Dewayne Perkins

Shifting people’s perspectives is a key component of the Dewayne Perkins experience (including possibly soft-launching an Avatar cult, or at least setting up a psychic carnival tent). Whether he’s existing freely and creatively in the picturesque halls of The Hoxton, Downtown Los Angeles, or he’s brain blasting his way through writing a new script, everything he does is authentically Dewayne. By always living in his truth, he’s able to create doorways to worlds that haven’t been opened yet. These doorways are what will ultimately challenge and change someone’s perspective on what it means to be a full person, and what it means to allow someone to be more than just the tangible parts of their identity.

When we let people reveal themselves to us openly, we see the multitudes they contain as something to be celebrated. Dewayne is already leading the charge in that celebration. Now, it’s time for us to join him.

The Studio is now streaming on Apple TV+.


I read in your interview with TV Fanatic that Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of your comfort shows, and it’s one of mine too. If you could control any of the four elements, which would you choose and why?
I feel like it would be between water and air. I really thought blood-bending was everything. I was like, “You know what? There's something to that…I think I just like control.” [both laugh] But there was something about water. There's water in everything that lives. I love that, and the philosophy of being able to tap into life within every object that contains water. Now, the woman who was doing it in the show was killing people, but I was like, “They colonized your land, I get it.”

That's really poetic. Sometimes we just have to forgive people for a little light murder. [both laugh] Just kidding!
Nope, you’re not. And that's why it's funny. Because I'm like, hmm! We shouldn't go there, but I think we're on the same page. Sometimes people just have to die, as Vanessa Hudgens said during COVID about Coachella. [both laugh]

She said, “I'm simply not apologizing for that.” I actually forgot about that until just now, and I’m kind of crying a little thinking about it.
I quote that all the time. I was like, man, stand ten feet down. She’s still out here working, booked, busy, doing her thing. I love how we got here from Avatar, The Last Airbender.

I read that and immediately geeked out because I love Avatar so much, and I feel like not many people have seen it because they write it off as being a kids’ show.
Sure, but by season three, it gets serious. I think that was why I liked the show, because it was bringing very adult themes to this platform that children are watching. It treats children like they are smart, and I think that is the way content should be made to have a better future.

I was having a conversation yesterday about the horror trope of kids seeing things and not being believed, and how we don't lend legitimacy to kids and their intellect and emotions.
Exactly. It’s strange, it’s almost as if society wants kids not to have independence. It's almost like they want them to be more susceptible to brainwashing for some strange reason. And now labour laws are changing. Huh! I wonder where we’re heading? [both laugh] In season three, there's an episode where Aang goes to the Fire Nation, and he's in disguise, and they're teaching a history lesson. He's like, “No, that's not true. That simply is not true.” And they're like, “That's what we learned, though.” And he's like, “Well, yes, you would be the victor in this situation, but my entire race of people was murdered.” They were talking about genocide and the rewriting of history, and that is literally happening right now. If kids see this, they could have context for what is happening in the world around them.

That is why TV and film are so powerful. I'm working on an animated Netflix film that's aimed at that [value]. I've been thinking a lot about how this is a medium that could really help, expand minds, and change the world. I'm very artsy-fartsy in that way, but I think it's so powerful. As a kid, I was interacting with things that forced me to think about heavier subjects, which is such a tool for good.

I completely agree with you. It teaches you empathy and understanding, and it's unfortunate when that’s not as available as it should be in various media.
We should take over. [Both laugh] I think we have all the answers.

Frankly, you can ask us anything, and we're going to be like, “Well, see, in season three, episode five of Avatar, this thing happened, and we're going to replicate that now.
Exactly. Then, if you want to get a little deeper, we can go into Legend of Korra.

We'll roll right into it. We’ve got source material for days…for at least four years.
Legend of Korra is talking about PTSD, depression, queerness, and I said, “They are really hitting on things!”

They had an agenda and they stuck to it! I feel like us building a platform off of these two Nickelodeon shows is no less cuckoo bananas than what's currently happening.
They have Project 2025, we have Project Avatar. I'm excited for the future now. Thank you for this.

[laughs] Any time. I spent time reading and watching your previous interviews, and one of the things that kept jumping out at me was your desire not to be pigeonholed as an actor, and how you've pursued writing your own projects as a way to counteract that from happening. How do you think other members of the film industry can work against this continuation of stereotyping actors?
I think an expansion of their belief around how people exist [is necessary]. I think it's very hard to ask for a nuanced portrayal of someone if you've never experienced that person. So, I think people need to expand their minds in terms of how they see Black people, gay people, and women, for example. But I do think there's a direct correlation to commerce. There's this idea that if you do something successfully, you want to do it again because the data shows it works. They're like, “Why would we do something new when we know that we can have something that works? We've seen that the gay best friend works. Why would we make the gay best friend the lead?”

There's a lot of fear around that, and I think that a big part of [what is needed] is just being okay with risk. This industry takes risks in so many ways. They spend so much money, and sometimes that shit bombs. If some super famous, straight, white man makes a movie that bombs, they're not going to stop making movies. Being able to bring that energy to other demographics would help immensely.

You mentioned previously that stand-up comedy allowed you to showcase yourself as a full person, which is, I think, exactly what you're talking about here. They’re not seeing Black people, queer people, or women, as full people. But they’re allowing straight white men to be full people. What do you hope people learn about you as an individual as you promote The Studio?
I hope they see that I am a unique person and that their perceptions of my identity are not indicative of who I am. They're just information. I am Black. I am queer. I am a man. But these are just bits of information, they don't necessarily tell you who Dewayne is. You have to experience who I am to see me. It’s in seeing me as a person, not just a subset of categories. I'm always trying to make it clear that the Dewayne Perkins experience would be the Dewayne Perkins experience. I'm always trying to make it clear that I'm just the baddest bitch alive because no one else can give what I give. I've worked really hard, and when I am working, I will be the best version of myself I can be.

I'm always interested in interpersonal dynamics where you're like, “I know so clearly who I am and what I am and the multitudes I contain,” but it’s so strange when you're in an industry where you constantly have to sell and present that.
Yes, something I learned that was very freeing within the last couple of years was taking out the personal aspect and just seeing it as a system. For example, I know a lot of straight white men - some of them great, some of them terrible. But I know the same about gay people and Black people. It's not the person, it’s the system we exist in. I am making sure that I'm always speaking about the system that allows a hierarchy, to not necessarily villainize the demographic itself, but still acknowledge privileges.

Viewing it that way made it so much less personal for me, which allowed me to exist in a freer way. I'm not moving through life thinking, “Oh, it's me,” because it's not. It's the position I'm in within this system. A couple of years ago, I was really struggling with being in this industry. My therapist was like, “Are you gonna quit?” I said, “I don't want to.” She was like, “Can you change it?” And I said, “I don't think so.” She said, “Well, you’ve got two choices. Either you can be okay doing what you can, or you have to quit.” It’s that simple. She was very blunt, and I said, “Okay, cool.” [both laugh]I had to find the philosophical approach that allowed me to still do it without having to feel such a personal burden of existing in a system that wasn't necessarily built for me.

I'm glad you were able to do that in a way that feels good for you. I'm sure it's also a constant course correction.
I even have to acknowledge the changes that have happened already, even in the ability to write for myself. That is a privilege that I may not have had before. I have faith in people as individuals. I don't necessarily have faith in the system, so I spend less time trying to change the system and more time trying to change people who I know are open to change. I've seen that in real time. I've seen people grow. I've seen people change. That is where I feel like I have power and agency. Sometimes it feels too big, and I get overwhelmed. I had to really start thinking micro instead.

I feel very similar. We can educate people, inform, inspire, and learn from them. We can hope, little by little, that it has a bigger impact on the macro.
You never know which individual will eventually get the power to be like, “Hey, I'm now at the top, changing everything.” My whole goal is to empower individuals and then one day, be able to say, “Okay, the system is changing.” Nothing brings me more joy than seeing a small thing I’ve done turn into that person making a change. Not everyone can be the saviour. But if you give the saviour a little leg up, that feels just as fulfilling to me. I don't need to cross the finish line if I can help somebody cross the finish line.

That’s what it’s all about. You don't even have to intend to do it, and you don't have to receive anything from it.
That feels like the most human aspect of existence - transferring that good energy. That’s what makes me feel the most in tune with the universe.

What are you currently writing that is helping to achieve these goals?
I'll talk about themes because there are certain projects I can't necessarily talk about specifically. There's a project where I'm exploring toxic masculinity within young boys. Young Black boys having a film that specifically talks about that journey could be very helpful for their exploration of being a man and navigating what that looks like.

I'm also writing a rom-com. I really want to see two Black gay men in love and figuring it out. Moonlight was such a big moment in film. When I watched it, I was in the theatre with my friends who are a married straight couple. By the end, I was like, “Oh, my God, this is sweet! But I'm so mad…they're not gonna fuck?” [both laugh] I went through all this, and I'm personally triggered. Then they finally got to the point of intimacy, and it was over. I was like, “I need to make the movie after that.” One of my goals is to portray queer love, specifically Black, queer love. There's such an absence of that.

Another project is about a gay/straight male friendship, which, personally, is so apparent in my life, but I rarely see it in media. During the filming of The Blackening, I recognised that I had some blocks up until that point. I avoided a lot of straight men. As I got older, I insulated myself in spaces that made me feel the safest, which were queer spaces and women-centred spaces.

While we were filming, Melvin Gregg and I were talking about first impressions when we met. I love Melvin Gregg. He said when he first met me, that I was very cold and standoffish. I was like, “What?! When?” And then I thought, Oh, yeah, damn! That is true. I went home, and I really unpacked that. I went back on set, and I was like, “Hey, you were right. I really didn't realise how much of a block I had up out of defensiveness,” and we had this beautiful moment on set where I thanked him because I had grown a lot within this realisation, and he said the same. He was like, “I'm not around a lot of gay people, and I feel the same way.” He said I forced him to open up his mind to his own biases. Then we cried. It was a very beautiful moment, and it really helped open me up. Ever since, I felt a lot lighter.

I got so close to him, and Sinqua [Walls] and Jermaine [Fowler]. I still talk to them very often. Often, there's this misconception that that type of connection doesn't exist without gay men being like, “I secretly want you.” But there’s such a beautiful love that could be had between men that isn't romantic at all. It's just a strong platonic love, and I think showing that will help move that conversation forward. The undercurrent of everything I write is just me being like, “I want the world to be better. Watch this. I think there's a version of this that doesn’t have to be bad.”

And then, lastly, there's a mom-and-son situation I'm also working on. My mother had her first child when she was seventeen, and she was a single mom. I have four sisters, and now that I'm an adult, I’m navigating a different form of a relationship with my mother, and seeing her find out who she is now that she's not a full-time mom. I can understand her so much more now as I get older. I now have a friendship with my mother, where I’m like, “Oh, she's nuts…but so am I!” [both laugh]

The math is mathing. My mom had my oldest brother when she was eighteen, and then she had me and my middle brother when she was in her thirties. Now that I'm at the age she was when she was having me, I'm like, “I cannot imagine having three kids.”
My dogs make me want to cry sometimes. [both laugh] A couple of months ago, I went into a store and I saw that deodorant was crazy priced, and I started crying. I was just crying in public because I was like, “I'm one person. I have money. I'm doing pretty well for myself. And this is still crazy.” I think about my mother, and if I had five kids, how would this work? It makes me so sad. I was just in there crying for the world because I have so much empathy, and I’m not sure how people are doing it. That is something I want to give a lot of space, praise, and gratitude for to be able to uplift someone like my mom.

I would go and see that with my mother and cry the entire time, and then she would cry the entire time. [both laugh] Also, the deodorant I use is fifteen dollars. I don’t know how people pay for this for more than one person.
I actually struggle going to grocery stores because I find it very dystopian. Eggs are seventeen dollars! I'm just like, “Yo. I don't like this. I have to leave.”

I’ve felt like that before, like “I simply cannot exist in this.” It is dystopian.
If, at the very least, I can write a movie where somebody's like, “That's nice. That made me feel better,” that’s all I want.

I think that's so needed. You have a really beautiful gift, and you're sharing it with other people and allowing them to feel less alone. You were talking about platonic relationships between men, which is something I think about all the time. The people who are the genuine loves of my life are my platonic female friends, and we never think about each other’s sexuality or if there’s something else going on under the surface.
It’s like, if you had a snack, and you're like, “I just want people to know how good this snack is,” I feel that way with my friendships. Being able to have my straight friends and be like, “I love you so much,” makes me feel like other people are missing out on a level of closeness that is so satisfying and brings a lot to life. If only there were fewer barriers to joy! There's so much more joy we can feel if we weren't so encumbered by things that aren't even necessarily real.

People don't always know how to navigate it because they don't have a clear example in their lives of how to do that. There are also so many things you're saying that are verbatim in the questions I wrote for you. I was like, “I'm going to ask him what genres he wants to explore and through which mediums. Maybe he’s writing a romance movie?” And then you were like, “I'm writing a romance movie.”
It's about the connection, and if there is the option of romance, is it worth risking the platonic friendship for a possible romantic relationship? I think most people would be like, “Yes, it’s worth it.” But the way I look at platonic relationships, I don't know what I would choose. Sometimes it's not worth it for the possibility of romance. It's such a mind fuck of like, “Okay, is the only reason I want romance because of the friendship? Am I projecting this level of love to romance because that's the only example I've had of it? And if it gets romantic, does that take away the thing that inherently made me want the romance to begin with?” It’s this whole dynamic that I knew I wanted to write about.

Honestly, I am going to eat all of this up, because this is what my brain does all the time. I think about things to death.
I really have learned to weaponise my ADHD in the best way. [both laugh]

From a brass-tacks sense, when you're looking at this in your script writing, how do you take it from this thought process in your head to a literal script?
I'm not joking, a friend of mine asked me this two days ago, and I sent him a GIF of Jimmy Neutron. [both laugh] I do a brain blast where I stare into space and I disassociate. I literally play a movie in my head. I've consumed so much media that my brain works in film. To this day, improv is one of the best skills I've ever studied. I love the way it trained my brain to exist in possibilities. So, I'm just creating a life in my head and then naturally and organically figuring out, “Okay, if this person did this, what would the other person say? If they did this, what would happen next?” There’s almost a spider web of possibilities. If you saw me, I would look exactly like this: [stares blankly into space].

All of that is incredibly fascinating, but we're just freaking each other out at this point because I actually have it written down to ask you how improv comedy has helped you think on your feet more quickly.
Let me give you one little side story.

Please do!
I was talking to a friend of mine, and we were talking about psychics. She was like, “Hey, if you're ever in Montreal, there's this psychic I know, and you should go see her.” Then, when I was in Montreal, I hit up this woman, and I took the train to her house, and she did a reading that truly made me believe. She was saying things, and I was like, “She shouldn’t know any of this.” At the time, I had been doing some psychedelic drugs with my friends, and we were very artsy about it and doing “drug sleepovers,” where we basically curated a safe vibe and made art. It was beautiful.

The psychic was like, “You've been doing a lot of drugs lately,” and I said, “Yes.” She said, “You've had a really good handle on it, but if you ever do cocaine, it will ruin your life.” And I said, “Ma'am, I literally have never done it because I thought it was going to ruin my life.” The first time I got offered it, I viscerally screamed. [laughs] I've always felt a resistance. She was like, “Yeah, you're kind of psychic. Your instincts are strong to the point of psychic ability.”I was like, “Ma'am, what? I'm a psychic?” So, I really internalised that. [both laugh]

Honestly, that's my favourite story of all time now. This is giving big Trixie Mattel vibes because she is always like “I'm psychic.” But she straight up is sometimes. I think it’s the power of belief.
I do think it is surrendering to the existence that you have conceived. I have dreams of the future, and I think people would tell me that it’s déjà vu, but it's not. I'm very open to the idea that life is not what we just perceive it to be. I think surrendering to the possibility allows me to experience things, whereas I feel like other people will see something and be like, “That can't be.” And so it won't be.

I’ve said to people before that you could tell me anything, and I'd be like, “I believe that.”
I also had this moment last week, where I was walking with a friend down the street, and she pointed to a sign, but I thought she was pointing to the air, and I was ready for her to say she saw a ghost. And she was like, “Relax. No.” [both laugh] I was like, “Oh, okay, but just know if you ever see something, I'm not going to say you're crazy. I'm gonna be like, What does it look like?! How do you feel?!”

I think we have to set up a carnival booth and start doing some side hustles.
Okay, so you’re thinking carnival booth, but I was thinking cult. [both laugh]

I am obviously not dreaming big enough, and that’s on me.
You know, let me add that to my goal list.

You're gonna be in the prime spot for it if you're at Coachella.
That's gonna be my soft launch.

I'll be watching through Instagram, crying, like “He did it.”
And we're all just watching Avatar all day.

I should probably ask you some questions about The Studio, which is fantastic by the way. I love your character, Tyler, and how he’s making the most of the situation and the job he's found himself in. I found that to be really relatable. Have you ever experienced working in a job where you knew it was less than ideal, but you chose to approach it from a place of gratitude because you knew you were at least learning something beneficial in the process?
I would say I'm a lot more of a Tyler now than I was when I first started. I felt like I was really trying to lead with my emotions first back then, and I was like, “I don't like this. I don't want to be here.” And now I'm like, “What does this give me?” If I know the expectation is not necessarily joy, I'm like, “Is there something I'm learning? Is it just a financial benefit?” I did a Q&A with the cast, and the moderator asked me a similar question about how I relate to my character, and I was like, “Well, Tyler is kind of like, ‘I'm just happy to be here.’”

He's also the token Black person, and I've been the token Black person in a lot of situations. You can either be upset about it or be like, “Well, if there's going to be a Black person, it should be me changing their perspective on that.” Similar to what I was saying earlier, I know the system, and I think they do a great job at showing the system in a way that feels meta in The Studio. It would have been disingenuous for them to be like, “Look at all these Black people!” It’s comedically layered, and I knew how to play that. There's a line in the first episode where I say, “Matt, as our boss, you should know more.” I wanted to tell my bosses this all the time. I really loved playing that aspect of it, and when you see the rest of the season, there are some more situations I feel like that lean into that as well.

I have been there in so many different jobs, and I’ve now taken the approach of being like, “It’s an honour just to be nominated. I'm just happy to be here.”
Yeah, I used to always think about how this could be better, or how this should be better. I just had to get to a place of peace with therapy and lived experiences to be like, “Let me be grateful for what it is, and then continue to do what I can to make it better personally.” Now, I'm personally just happy to be here. A trip to Japan last year really helped. I solo-travelled for the first time for my birthday, and afterwards, I felt so much more grateful for jobs.

You do have to be like, “This is allowing me to do what I really want to do and explore.” Also, I bet Japan was so beautiful.
It was transformative. And the ideal is, yes, I want every job to give me immense amounts of joy, and some of them have. I'm very grateful to have the experiences that create a litmus test for what I want work to be. The Studio was such a great time to film. The Blackening was beautiful. Working on the Amber Ruffin show and then being nominated for an Emmy for a job that I actually enjoyed are things that keep me wanting to stay in this business. I've had terrible jobs, but those jobs still afforded me things. If I can't find joy in this space, I'm going to find what in this space allows me to have joy outside of this space. The goal is always going to be joy. So, it's changing the mathematical equation to be like, “The joy is somewhere in this equation. How do I get there?”

That's really inspiring. Also, again, you're being psychic, because the last question I wrote down was: What was the last thing that brought you genuine joy? So, that was great timing.
I just think we have been really aligned, because I do think this is one of the best interviews I've ever had. It's been really easy in the sense of me being like, “Oh, yeah, I'm just yapping!”