole. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I only missed too because I booked a movie, so
I missed too. But other than that, I was there
the whole.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
The Brooklyn joint was that was.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
When I met Ice team in Cooco, that was crazy.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Tables, Yeah, that was crazy. Like to go back home,
It's just always been like, I love going back home.
When I shot a pilot, I was originally in the
series Okay Blue Bloods. I played uh Donny Warborough's original
partner and I when we were shooting in New York
(13:24):
people was gonna like, Yo, Flex, I seen you, son.
You don't get their money, son, you know New Yorkers don't. Yeah,
but in the middle of the scene, I'm like, yo,
I'm doing the scene right. So we up in Washington
Heights and like it was so dope. There's nothing like
shooting in New York.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
But Flex, people love you, Like I was witnessed it
firsthand when we was on the road and we would
go places and it's like, you know, he can't walk
anywhere without somebody like that, you know, like can I
get a pitcher?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And you know they come to me like, yo, can
I get a picture? I'm going to ask him? That
looked like go ask him. He's a nice guy, you
know what I mean. So you are loved everywhere.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I've appreciate I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I do like you.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Sometimes you don't, you don't really think about well you
think have I really made an impact? You know what
I'm saying, Like, this is just what you I'm just
being honest, this is what you know because listen, in
this business, navigating this business is it can be funky.
(14:31):
You know, when it's hot, it's hot, everybody is Yeah, Well,
you know when it gets quiet. It gets quiet, and
and you forget. And living in LA they can make
you forget. You know, that's they can make you forget.
So when you leave go to other the cities and
stuff like that, and you just see people like every
day and not saying that there's not every day people
(14:52):
in LA. But you know, it's not an industry baste population.
They you know, they should you love man, it's it's
and I forget. I'm just like, whoa, Okay, I did
do that. I did do that. I did do that.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
He did do that.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
That was like the first dance before j Lo to
transition from dancing to acting, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
You started very young in this business, you know, very young,
and you came into this business as a dancer, you know,
and I remember you had the hair, yes, yes, you
know you had those spikes that was like you know
it so whenever you would make a movie, when your
body would move, his.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Hair is straight up right yeah, kids repeat.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
But that was your signature, and that's what sets you
apart because you were an individual, you know, and so
that's why it was easy for you. Well I don't
know if it was easy, but for me looking in
as before I ever met you, I always admired you,
so you know, looking at you transition, it's felt so
easy to.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Me at least it's fun.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
So yeah, so after you, you know, you came in
the industry a dancer, and then I believe the first
big gig you got was Homeboys in Outer Space. No,
not Homeboys in outer Space.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So we gotta go back. Okay, we gotta go back
right Just to start, Okay, the start was I saw
Eddie Murphy's Delirious. I was like thirteen or fourteen, okay,
and I saw that and I said, mo, I said
I want to do that. I'm gonna do that, and
she was like, okay, baby, sure anything you say, right,
And I said that without knowing, but I guess I
(16:37):
knew internally because originally I wanted to be a ball player,
and you know, I got a scholarships go play ball,
and I messed that all up. But I said that
and because it did something to me, man watching watching
that that special it just watching that and coming up
watching Good Times the Jeffersons, And because before that I
(16:58):
was watching like Happy Days and all stuff, I didn't
see any representation of us. I recently got a chance
to meet the true godfather of black sitcom, Eric Monty.
He's still alive. You know, he wrote COOLi High Jefferson's
Good Times. You know, it just blew my mind. You know,
he's dealing with on set dementia now, but he was
(17:21):
still you know, sharped, and I was so thankful, and
I told him he met his daughter and his granddaughter,
and I just said, you don't know if this man
did for me because I saw me on TV and
I said, oh my god, that it can be done,
you know. So that was really the start of everything.
And I just you know, got it to break dancing,
(17:44):
pop locking and doing all that. Coming up in the
South Bronx, being able to go to the park and
see Grand Master Flash live and the Furious Five, seeing
Mellie mal seeing Dougie Fresh a Treacherous three Shop Rock
Fear this four like seeing him all saw all of
that live live. I was young because we used to
they used to call them jams in the park. So
(18:05):
you got in the park, they take they plugged the
power up into the lamp post and then they set
up they turntables, they put the cardboard down. You go
out there dancing. And I got to see that. And
I'm telling you hip hop is because of hip hop
that really pushed me to to where where I went
to because it was hip hop was everything. Hip hop
(18:27):
was motivating, I mean, and I started going to the
Latin quarters doing square. That's how I met you know,
D Nice and kiss and knowing him since I was
like seventeen, like it like that that it was. I mean,
I'm telling you it was nothing like that that that world.
And back then you had everybody had big that he came,
(18:48):
MC light, Heavy D, you had all of them. Then
I started dancing, became a choreographer, rocked to one of
the most elite groups out the mop Tops. We choreographed everyone.
You probably recognize most of them. And to remember the
time video with Michael Jackson, Mariah carried my boy, Stretch
(19:11):
Use Leaf, Henry Ramier, Peter Paul, like we just had it.
We all had dreads. So we said we're gonna cross something.
We motivated on precision towards our standing performance. That was
the actor man, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
We'll be so young and coming up with that yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah yeah, Positive brothers yeah man.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
So that was like really the kickoff and I was
stand up, just came by way of I would, you know,
do jokes around the house. Me and my cousin ed
we would do comedy shows for each other. We talk
about our aunt and our cousins and stuff. And then
one day there was a they had amateur segment at
(19:56):
the Uptown Comedy Club in hartm So I said, I
want to do it, man. So they went up there
with me. I went. They said, you got three minutes,
and back then I was like three minutes, that's too long.
I got up there and I did. I did all
impressions at the time. I did like Jesse Jackson, Edith
and Archie Bunker.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Let me hear you.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Ya, We're dope. Rescitate, regurgitate, and I'm not late.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I worked on a while it study.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I would do a Archie Archie Bunker.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
On he did just being Archie Bunker.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
That was a brilliant show off. You couldn't do it
now do all of that and people laugh and I
was just like, oh my God, like this is it.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
And that was really the start of that push. And
I was still dancing. I was dancing with Salt and Pepper,
one of their main dancers. I worked with Latifa uh
funny enough on Mar Epps. We did we both dancing
in the video called fly Girl.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Okay, he's in there.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
He probably like you're telling people, but yeah, we did
that joint because he was in the singing group. I
think it's called Men of Vision or something like that.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
I think it was.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
It was we dancing there. I did the Crystal Waters
Gypsy Woman video. Gosh, I just so many music videos.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I mean, like, you've done so much, that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
So I know you mentioned remember the Time, So is
that how you were able to play Michael Jackson.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
I didn't get to do remember the Time, okay already
I had already gone on and started acting. But my
guys did it, and you know, I was just rooting
for them. I was just happy. If it was one
thing I would have loved to come out of dance
retirement for to do that video, because everybody know how
much I dot it. But that's not how. I really
(22:02):
don't know how I got.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
The talk about this.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
This is one of the.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Talked about that games to this day. His anniversary of
his death is coming up soon. They're gonna send me memes.
It is like non stop. So okay, so I get
a call from my manager. He's like, hey, yeah, I
got this movie they're doing about Michael Jackson and they
want to meet with you. I'm like, what, yeah, Michael Jackson.
(22:31):
You know it's it's it's not authorized, but they're doing
stuff just off of court documents and stuff like that.
And I was like, you know, I'm six four and
I'm chocolate right, all right, this is just go meet him.
So I'm like, all right, I go out to the
MTV or VH one that was out of a Santa Monica.
I go out there, meet with them. I sit down.
I just talk to the producers like I didn't do it.
(22:54):
I didn't read anything. I just talked to them and
I was like all right, thanks, shook their hands, boom,
and then left. And then I get a call and say, hey,
they want to offer you the movie. I'm like what,
I didn't do anything. I say yeah, and I was
like this is what they want to pay you. I'm like, bet,
I'm Michael to make.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
So I went to do it.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
We shot it in Canada and then one thing that
got me the producers were like, we had the original
music and she's gonna be doing like Man in the Mirror.
So I'm like, oh, I'm hype. Cut to halfway through
the movie, they come through the trailer. Yeah, so about
that music, I'm like, oh, y'all killing me. And aside
from the bad makeup, that's what I.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Was going to ask you. Did they set you down
and just say get the powder?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
They set me then when I walked in the trailer.
So I tried to get my makeup artists, Mersed Arsenal,
who did my makeup on one on one. I wanted
to get her because we did a Michael Halloween skit,
a Halloween episode on one on one and she did
my makeup and it was Joe. I said, yo, man,
they wouldn't pay man. It was airbrush. The airbrush some
(24:06):
powder on me and I was like, y'all know I
look ashy, right, I look real ashy, and it's a
it's going to be fine and even worse. They had
a prosthetic nose, but I refused to wear it.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
I was like, I was not putting that shit on.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
No, he was still live at the time.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I'm like, I want to do nothing, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
So I didn't.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I didn't wear it, and I did it, but I
did it to the.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Best of my ability. Everything people say to me was like,
you did a great job, but overall the budget the
movie was shit. I got to sit down with LaToya
for about three or four hours and she really loved
it what I did, and then Jackie too, So I
was like, all right, cool, you know, but that's everybody
(24:49):
has one of those jobs that you go because I've
seen a lot of actors, I've seen some jobs that
I was like, well, I didn't know he did that.
I was like, don cheetoh this one over here?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Wait what donde?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I sent it to him. He was a karate dude. Yeah,
he got beat up by the little dude from Last Dragon,
the karate dude Ramachio. No, that ral Machio.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
It was a little that No, it was a little
kung fu kid. It was in the Last Dragon.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That he got beat up by a kid.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, so I've seen going to find this movie. Okay,
I'm gonna look at my text because I said we
could have done.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
But we all have those jobs. Yeah, you know, I'm like,
you got to.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Learn to have fun, laugh at yourself. But at the time,
there was no social media. Yeah, nobody was thinking about, man,
this is gonna come back. And haunt my ass.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I did not think that, but you know what, Flex,
You know, I feel like this. At the end of
the day, you was given an opportunity that most people, okay,
ninety five percent of people would never get the opportunity never.
So you went in there and you, I mean, what
you gonna do.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
You're gonna turn down playing Michael Jackson.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Listen, I'm gonna have fun the best of my ability.
It was. I was so deep in it.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
When I came home, we went to eat me the
kids and wifey and and she kept looking at me.
She was like, Flex, come back because.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
I was sitting there like this, I had shaved, I
shaved everything off. I was sitting like that was It
was so weird, man, it was so it was so weird,
but it was fun.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I'm morphed. I'm telling you, I'm morphed. I watched hours
of footage, hours and hours and hours of footage. It was.
I got home. I couldn't remember the alarm coat like
it was crazy. Yeah, I was in another world.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So you prepared, okay, forever, like hours and hours of
footage prepared.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I was gonna just go and just do whatever. I'm like,
I'm you know, I'm going to do it to the
best of my ability, you know, And and and I
can only do what's on the paper is what what
I could what I could do, you know. So we
did it. I had fun, man, and I'm I'm not
mad that I did it. I had fun. And you know,
my love for him was always I got to meet him,
(27:08):
you know, prior to that, and he was the nicest guy.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Did he say anything to you after No, I didn't.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I didn't meet him after I did the movie. I
met him before that. I didn't get to meet him
after that. But just you know, he's I mean, the greatest.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And then One on One? Did you realize One on
One was going to be as big as it was
when you took that role on I?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
You know what, this is something I created the show.
A lot of people don't know that I created it.
I originally had a deal with Disney ABC because after
Homeboys and Out of Space, well, the first show I
did with Disney it was called Where I Live. That
was what my boy Dougie Dog it was his show.
(27:54):
That was My Boys from Brooklyn. We had the same
management team from Uptown Comedy Clubs. Said, Yo, he's got
this deal this show. You know, we went in row
of a best friends, so what better way to have
two clients on there? So they prepared me. They prepared me,
you know, red red Red. So went finally auditioned in
New York and I kept getting called back. They said
(28:16):
we want to bring up to LA. I came to La.
I was always supposed to be here for a few days,
ended up being here for two weeks. They said we
want to test them, and I'm going up against cats
I've seen on TV, and but you know, I from
New York. I'm like, I'm like, whatever, man, you care
about none of y'all. I just went in.
Speaker 4 (28:33):
I was raw and the old acting lessons nothing.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I went in did the test, and I remember, so
I tested a brother against a brother who was in
lean on me, who was a guy who got the
girl pregnant and lean on me. His name is Moshawan.
I shout out to mo Shan and I tested against him.
Uh So, I did it and left. So then I
had a meeting at CBS and I go there and
(29:02):
I get a call. I'm sitting waiting. I'm looking for
like forty minutes. He so I call the phone rings
perceptions like oh your agents on the phone at the time,
I'm like, hey, what's up Bill? He said, hey, man,
how did the thing go? I said, Oh, it's cool, man.
I'm just waiting to, you know, for the meeting. He said, yeah,
You're not gonna be able to take that meeting.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And I'm like, why man, I'm here.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
He said, well, because you got the show on ABC.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
And I was like, what.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I remember having to leave and I called there was
a company called Valley Cab. Took the cab from Television
City Studios and went back to Studio City, thinking about, Yo,
I'm gonna be on TV. I'll be on the same
channel as all the shows that I watched growing up
on ABC. And from there I found high Thank you,
(29:48):
thank you'all, y'all too cold, And then I just remember
doing that show and it was canceled after thirteen episodes.
And then UPN was Upstate our network, and Jennifer Park
shout out to her. She gave me opportunity. They want
to meet me a holding deal. I was doing stand up.
(30:10):
They saw me, they remembered me from from uh where
I live.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
This is when there was holding deal. There's no holding
deals now.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Only holding deals is hold on, we'll call you back.
So they paid me. You know, they not do anything else.
Uh So then because back then it was like Chappell
would get a deal, I would get a deal. Oh
so that was your Yeah, we was it was it
(30:38):
was crazy. So they said, oh we got They sent
me a bunch of scripts to read and I read
this from Homeboice and I'm like, yeah, it was funny.
I'm like, and I'm a treky. But I had the
real James Douhan who plays Scottie in the show, so
I'm like, this is it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
But I was like, but the.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Title home Boys in Outer Space.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
I was like, So the executive producer I knew. I
knew because he was EP on where I live and
I said, hey, man, Eric, I said, yo, that title.
He was like, that'll be fun, it'll be cool. I'm like,
all right, whatever. So we do the pilot and the
pilot was mel Jackson from Soul Food, who played Lemuel.
(31:25):
He was in the pilot. He was fresh from Chicago.
He didn't have a car, like I was taking him
barbershop getting his cut and you get groceries because my
boy Sean Baker did that for me when I did
where I live. He used to drive from LA to
come scoop me up. So I did that from from mail.
We did the pilot. We were excited they picked it up.
(31:48):
Then I get a call like this, not like who's this,
He's like, yeah, yo, what's up money? I'm like this
deep Bell, like Darryl Bell. I was like, yeah, from
from from a good work.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
So I'm like, what's up? See? Yeah, man, I'm excited
we're gonna be doing this thing. I'm like doing what
they recasted mail and brought in down girl. Yeah. I
wasn't aware of that's how they do stuff. So you know,
we went ahead. We did it. Of course, public hated it.
The critics loved it. Spike Lee was like, there they
(32:22):
loved it. Spike Lee was like, they're Amos and Andy
of the nineties.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
I'm like, Spike, you never hired me.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
I'm like, dude, you know how many times I've been around.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
I've done stuff in his shop and he had you know,
block parties and all that in Brooklyn. I'm like, dude,
you never even gave me an opportunity. I'm like whatever,
So we did the show Man. I had fun. I
was twenty something making thirty five grand a week.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Like, come on, here's the thing, flex, Like, because you're
you're a positive brother. You've always been positive. Your energy
is always positive, even when you went down. I mean,
I know you've been through so much from bankruptcy, you know,
to you're here one day and then here and you
(33:07):
always stay positive. So even with these roles that you take.
And then you got these people that are negative that
won't get these opportunities ever even though they're being negative,
but they ain't gonna get the opportunity, okay, And you
put yourself out there to even you know, say I'm
gonna take this on.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
So how do you deal with that? Because you still
hear after what like, what is it thirty something?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
I've been started in eighty I started stand up in
eighty eight, eighty nine, and then my first TV was
ninety ninety one.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, so you've been in the business and you still
I've seen people come and go me too, And even
with the criticism that you may get and the hardships
that you go through, you still hear and you still positive.
You're not out strong on drugs and you know a
drunk or whatever. You Yeah, and you look good.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
You look great. I can't tell you.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I told one of my aunts, I was interviewing you,
and she's like, you vial fla. So I'm telling you
you still break your hearts.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
I just just always I don't know, man, I I
I just I love it.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
Yeah, I just love.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
I love when we get to do what we do.
I love getting on set. I love just creating a character.
I love just just that part. It's all the other ship.
I don't you know, the other stuff. I don't like
the political stuff. The if you ain't cool with this
crew or you ain't in with them, or this is
(34:47):
like that, and that that's the thing for me, that man,
we gotta we gotta stop. Man. Like you know, I've
seen too many people get just you know, crapped on
because at the moment it you know, nothing's happened. But
that's that's what happens in this business. I've seen the best.
I've seen come, I've seen them go, I've seen him
(35:09):
start out, humble, I've seen him chance. I've seen it all.
But I I just remain step fast and just you
know that kid who saw you know, delirious, It's like
I wanna do that like the love that I have
for it, That's that's what keeps me going, because anything else,
I'd have been like, man, lady, for this shit, I'm
(35:31):
out and I was going to bounce. Funny enough, it
was my wife who talked me out of it. She
was my wife then, but we were just friends. And
I remember it was right after Homeboys. Nothing was happening,
and I did this one hour drama with Stephen Botchko,
David Milch, Jim Belushi, and then it went away in
like thirteen episodes, and I didn't know what I was
(35:54):
gonna do. And I remember talking to her. I was like, yeah,
I'm out, man, I'm going back to New York. I
can't do it. She was like, why are you gonna
do that? You too talented, said you gotta come up
with your old stuff. You don't you don't have your
own idea. I was like, well, I actually do. It's
about this father raises a daughter boom boom boom. Because
the idea came from one of my boys in Harlem
who was a young single father, and we could give
(36:15):
him shit like, man, you can't even hang out. It
was between Matt and llll COOJ had a commercial a
Coca Cola commercial with his daughter on the steps on
the stoop. He was doing her hair and then ponytails
came out crooked. I remember that and I saw it
and I was like, that's a show.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
So I kind of merged those together and I was like, yeah,
I would love to do a show like that. And
I see Kyler on a WNBA commercial when she was
really little, and it was like she looked like the
innocent little fan and she would ask Lisa Leslie for
her autograph and as soon as Lisa Leslie goes, oh okay,
she would flip and be like, well you need to
(36:53):
work on your rebound and da da da da. That's
why I saw Kyler. I was like, she's got to
play my daughter. Yeah, so I went in. So when
I finished doing Homeboys, I ended up getting another deal
and I was doing a TV movie in Canada called Ice.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
And not like the Ice now that's trying to get
rid of people.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
No, this definitely wasn't that okay. So so Disney was
David him Afar gene blythe They it gave me a
script deal, so if they liked the script, they pick
up the show. So I get this writer I already
had the idea. I get this writer who's on Moesha.
(37:38):
He writes the script. I'm like, you know, telling them
how I wanted to go and puts what he wants
in there and whatever. So whatever the case may be,
they didn't like it, so boom it was killed. So
about a year later, I'm like, man, I want to
go back out with my show, but I want to
do it the way I saw it, in the way
(37:59):
I want to see it. I'm not knocking what he did,
but I'm just like, I want to do it the
way I saw it, and it's my show. I'm like,
you know, I have the idea and it starts to
me and it ends with me. So retool it and
I go back out and I pitch it to Green
Blade John Lowry who over at Fox. Pitch it to
them like on a Tuesday, like that Friday. They was like,
(38:21):
they want to do it. I'm like, I'm pumped. I hyped.
I'm like, yo, yes, we got in there. We got
to meet with Kyla and I had to hire a writer.
So I met with like five or six writers. Go
to the Hughles and you Netta Boone, who got rist
of Soul who was his showrunner there, you know, sat
(38:43):
with her and I was, oh, man, she cool. She's
from the East Coast Maryland. Boom boom boom, we vibe.
I'm like, yo, let's do it. So I go and,
you know, go into her house and telling her the story.
She's writing and writing it, but I'm not understanding that
I need to write to be protected in the writer's guild.
I didn't understand that game. So she writes it, registers
(39:06):
it her name, yeah, and I don't get the credit.
But I was like, okay.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
And that took.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
That took a lot for me to go to work
every day knowing that because I was like, I had
a choice. I could either really act up nobody could work,
you know, two hundred people dependent on me to show up,
or I just you know, bite the bullet and just
make this money. So I'm like, all right, whatever. So
(39:33):
that that is. That is how one on one came about,
you know, and we got one hundred and twenty something episodes,
and it's one of the best times of my life.
One of the best times of my life. I mean,
the people I've met and the people I was able
to you know, I was in a position to say, yo,
let's get them on the show. Let's get them on
(39:53):
the show. When I could do that, Yeah, you know, legends,
you know what I mean. I had so many legends
on the show. Had people on the show that nobody
knew of. Have flow a Try on the show, had
Avon on the show, had Methadan. People obviously had him.
But he and I worked together. We still work at
the Statute of Liberty. I saw hot dogs. He did trash. Yes,
(40:15):
wait a.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Minute, nothing man was taking out trash.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
Yeah. He did all the maintenance stuff, and I did
hot dogs. I did the concessions.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
You was cooking hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
My cousin me and my cousin Grayvine. And then you
got from from Wu Tang was there too. Wu Tang
would give the seagulls out themselves and they would implode. Yeah. Man, yeah,
so it was so many people. I was able to
turn back and wow, just give shots and stuff, and
(40:48):
you know, so it was one of the best times.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
A Yeah, so success is just runs in circles. But
here's the thing. You did that, so you just gotta
do it again. Oh no, it's because what.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
I'm hearing from you, flexy.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
You just keep doing it like people love you. Yeah,
and you are very successful, you know, like I'm telling you,
people love you. It's just now we need another one
on one.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Two on two.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
You know, I actually been pitching. I've been pitching a
reboot for like seven years. Okay, it's crazy what we
got to go through, but right still, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
It's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
Yeah, yeah, And Chris and I have something, but we're.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Manifesting that today because one thing about me, I'm a
manifestor and I'm saying that for you, and I know
that you actually are a stand up man and.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
A good guy.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
So y'all give him his reboot? Yeah, and the fans go,
y'all demand it because.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
I'm like, no, yes, because the feedback I get back
is a little the public really care. I'm like, are
you kidding me? Like they put it on Netflix during
the pandemic, and I gained a whole new audience, right.
I had Stevie want His daughter at the time was
twelve thirteen at thirteen, Yeah, you know, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
No, people want to see that, especially a positive black
man with his daughter doing positive things, and.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Just I mean, that's that was the whole purpose of
that show and funny.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yes, on top of it all, we had a great time.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Oh yeah, So what's next.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
For you next? Getting back doing stand up? Got some
dates coming up, Chris Pincher and I Project and Buddy Lewis,
who was right on as well. I'm excited about that
so too much. But it's sitting somewhere right now with
(42:52):
a really good company and we just gotta gotta iron
everything out. Okay, but it's gonna be definitely something just needed,
something different. I always try to think of what's missing
in the marketplace. It's almost like God, what's his name,
and there's Robert Kyosaki. Rich Dad, Poor dad talks about
(43:16):
people who do well in different areas, especially in the
you know, whether you're automaker or whatever. It's like you
always find something. It's find the thing vision need and
then you'll find success. And I'm like, at the time,
one on one, there was a need to see black
fathers with their children, and now it's the time to
(43:38):
see what what what I got coming?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Yes, Well here's the I mean, I'm already in my
head thinking about you because you and s Chinese are
empty nesters pretty much.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
Well no, no, they're still there. They know we're not listen,
We're not rushing. I'm not rushing them. I'm not from
the school of that old school as you seventeen you
get out, because I think that's damaged a lot of
our kids because they get out. They have no knowledge
about credit. They have no I mean anything. I've taught
my kids about credit. They're both in the eight hundreds.
(44:10):
My daughter signed for her car and walked off eight hundreds. Yes,
both like eight thirty and eight twenty five. Like they
understand about that.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
I've never been that high.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Giving them crypto okay, you know, talk to them about
you know, index life insurance money and how you live
off that money. It's not just for when you die,
it's to live off, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Tree.
Speaker 3 (44:34):
I've been teaching all the things that I messed up.
I've been teaching them. So I'm glad that they're there
so I can teach them so that when it is
time then they're going to be fine. They'll know when
it's signed and will know. Yeah, but trust me, loves
and being there.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Okay, you don't I love Sese, you know, like I
love y'all dearly. I got to get shines here too.
Speaker 4 (44:58):
Yeah, you have I got to get you on the show,
like definitely, you.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Know, because you two have just been you know, good
to me, inspiration and I just want to see y'all
like everything your heart desires.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
I'm rooting for you.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Thank you, Yeah, thank you, Sirs. Appreciate you got squat
behind you.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Yeah, all right, so listen, Flex, tell the people where
they can find you.
Speaker 3 (45:25):
Hey, you can find me on social media Instagram, Flex
A Folk real f O R E A L. All right.
And that's the same on what's the other one? Uh TikTok,
which I think is gonna be gone in fifteen days.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
No, it ain't.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah, they keep saying it. Yeah, they always do that
on on what's the other one? Snapchat? My kids said
I'm too old to snap, so.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
Snapchat.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
And then Flex Alexander on on Facebook? And are they
anymore out there?
Speaker 4 (45:55):
I'm not on x I left.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
Do you have Onlifans?
Speaker 3 (45:58):
No?
Speaker 4 (45:59):
I think about it though, I'm gonna get out there.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Ain't give him this hot nipple right here, like, yeah, give.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
Me that money name.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
One on one right and they would give it to you.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
I'm telling you, the women love you, Okay, I'm talking
with I told people I'm interviewing you.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
That's my crash, so yeah, but that's what y'all can
find me. Just look out for me and come into
a city near you and stand up and oh. Season
six of Family Business coming up to.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Yes, you've been chilling that? All right, y'all tune in.
Yes you've been killing that, but you've been killing it.
But I like seeing you like that. Yeah, yeah, all right, y'all.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Flex Alexander, I'm Tory Hart. This has been another episode
of Brutally Honest with Tory Heart.
Speaker 2 (46:51):
I will see y'all soul.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
That girl.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
You need that good first girl, you need good girl.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
You better read his gangs and lean, pay attention to everything,
walk around town like he.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
The ship, but behind closed doors he'd be taking
What Yes, wait a minute, nothing, man was taking out trash.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
He was cooking hot the hut.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Because I didn'teen any representation of us. Right. You don't
know if this man did for me. The true godfather
of black sicam Eric Monty. He wrote Coolie High Jefferson's
Good Times. I really don't know how I got Michael.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
Really around town like he the sh what's up, y'all?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Is your girl Tory Heart here?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
And I am back for another episode of Brutally Honest
with Tory Hart, and I am coming to you live
from Los Angeles, California, and today I have I would have.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
To say, Yeah, he's another living legend. I didn't had
a few legends.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
This week, and I got another one sitting right here
to my side. Not only is he an actor, he
is a comedian. He's a dancer, which some people forget. Okay,
that that's a flex. Okay, that's where the name flex
came from.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
He's a father, he's a husband, and he's just a
phenomenal person all around.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
And I'm honored to have him with me here today.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So I need y'all to make some noise and give
some love to my dear friend.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Mister flex Alexander not found it?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Hey, we family that friend?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I mean yeah real, yeah, yes, yeah, I mean Flex.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
You was actually one of the first people that I
met when I moved to Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
You and see, yes, how.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
She's she's great. Man. She's uh doing her musical now
forty forty Obama Musical. Okay, it's at the Kirk Dougers Theater.
She's recording, she's working, she's about to go to Japan
with Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis Japan studied.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So how is everything? How is life?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
You know? Life that way? I just mean, you know,
we take I take one day at a time.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Yeah, you know that.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
I mean we talked. You know, we did. Let me
say something, this lady right here killed it. We did
a show together called New Jack City even Play, and
you know, we had some fun and I got to
see another side of Tori. I mean, not that you
didn't have that, but it was finally, you know, being
able to be showcased.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, I got to see another side of you because
you killed Pooky.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Thank you, y'all.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Anybody that know the New Jack.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
City movie, you know, okay Pooky, that's like an iconic character.
So for you to step in and embody that the
way that you did flex like I forgot about Chris Rock.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
I just wanted to do something different. I mean because
I'm you know, I can't touch what he did, could
just stamp on it. I just wanted to give it
something different. And at first I didn't want to do it.
At first, I was like, man, because everybody always initially
you know, thanks to me for the funny stuff. And
I wanted to show another side. I was like, I
want to be one of the detectives. I wanted to
be Stone or somebody else. And it was my good friend,
(03:01):
our good friend, Chris Spencer, Chris that he is this
fingali Yeah, I called him. I was like, yeah, man,
they want me to do this. He said, Nikka, take
that role and kill it. Yeah, you got a license
to be funny, I said, you know what, You're right.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, And it's the fan favorite. Your character was the
fan favorite. Like we even amongst your peers that was
going to play with you, we always look forward to
seeing you coming out.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
And killing your things.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I mean, I mean just the dancing, the acting, the
just as soon as you hit the stage. It was
just fun to watch you had a great time. Yeah,
and I mean we became family on the road as well.
So shout out to Alan Payne, daddy, daddy, k.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Uh yeah, everybody. Man, Yes it was it really was
a tret.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yeah Brown Okay, yeah he killed it man.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, she was rock.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Up bye baby, rock up by baby. She killed.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
We had four We had our ship and we got
to talk ship together. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:15):
But it was fun, man. And that was actually the
first traveling stage play that that I've done. I've worked
with the producer here writer producer in la Don Welch.
Good brother. That was the first one I traveled with
and it was fun man. You know, as a stand
up you you thrive off of that live energy, right.
(04:35):
So it's just like you like, I couldn't wait. You know,
some people have an averse it has an averse effect.
They're like nervous. But I'm like, I love that lot,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
And we would pray before for ever show that you know,
we come together as a family, like we really were
a family on tour. I mean even before the play started.
Now see, you wasn't staying at the rinky dink hotels
like me and.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
The other cast Okay, he was. He was in the plush. Okay,
flex was in the plush. He was in the five
star hotels.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Okay, four and four in a corner, four in the corner.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Won't let me tell you me And you know, we
had the other parts of the cast.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Okay, we would staying.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
But it was okay because one night we was coming
back from rehearsal, we all jumped in the pool.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
First of all, was not supposed to be in the pool.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
We came back from having a good old time at
one of them bars somewhere in Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
We jumped in the pool. We were all fully clothed.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
I jumped into my Jordans and Melvin but yeah, Melvin.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Was like, you're jumping in the pool of Jarns. I
was like, yes, yes, I'm jumping to the pool of Jarns.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
I was like yes.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
So we had an adventure.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
That's why I really loved it more than anything, because
we became like this family unit and everybody's back and
that I think bought me.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
And you.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Said we we go back, like, yeah, I used to
come to the house and yeah, back when I first
came out like it like it was it was good
to for us to reconnect, you know, in that light
and have that time together to you know, just to bond.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
So that yeah, dope, dope, dope dope. Okay, So stand up?
What's going on with with stand up?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Are you?
Speaker 3 (06:20):
I'm definitely back to stand up?
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Okay?
Speaker 3 (06:22):
What happened? So I started back again. A good brother
Chrispencer was the one who told me, man, you need
to get back on stage. Get back on stage. Like
I would hang with him go to shows, you know,
and I would we we'd be hanging out. I always
have just funny stuff to say, and you know, writing
or drop this in here. And he said, man, you
need to get back on stage. And I was like,
(06:43):
And then I got back on stage. It is probably
around twenty eighteen, twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, after taking like
fourteen years off.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Whoa, that's a long time.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah. Well you know I was doing one on.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
One okay, and yeah, you was getting that money I was.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
I was. I tried to go out on the road
and do stand up while doing this show. I remember
I went and did this this show and Tampa, I
think it was the improv and I took my daughter
had just been born, money and Shanese came and went,
and it was a lot trying to jog, and I'm like,
(07:18):
I'm not gonna be able to do that weekend week out.
And then I was like, I'm making the money, so
why do I need to you know, And I shouldn't.
I should have kept doing it because it wasn't even
about the money. It's about that gap of fan base
you keep them with you, you know what I mean?
And that I remember I told d L that, like, man,
I didn't want to be I didn't want to be
(07:39):
away from my daughter. And you know, time passed and
I come back. She's eighteen and I don't know her.
You deal was like, man, leave him kids. Anybody as
a car.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
That is, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But yeah, like I you know, I missed that time
and so was like, get back on stage. I got
back on stage and it just it just reignited this
fire because I had more to talk about it. I
lived more life, you know, children, marriage, just all kind
of stuff, going through ups and downs, losing stuff financially
and you know, doing the whole TV show about it
(08:17):
and just just everything. And so then I got back
doing it and I was like getting really, I got
to about an hour and a half material and I'm
you know, and I had some guys who wanted to
put up some money to shoot a special because I
never shot a special, and I was like, I don't care,
you know, the areas here or whatever. I just want
to shoot a special, right, and COVID hit and I
(08:40):
was playing. I was shooting and I was going to
shoot it that June in New York and COVID hit
and I just it kind of yeah, yeah, then opening
back up and we kind of got back out there,
and then New Jack can and so I had just
(09:01):
started back again the New Jack came, so then I
had booked dates, had to cancel those dates, and then
we you know, and knew Jack went.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
For ships almost a yeah, yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
That that happened. And it just because it's been like
a stop and start. It's like when I start to
get back to stand up, something comes up. So then
I started again, and then I just got off the
road with Ja Carus his last play games women Playing.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Let's talk about that.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Who was that with you, Payne Jones, Dimitri and McKinney,
Claudia Jordan's, Claudia Jordan's and oh my god, these these
stars who were born uh Erica Young and uh Naomi.
I forget her last name, I always do that. She
(09:49):
played the character Maggie. These like we all did the
same thing. We hung together, went out, we ate. We
really were cohesive.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
I'm jealous.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
It was fun.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
It was fun, families, it was you know, it was
it was good. But it was good to do that. Okay.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Carl directed, you know directed, so it was just good.
I've known Car for a while. He and my my
cousin went to junior high school together, so I've known
Car for years, right, So he directed this and we
we really really have fun. He had out Jason's lyric
at the same time I saw you know, and and
(10:28):
it kind of got the big push in the money
because they had Alan and tragic, you know, but and
the title in the title. But I just got to say,
you know, games women Play, which is one of his
original pieces, was great.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And shout out to Jakari because I mean, thank you
for giving me that opportunity. First of all, because growing
up New Jack City was one of my favorite oh man,
so for me to be able to play kesha, yeah,
like I used to like really have my family watching
the movie every day, like y'all go watched this, Like,
(11:01):
you know.
Speaker 3 (11:02):
I was an extra in the movie. That's a crazy thing.
You was a dancer, yes, but but it was another scene.
I kicked out of the scene because I didn't know
any better. So I knew Wesley already. So it's a
scene when they first Wesley's first coming in the club
and Ice t season and kind of pulls the glasses
down and looks. So Wesley comes in and I'm standing
(11:25):
there and I'm like, you know, what's up West?
Speaker 4 (11:30):
People was like, God, who is this?
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Get his ass?
Speaker 4 (11:37):
They put me to the back so you can see
me later in the back.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
I had to turn my hat around and I was
doing in the back, doing the wild I was a
little mad. It was another dude who got that scene.
He was just supposed to say like this like a nod,
and here I am. I didn't know any better. It
was an extra. I didn't know about. You know, I
couldn't speak and all that. So it was so funny.
And then when Mario came to the show in La
he actually came and he was blown away. He was born,
(12:04):
he said, he said he didn't imagine or he couldn't
imagine what they were gonna we were gonna do with
the show, and when he saw it, he was blown away.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Well that's because, like, because the movie is such like
a staple in hip hop. It's an iconic film, you know,
so for people to step into that role, it's like,
I don't know, and especially you know Mario, he was
one of the detectives in the movie.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
He's I believe he's one of Yeah, the director.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah, so it's like, let me see what they're gonna
do on the stage and a play and then we
got all these funny people.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Yeah you do that.
Speaker 3 (12:39):
You did the l A show right, Yeah, of course,
the whole. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
I only missed too because I booked a movie, so
I missed too. But other than that, I was there
the whole.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
The Brooklyn joint was that was.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
When I met Ice team in Cooco, that was crazy.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Tables, Yeah, that was crazy. Like to go back home,
It's just always been like, I love going back home.
When I shot a pilot, I was originally in the
series Okay Blue Bloods. I played uh Donny Warborough's original
partner and I when we were shooting in New York
(13:24):
people was gonna like, Yo, Flex, I seen you, son.
You don't get their money, son, you know New Yorkers don't. Yeah,
but in the middle of the scene, I'm like, yo,
I'm doing the scene right. So we up in Washington
Heights and like it was so dope. There's nothing like
shooting in New York.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
But Flex, people love you, Like I was witnessed it
firsthand when we was on the road and we would
go places and it's like, you know, he can't walk
anywhere without somebody like that, you know, like can I
get a pitcher?
Speaker 2 (13:53):
And you know they come to me like, yo, can
I get a picture? I'm going to ask him? That
looked like go ask him. He's a nice guy, you
know what I mean. So you are loved everywhere.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
I've appreciate I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
I do like you.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Sometimes you don't, you don't really think about well you
think have I really made an impact? You know what
I'm saying, Like, this is just what you I'm just
being honest, this is what you know because listen, in
this business, navigating this business is it can be funky.
(14:31):
You know, when it's hot, it's hot, everybody is Yeah, Well,
you know when it gets quiet. It gets quiet, and
and you forget. And living in LA they can make
you forget. You know, that's they can make you forget.
So when you leave go to other the cities and
stuff like that, and you just see people like every
day and not saying that there's not every day people
(14:52):
in LA. But you know, it's not an industry baste population.
They you know, they should you love man, it's it's
and I forget. I'm just like, whoa, Okay, I did
do that. I did do that. I did do that.
Speaker 4 (15:07):
He did do that.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
That was like the first dance before j Lo to
transition from dancing to acting, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
You started very young in this business, you know, very young,
and you came into this business as a dancer, you know,
and I remember you had the hair, yes, yes, you
know you had those spikes that was like you know
it so whenever you would make a movie, when your
body would move, his.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Hair is straight up right yeah, kids repeat.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
But that was your signature, and that's what sets you
apart because you were an individual, you know, and so
that's why it was easy for you. Well I don't
know if it was easy, but for me looking in
as before I ever met you, I always admired you,
so you know, looking at you transition, it's felt so
easy to.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Me at least it's fun.
Speaker 1 (15:59):
So yeah, so after you, you know, you came in
the industry a dancer, and then I believe the first
big gig you got was Homeboys in Outer Space. No,
not Homeboys in outer Space.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
So we gotta go back. Okay, we gotta go back
right Just to start, Okay, the start was I saw
Eddie Murphy's Delirious. I was like thirteen or fourteen, okay,
and I saw that and I said, mo, I said
I want to do that. I'm gonna do that, and
she was like, okay, baby, sure anything you say, right,
And I said that without knowing, but I guess I
(16:37):
knew internally because originally I wanted to be a ball player,
and you know, I got a scholarships go play ball,
and I messed that all up. But I said that
and because it did something to me, man watching watching
that that special it just watching that and coming up
watching Good Times the Jeffersons, And because before that I
(16:58):
was watching like Happy Days and all stuff, I didn't
see any representation of us. I recently got a chance
to meet the true godfather of black sitcom, Eric Monty.
He's still alive. You know, he wrote COOLi High Jefferson's
Good Times. You know, it just blew my mind. You know,
he's dealing with on set dementia now, but he was
(17:21):
still you know, sharped, and I was so thankful, and
I told him he met his daughter and his granddaughter,
and I just said, you don't know if this man
did for me because I saw me on TV and
I said, oh my god, that it can be done,
you know. So that was really the start of everything.
And I just you know, got it to break dancing,
(17:44):
pop locking and doing all that. Coming up in the
South Bronx, being able to go to the park and
see Grand Master Flash live and the Furious Five, seeing
Mellie mal seeing Dougie Fresh a Treacherous three Shop Rock
Fear this four like seeing him all saw all of
that live live. I was young because we used to
they used to call them jams in the park. So
(18:05):
you got in the park, they take they plugged the
power up into the lamp post and then they set
up they turntables, they put the cardboard down. You go
out there dancing. And I got to see that. And
I'm telling you hip hop is because of hip hop
that really pushed me to to where where I went
to because it was hip hop was everything. Hip hop
(18:27):
was motivating, I mean, and I started going to the
Latin quarters doing square. That's how I met you know,
D Nice and kiss and knowing him since I was
like seventeen, like it like that that it was. I mean,
I'm telling you it was nothing like that that that world.
And back then you had everybody had big that he came,
(18:48):
MC light, Heavy D, you had all of them. Then
I started dancing, became a choreographer, rocked to one of
the most elite groups out the mop Tops. We choreographed everyone.
You probably recognize most of them. And to remember the
time video with Michael Jackson, Mariah carried my boy, Stretch
(19:11):
Use Leaf, Henry Ramier, Peter Paul, like we just had it.
We all had dreads. So we said we're gonna cross something.
We motivated on precision towards our standing performance. That was
the actor man, yeah.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
We'll be so young and coming up with that yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Yeah yeah, Positive brothers yeah man.
Speaker 3 (19:34):
So that was like really the kickoff and I was
stand up, just came by way of I would, you know,
do jokes around the house. Me and my cousin ed
we would do comedy shows for each other. We talk
about our aunt and our cousins and stuff. And then
one day there was a they had amateur segment at
(19:56):
the Uptown Comedy Club in hartm So I said, I
want to do it, man. So they went up there
with me. I went. They said, you got three minutes,
and back then I was like three minutes, that's too long.
I got up there and I did. I did all
impressions at the time. I did like Jesse Jackson, Edith
and Archie Bunker.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Let me hear you.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Ya, We're dope. Rescitate, regurgitate, and I'm not late.
Speaker 4 (20:25):
I worked on a while it study.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I would do a Archie Archie Bunker.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
On he did just being Archie Bunker.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
That was a brilliant show off. You couldn't do it
now do all of that and people laugh and I
was just like, oh my God, like this is it.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
And that was really the start of that push. And
I was still dancing. I was dancing with Salt and Pepper,
one of their main dancers. I worked with Latifa uh
funny enough on Mar Epps. We did we both dancing
in the video called fly Girl.
Speaker 4 (21:06):
Okay, he's in there.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
He probably like you're telling people, but yeah, we did
that joint because he was in the singing group. I
think it's called Men of Vision or something like that.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
I think it was.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
It was we dancing there. I did the Crystal Waters
Gypsy Woman video. Gosh, I just so many music videos.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
I mean, like, you've done so much, that's right.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
So I know you mentioned remember the Time, So is
that how you were able to play Michael Jackson.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
I didn't get to do remember the Time, okay already
I had already gone on and started acting. But my
guys did it, and you know, I was just rooting
for them. I was just happy. If it was one
thing I would have loved to come out of dance
retirement for to do that video, because everybody know how
much I dot it. But that's not how. I really
(22:02):
don't know how I got.
Speaker 4 (22:03):
The talk about this.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
This is one of the.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Talked about that games to this day. His anniversary of
his death is coming up soon. They're gonna send me memes.
It is like non stop. So okay, so I get
a call from my manager. He's like, hey, yeah, I
got this movie they're doing about Michael Jackson and they
want to meet with you. I'm like, what, yeah, Michael Jackson.
(22:31):
You know it's it's it's not authorized, but they're doing
stuff just off of court documents and stuff like that.
And I was like, you know, I'm six four and
I'm chocolate right, all right, this is just go meet him.
So I'm like, all right, I go out to the
MTV or VH one that was out of a Santa Monica.
I go out there, meet with them. I sit down.
I just talk to the producers like I didn't do it.
(22:54):
I didn't read anything. I just talked to them and
I was like all right, thanks, shook their hands, boom,
and then left. And then I get a call and say, hey,
they want to offer you the movie. I'm like what,
I didn't do anything. I say yeah, and I was
like this is what they want to pay you. I'm like, bet,
I'm Michael to make.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
So I went to do it.
Speaker 3 (23:20):
We shot it in Canada and then one thing that
got me the producers were like, we had the original
music and she's gonna be doing like Man in the Mirror.
So I'm like, oh, I'm hype. Cut to halfway through
the movie, they come through the trailer. Yeah, so about
that music, I'm like, oh, y'all killing me. And aside
from the bad makeup, that's what I.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Was going to ask you. Did they set you down
and just say get the powder?
Speaker 3 (23:44):
They set me then when I walked in the trailer.
So I tried to get my makeup artists, Mersed Arsenal,
who did my makeup on one on one. I wanted
to get her because we did a Michael Halloween skit,
a Halloween episode on one on one and she did
my makeup and it was Joe. I said, yo, man,
they wouldn't pay man. It was airbrush. The airbrush some
(24:06):
powder on me and I was like, y'all know I
look ashy, right, I look real ashy, and it's a
it's going to be fine and even worse. They had
a prosthetic nose, but I refused to wear it.
Speaker 4 (24:16):
I was like, I was not putting that shit on.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
No, he was still live at the time.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
I'm like, I want to do nothing, you know what
I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
So I didn't.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
I didn't wear it, and I did it, but I
did it to the.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Best of my ability. Everything people say to me was like,
you did a great job, but overall the budget the
movie was shit. I got to sit down with LaToya
for about three or four hours and she really loved
it what I did, and then Jackie too, So I
was like, all right, cool, you know, but that's everybody
(24:49):
has one of those jobs that you go because I've
seen a lot of actors, I've seen some jobs that
I was like, well, I didn't know he did that.
I was like, don cheetoh this one over here?
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Wait what donde?
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I sent it to him. He was a karate dude. Yeah,
he got beat up by the little dude from Last Dragon,
the karate dude Ramachio. No, that ral Machio.
Speaker 4 (25:13):
It was a little that No, it was a little
kung fu kid. It was in the Last Dragon.
Speaker 3 (25:20):
That he got beat up by a kid.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Yeah, so I've seen going to find this movie. Okay,
I'm gonna look at my text because I said we
could have done.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
But we all have those jobs. Yeah, you know, I'm like,
you got to.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Learn to have fun, laugh at yourself. But at the time,
there was no social media. Yeah, nobody was thinking about, man,
this is gonna come back. And haunt my ass.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I did not think that, but you know what, Flex,
You know, I feel like this. At the end of
the day, you was given an opportunity that most people, okay,
ninety five percent of people would never get the opportunity never.
So you went in there and you, I mean, what
you gonna do.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
You're gonna turn down playing Michael Jackson.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Listen, I'm gonna have fun the best of my ability.
It was. I was so deep in it.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
When I came home, we went to eat me the
kids and wifey and and she kept looking at me.
She was like, Flex, come back because.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
I was sitting there like this, I had shaved, I
shaved everything off. I was sitting like that was It
was so weird, man, it was so it was so weird,
but it was fun.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
I'm morphed. I'm telling you, I'm morphed. I watched hours
of footage, hours and hours and hours of footage. It was.
I got home. I couldn't remember the alarm coat like
it was crazy. Yeah, I was in another world.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
So you prepared, okay, forever, like hours and hours of
footage prepared.
Speaker 3 (26:48):
I was gonna just go and just do whatever. I'm like,
I'm you know, I'm going to do it to the
best of my ability, you know, And and and I
can only do what's on the paper is what what
I could what I could do, you know. So we
did it. I had fun, man, and I'm I'm not
mad that I did it. I had fun. And you know,
my love for him was always I got to meet him,
(27:08):
you know, prior to that, and he was the nicest guy.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Did he say anything to you after No, I didn't.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
I didn't meet him after I did the movie. I
met him before that. I didn't get to meet him
after that. But just you know, he's I mean, the greatest.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
And then One on One? Did you realize One on
One was going to be as big as it was
when you took that role on I?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
You know what, this is something I created the show.
A lot of people don't know that I created it.
I originally had a deal with Disney ABC because after
Homeboys and Out of Space, well, the first show I
did with Disney it was called Where I Live. That
was what my boy Dougie Dog it was his show.
(27:54):
That was My Boys from Brooklyn. We had the same
management team from Uptown Comedy Clubs. Said, Yo, he's got
this deal this show. You know, we went in row
of a best friends, so what better way to have
two clients on there? So they prepared me. They prepared me,
you know, red red Red. So went finally auditioned in
New York and I kept getting called back. They said
(28:16):
we want to bring up to LA. I came to La.
I was always supposed to be here for a few days,
ended up being here for two weeks. They said we
want to test them, and I'm going up against cats
I've seen on TV, and but you know, I from
New York. I'm like, I'm like, whatever, man, you care
about none of y'all. I just went in.
Speaker 4 (28:33):
I was raw and the old acting lessons nothing.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I went in did the test, and I remember, so
I tested a brother against a brother who was in
lean on me, who was a guy who got the
girl pregnant and lean on me. His name is Moshawan.
I shout out to mo Shan and I tested against him.
Uh So, I did it and left. So then I
had a meeting at CBS and I go there and
(29:02):
I get a call. I'm sitting waiting. I'm looking for
like forty minutes. He so I call the phone rings
perceptions like oh your agents on the phone at the time,
I'm like, hey, what's up Bill? He said, hey, man,
how did the thing go? I said, Oh, it's cool, man.
I'm just waiting to, you know, for the meeting. He said, yeah,
You're not gonna be able to take that meeting.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
And I'm like, why man, I'm here.
Speaker 3 (29:20):
He said, well, because you got the show on ABC.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
And I was like, what.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
I remember having to leave and I called there was
a company called Valley Cab. Took the cab from Television
City Studios and went back to Studio City, thinking about, Yo,
I'm gonna be on TV. I'll be on the same
channel as all the shows that I watched growing up
on ABC. And from there I found high Thank you,
(29:48):
thank you'all, y'all too cold, And then I just remember
doing that show and it was canceled after thirteen episodes.
And then UPN was Upstate our network, and Jennifer Park
shout out to her. She gave me opportunity. They want
to meet me a holding deal. I was doing stand up.
(30:10):
They saw me, they remembered me from from uh where
I live.
Speaker 2 (30:14):
This is when there was holding deal. There's no holding
deals now.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Only holding deals is hold on, we'll call you back.
So they paid me. You know, they not do anything else.
Uh So then because back then it was like Chappell
would get a deal, I would get a deal. Oh
so that was your Yeah, we was it was it
(30:38):
was crazy. So they said, oh we got They sent
me a bunch of scripts to read and I read
this from Homeboice and I'm like, yeah, it was funny.
I'm like, and I'm a treky. But I had the
real James Douhan who plays Scottie in the show, so
I'm like, this is it.
Speaker 4 (30:57):
But I was like, but the.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Title home Boys in Outer Space.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
I was like, So the executive producer I knew. I
knew because he was EP on where I live and
I said, hey, man, Eric, I said, yo, that title.
He was like, that'll be fun, it'll be cool. I'm like,
all right, whatever. So we do the pilot and the
pilot was mel Jackson from Soul Food, who played Lemuel.
(31:25):
He was in the pilot. He was fresh from Chicago.
He didn't have a car, like I was taking him
barbershop getting his cut and you get groceries because my
boy Sean Baker did that for me when I did
where I live. He used to drive from LA to
come scoop me up. So I did that from from mail.
We did the pilot. We were excited they picked it up.
(31:48):
Then I get a call like this, not like who's this,
He's like, yeah, yo, what's up money? I'm like this
deep Bell, like Darryl Bell. I was like, yeah, from
from from a good work.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
So I'm like, what's up? See? Yeah, man, I'm excited
we're gonna be doing this thing. I'm like doing what
they recasted mail and brought in down girl. Yeah. I
wasn't aware of that's how they do stuff. So you know,
we went ahead. We did it. Of course, public hated it.
The critics loved it. Spike Lee was like, there they
(32:22):
loved it. Spike Lee was like, they're Amos and Andy
of the nineties.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Oh.
Speaker 3 (32:27):
I'm like, Spike, you never hired me.
Speaker 4 (32:29):
I'm like, dude, you know how many times I've been around.
Speaker 3 (32:32):
I've done stuff in his shop and he had you know,
block parties and all that in Brooklyn. I'm like, dude,
you never even gave me an opportunity. I'm like whatever,
So we did the show Man. I had fun. I
was twenty something making thirty five grand a week.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Like, come on, here's the thing, flex, Like, because you're
you're a positive brother. You've always been positive. Your energy
is always positive, even when you went down. I mean,
I know you've been through so much from bankruptcy, you know,
to you're here one day and then here and you
(33:07):
always stay positive. So even with these roles that you take.
And then you got these people that are negative that
won't get these opportunities ever even though they're being negative,
but they ain't gonna get the opportunity, okay, And you
put yourself out there to even you know, say I'm
gonna take this on.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
So how do you deal with that? Because you still
hear after what like, what is it thirty something?
Speaker 3 (33:32):
I've been started in eighty I started stand up in
eighty eight, eighty nine, and then my first TV was
ninety ninety one.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Yeah, so you've been in the business and you still
I've seen people come and go me too, And even
with the criticism that you may get and the hardships
that you go through, you still hear and you still positive.
You're not out strong on drugs and you know a
drunk or whatever. You Yeah, and you look good.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
You look great. I can't tell you.
Speaker 1 (34:05):
I told one of my aunts, I was interviewing you,
and she's like, you vial fla. So I'm telling you
you still break your hearts.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
I just just always I don't know, man, I I
I just I love it.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
Yeah, I just love.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
I love when we get to do what we do.
I love getting on set. I love just creating a character.
I love just just that part. It's all the other ship.
I don't you know, the other stuff. I don't like
the political stuff. The if you ain't cool with this
crew or you ain't in with them, or this is
(34:47):
like that, and that that's the thing for me, that man,
we gotta we gotta stop. Man. Like you know, I've
seen too many people get just you know, crapped on
because at the moment it you know, nothing's happened. But
that's that's what happens in this business. I've seen the best.
I've seen come, I've seen them go, I've seen him
(35:09):
start out, humble, I've seen him chance. I've seen it all.
But I I just remain step fast and just you
know that kid who saw you know, delirious, It's like
I wanna do that like the love that I have
for it, That's that's what keeps me going, because anything else,
I'd have been like, man, lady, for this shit, I'm
(35:31):
out and I was going to bounce. Funny enough, it
was my wife who talked me out of it. She
was my wife then, but we were just friends. And
I remember it was right after Homeboys. Nothing was happening,
and I did this one hour drama with Stephen Botchko,
David Milch, Jim Belushi, and then it went away in
like thirteen episodes, and I didn't know what I was
(35:54):
gonna do. And I remember talking to her. I was like, yeah,
I'm out, man, I'm going back to New York. I
can't do it. She was like, why are you gonna
do that? You too talented, said you gotta come up
with your old stuff. You don't you don't have your
own idea. I was like, well, I actually do. It's
about this father raises a daughter boom boom boom. Because
the idea came from one of my boys in Harlem
who was a young single father, and we could give
(36:15):
him shit like, man, you can't even hang out. It
was between Matt and llll COOJ had a commercial a
Coca Cola commercial with his daughter on the steps on
the stoop. He was doing her hair and then ponytails
came out crooked. I remember that and I saw it
and I was like, that's a show.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
So I kind of merged those together and I was like, yeah,
I would love to do a show like that. And
I see Kyler on a WNBA commercial when she was
really little, and it was like she looked like the
innocent little fan and she would ask Lisa Leslie for
her autograph and as soon as Lisa Leslie goes, oh okay,
she would flip and be like, well you need to
(36:53):
work on your rebound and da da da da. That's
why I saw Kyler. I was like, she's got to
play my daughter. Yeah, so I went in. So when
I finished doing Homeboys, I ended up getting another deal
and I was doing a TV movie in Canada called Ice.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
And not like the Ice now that's trying to get
rid of people.
Speaker 3 (37:16):
No, this definitely wasn't that okay. So so Disney was
David him Afar gene blythe They it gave me a
script deal, so if they liked the script, they pick
up the show. So I get this writer I already
had the idea. I get this writer who's on Moesha.
(37:38):
He writes the script. I'm like, you know, telling them
how I wanted to go and puts what he wants
in there and whatever. So whatever the case may be,
they didn't like it, so boom it was killed. So
about a year later, I'm like, man, I want to
go back out with my show, but I want to
do it the way I saw it, in the way
(37:59):
I want to see it. I'm not knocking what he did,
but I'm just like, I want to do it the
way I saw it, and it's my show. I'm like,
you know, I have the idea and it starts to
me and it ends with me. So retool it and
I go back out and I pitch it to Green
Blade John Lowry who over at Fox. Pitch it to
them like on a Tuesday, like that Friday. They was like,
(38:21):
they want to do it. I'm like, I'm pumped. I hyped.
I'm like, yo, yes, we got in there. We got
to meet with Kyla and I had to hire a writer.
So I met with like five or six writers. Go
to the Hughles and you Netta Boone, who got rist
of Soul who was his showrunner there, you know, sat
(38:43):
with her and I was, oh, man, she cool. She's
from the East Coast Maryland. Boom boom boom, we vibe.
I'm like, yo, let's do it. So I go and,
you know, go into her house and telling her the story.
She's writing and writing it, but I'm not understanding that
I need to write to be protected in the writer's guild.
I didn't understand that game. So she writes it, registers
(39:06):
it her name, yeah, and I don't get the credit.
But I was like, okay.
Speaker 4 (39:12):
And that took.
Speaker 3 (39:13):
That took a lot for me to go to work
every day knowing that because I was like, I had
a choice. I could either really act up nobody could work,
you know, two hundred people dependent on me to show up,
or I just you know, bite the bullet and just
make this money. So I'm like, all right, whatever. So
(39:33):
that that is. That is how one on one came about,
you know, and we got one hundred and twenty something episodes,
and it's one of the best times of my life.
One of the best times of my life. I mean,
the people I've met and the people I was able
to you know, I was in a position to say, yo,
let's get them on the show. Let's get them on
(39:53):
the show. When I could do that, Yeah, you know, legends,
you know what I mean. I had so many legends
on the show. Had people on the show that nobody
knew of. Have flow a Try on the show, had
Avon on the show, had Methadan. People obviously had him.
But he and I worked together. We still work at
the Statute of Liberty. I saw hot dogs. He did trash. Yes,
(40:15):
wait a.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Minute, nothing man was taking out trash.
Speaker 3 (40:18):
Yeah. He did all the maintenance stuff, and I did
hot dogs. I did the concessions.
Speaker 2 (40:24):
You was cooking hot dogs.
Speaker 3 (40:25):
My cousin me and my cousin Grayvine. And then you
got from from Wu Tang was there too. Wu Tang
would give the seagulls out themselves and they would implode. Yeah. Man, yeah,
so it was so many people. I was able to
turn back and wow, just give shots and stuff, and
(40:48):
you know, so it was one of the best times.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
A Yeah, so success is just runs in circles. But
here's the thing. You did that, so you just gotta
do it again. Oh no, it's because what.
Speaker 2 (41:01):
I'm hearing from you, flexy.
Speaker 1 (41:04):
You just keep doing it like people love you. Yeah,
and you are very successful, you know, like I'm telling you,
people love you. It's just now we need another one
on one.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Two on two.
Speaker 3 (41:19):
You know, I actually been pitching. I've been pitching a
reboot for like seven years. Okay, it's crazy what we
got to go through, but right still, you know.
Speaker 2 (41:27):
It's going to happen.
Speaker 3 (41:28):
Yeah, yeah, And Chris and I have something, but we're.
Speaker 1 (41:31):
Manifesting that today because one thing about me, I'm a
manifestor and I'm saying that for you, and I know
that you actually are a stand up man and.
Speaker 2 (41:41):
A good guy.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
So y'all give him his reboot? Yeah, and the fans go,
y'all demand it because.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
I'm like, no, yes, because the feedback I get back
is a little the public really care. I'm like, are
you kidding me? Like they put it on Netflix during
the pandemic, and I gained a whole new audience, right.
I had Stevie want His daughter at the time was
twelve thirteen at thirteen, Yeah, you know, it's crazy.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
No, people want to see that, especially a positive black
man with his daughter doing positive things, and.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
Just I mean, that's that was the whole purpose of
that show and funny.
Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yes, on top of it all, we had a great time.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
Oh yeah, So what's next.
Speaker 3 (42:31):
For you next? Getting back doing stand up? Got some
dates coming up, Chris Pincher and I Project and Buddy Lewis,
who was right on as well. I'm excited about that
so too much. But it's sitting somewhere right now with
(42:52):
a really good company and we just gotta gotta iron
everything out. Okay, but it's gonna be definitely something just needed,
something different. I always try to think of what's missing
in the marketplace. It's almost like God, what's his name,
and there's Robert Kyosaki. Rich Dad, Poor dad talks about
(43:16):
people who do well in different areas, especially in the
you know, whether you're automaker or whatever. It's like you
always find something. It's find the thing vision need and
then you'll find success. And I'm like, at the time,
one on one, there was a need to see black
fathers with their children, and now it's the time to
(43:38):
see what what what I got coming?
Speaker 1 (43:42):
Yes, Well here's the I mean, I'm already in my
head thinking about you because you and s Chinese are
empty nesters pretty much.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
Well no, no, they're still there. They know we're not listen,
We're not rushing. I'm not rushing them. I'm not from
the school of that old school as you seventeen you
get out, because I think that's damaged a lot of
our kids because they get out. They have no knowledge
about credit. They have no I mean anything. I've taught
my kids about credit. They're both in the eight hundreds.
(44:10):
My daughter signed for her car and walked off eight hundreds. Yes,
both like eight thirty and eight twenty five. Like they
understand about that.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
I've never been that high.
Speaker 3 (44:18):
Giving them crypto okay, you know, talk to them about
you know, index life insurance money and how you live
off that money. It's not just for when you die,
it's to live off, you know.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
Tree.
Speaker 3 (44:34):
I've been teaching all the things that I messed up.
I've been teaching them. So I'm glad that they're there
so I can teach them so that when it is
time then they're going to be fine. They'll know when
it's signed and will know. Yeah, but trust me, loves
and being there.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Okay, you don't I love Sese, you know, like I
love y'all dearly. I got to get shines here too.
Speaker 4 (44:58):
Yeah, you have I got to get you on the show,
like definitely, you.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
Know, because you two have just been you know, good
to me, inspiration and I just want to see y'all
like everything your heart desires.
Speaker 4 (45:12):
I'm rooting for you.
Speaker 3 (45:13):
Thank you, Yeah, thank you, Sirs. Appreciate you got squat
behind you.
Speaker 2 (45:18):
Yeah, all right, so listen, Flex, tell the people where
they can find you.
Speaker 3 (45:25):
Hey, you can find me on social media Instagram, Flex
A Folk real f O R E A L. All right.
And that's the same on what's the other one? Uh TikTok,
which I think is gonna be gone in fifteen days.
Speaker 2 (45:40):
No, it ain't.
Speaker 3 (45:41):
Yeah, they keep saying it. Yeah, they always do that
on on what's the other one? Snapchat? My kids said
I'm too old to snap, so.
Speaker 4 (45:50):
Snapchat.
Speaker 3 (45:51):
And then Flex Alexander on on Facebook? And are they
anymore out there?
Speaker 4 (45:55):
I'm not on x I left.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
Do you have Onlifans?
Speaker 3 (45:58):
No?
Speaker 4 (45:59):
I think about it though, I'm gonna get out there.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
Ain't give him this hot nipple right here, like, yeah, give.
Speaker 4 (46:04):
Me that money name.
Speaker 2 (46:06):
One on one right and they would give it to you.
Speaker 1 (46:10):
I'm telling you, the women love you, Okay, I'm talking
with I told people I'm interviewing you.
Speaker 3 (46:15):
That's my crash, so yeah, but that's what y'all can
find me. Just look out for me and come into
a city near you and stand up and oh. Season
six of Family Business coming up to.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
Yes, you've been chilling that? All right, y'all tune in.
Yes you've been killing that, but you've been killing it.
But I like seeing you like that. Yeah, yeah, all right, y'all.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
Flex Alexander, I'm Tory Hart. This has been another episode
of Brutally Honest with Tory Heart.
Speaker 2 (46:51):
I will see y'all soul.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
That girl.
Speaker 3 (47:02):
You need that good first girl, you need good girl.
Speaker 1 (47:09):
You better read his gangs and lean, pay attention to everything,
walk around town like he.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
The ship, but behind closed doors he'd be taking
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