‘All American’: Meet Daniel Ezra, Taye Diggs, Samantha Logan, Karimah Westbrook, Bre-Z and rest of the cast of The CW show
Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger, ‘All American’ sketches out the tale of Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), a rising American football star who finds himself torn between two different worlds of South Crenshaw High School and Beverly Hills High.
The show elucidates how the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds — South Crenshaw and Beverly Hills — begin to collide. Created by April Blair, the show first debuted on October 10, 2018, and is back for its third season. Get set to explore all unanswered questions after the cliffhanger of the last season.
The summary of season 3 reads, “It’s been a long journey in just a short period of time for gifted high school football star Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), from his days as the breakout player at South Crenshaw High to becoming state champion with Beverly Hills High. His family life, personal relationships and athletic future all changed and grown in ways he never imagined. But after the rough year that followed that victory, Spencer made the tough decision to return to South Crenshaw High for his senior year with Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) by his side as the new head coach.”
It continues, “Together, their plan is to bring home a football championship to save the school. However, in season three that may prove difficult as the high stakes of the Beverly/Crenshaw rivalry become very personal now that it’s friend versus friend, and father versus son. Furthermore, the medical mystery surrounding Spencer’s injured arm will not only significantly affect his game on the field, but also his relationships off the field, as they all try to navigate a very complicated, secret-filled senior year at both Beverly and South Crenshaw.”
As the third season returns, here's the cast from the show:
Daniel Ezra as Spencer James
Born in Birmingham, England, Daniel Ezra has Jamaican ancestry and has confessed he loved exploring the fictional world of ‘Harry Potter’, Phillip Pullman books, and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ stories as a child.
Before his ‘All American’ stint, Ezra stepped into the world of showbiz as Sebastian in ‘Twelfth Night’ and was nominated for an Ian Charleson Award. He has also starred in shows like ‘Undercover’, ‘The Missing’ and ‘A Discovery of Witches’. Did you know his favorite rapper is Nipsey Hussle? If you've watched the show, you'll be familiar with all the rap songs and it is fascinating to know that the actor studied the rapper's accent and his songs.
Taye Diggs as Billy Baker
Known for his roles in Broadway musicals ‘Rent and Hedwig’ and the ‘Angry Inch’ and films like ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’, ‘Brown Sugar’, ‘The Best Man' and its sequel, ‘The Best Man Holiday’, Diggs was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was raised by mother, Marcia (née Berry), who was a teacher and actress, and his father, Andre Young, a visual artist.
Did you know he dated ‘Selling Sunset’ cast member Amanza Smith for five years? Lately, he has gained much popularity as a host after he hosted the game show ‘Hypnotize Me’ with hypnotist Keith Barry and the 25th Annual Critics Choice Awards.
Samantha Logan as Olivia Baker
Born in Boston, Samantha Logan is of Irish and Trinidadian descent. The actress gained popularity after appearing in a ‘Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' episode. Since then, she has been seen as Nina Jones in the second season of Netflix's ‘13 Reasons Why’, and Tia Stephens in Freeform's ‘The Fosters’. Her other notable roles include ‘Teen Wolf, ‘Melissa & Joey’, ‘General Hospital’ and ‘666 Park Avenue’.
Bre-Z as Tamia ‘Coop’ Cooper
Did you know Bre-Z is a musician in real life too? After starting her music career at 14, she started writing songs and met Freeway of Roc-A-Fella Records rap group State Property when she was 15. Soon after, she collaborated with Dr Dre, Jennifer Lopez, and The Game.
Shedding light on her sexuality, she said in an interview, “I love everybody. But when it gets down to whatever is underneath my clothes, whatever is inside of my home, or in my bedroom... I feel like at some point, being in the public eye, you have to keep something for yourself. And that's just what I choose to keep for me.”
Greta Onieogou as Layla Keating
A Canadian actress, Greta Onieogou was born in Leningrad, Russia, to Nigerian-Russian parents and moved to Toronto, Canada, when she was five. Interestingly, she was a rhythmic gymnast and has trained with Alexandra Orlando for a couple of months.
Monét Mazur as Laura Baker
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Monét Mazur has had a prolific modeling career in her early 20s. Not many people know that she has starred in Johnny Depp's ‘Blow’ which led to her being cast in ‘Monster in Law’ with Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, ‘40 Days and 40 Nights’ with Josh Hartnett, ‘Just Married’ with Ashton Kutcher, and ‘The House Bunny’ with Anna Farris. Not just that, she also plays the lead in the action film ‘Torque’ with Ice Cube and Martin Henderson
Michael Evans Behling as Jordan Baker
Born in Columbus, Ohio, he was adopted by White parents Mike and Carol Behling and grew up in Columbus, Indiana. Back in March 2020, he confessed in a video that his father is of Nigerian descent and his mother is of German descent.
Inspired by Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark Knight’, Behling began his career in television in 2017 with a role as "Handsome Dude" on ‘Empire’ and was soon cast in The CW series.
Cody Christian as Asher Adams
If you're wondering where you've seen him before, it would be as Mike Montgomery, the younger brother of Aria Montgomery on ‘Pretty Little Liars’. Not just that, Christian has starred in several TV shows like ‘True Blood’, ‘Grey's Anatomy’ and ‘Back to You’ with Laura Marano, and in the 2011 film ‘Kill the Irishman’ before ‘All American’.
Karimah Westbrook as Grace James
Love, strength, and resilience — Karimah Westbrook pours just the right mix of emotions as Grace James in 'All American'. A devoted single parent, she plays the mother of football star Spencer James in The CW series.
In an exclusive interview with MEAWW, she said, “There's a lot of love on the show and it's a reflection of the bond we share in real life. The whole experience for me has been a blessing.”
Chelsea Tavares as Patience
Not just her brilliant performance on ‘All American’ but the actress is also known for her role as Cranberry on Nickelodeon's ‘Unfabulous’ and as Autumn Williams on ‘Just Jordan’.
With Nkechi Okoro Carroll, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and John A Norris as executive producers, the series has been produced by Warner Bros Television and CBS Television Studios in association with Berlanti Productions.
‘All American’ returns with season 3 on January 19, 2021, after a hiatus and you can catch the first episode — ‘Seasons Pass’ — from 8 pm ET to 9 pm ET on The CW Network.