EXCLUSIVE | ‘All American’ star Lamon Archey says coach Billy Baker’s dark past is ‘coming back to haunt him’
The heartthrob on ‘The Young and the Restless’ and ‘Days of Our Lives’, Lamon Archey seems to be shaking things up in the new season of ‘All American’. Having grown up in California, the 39-year-old actor charted the path to success after getting into modeling. In fact, Archey once confessed that stepping into the world of glitz and glam helped him “break out of his shell”.
In an exclusive interview with MEAWW, the actor — who plays D'Angelo Carter on ‘All American’ — not only reveals a little more about his upbringing and childhood but also spills the beans on his character and dishes secrets from the upcoming episodes.
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Here are the excerpts
You were raised in San Mateo by your grandparents. Tell us a little about your childhood and how did you first decide you want to be an actor?
I was modeling and transitioned into acting after I was scouted by my current manager. He went to one of my modeling agencies that I had in San Francisco and grabbed one of my Comp cards and asked my agent if they could introduce us. We met, I signed, and I took direction from him regarding acting classes and that’s how we got the ball rolling.
In the season two finale, we saw you as a guest star in the role of D'Angelo Carter. What is the one thing that attracted you to the role and do you think Carter is similar to you in any way?
One thing that attracted me to the role was that I saw a lot of hidden layers to the character. I also saw that he was somewhat of a villain, and I’ve always wanted to play the bad guy, partly because I’ve been playing a good guy on ‘Days of Our Lives’ for so long. It was a chance for me to jump out of my norm and tackle something that I’ve always wanted to do, in addition to playing a character that was intriguing because there are so many unknown factors about him. Of course, when I got the role, I didn’t know if these layers would be fleshed out at all, but I was able to create a story in my head about this character that pushed me in a certain direction and made me more excited about him.
In some ways, I am similar to D’Angelo. He’s the type of person that doesn’t forget and, in many ways, doesn’t forgive. I tend to forgive a little more, but once I’ve made up my mind about somebody, that’s it for me. I feel like D’Angelo is the same way. I’m looking forward to seeing what the writer’s come up with for him and learning more about him myself.
Carter is the interim principal at South Crenshaw High and he has a different vision as compared to Coach Billy Baker. Will the two have unresolved conflicts this season and can they ever be friends?
Yes, they definitely have some unresolved conflicts. We saw some of them in Episodes 1 and 2, and there will be more that we get to see and understand what happened between them. I don’t know how deep we’ll go into that story just yet, but I do think the fans will have a much better understanding than they have now about what went on in the past between D’Angelo and Taye Diggs's character, Coach Billy Baker.
Carter studied with Corey and Billy but was sent to boarding school and the bullying culture of the football team had a major role to play in that. Will Carter's dark past come back to haunt him in any way and will he inflict the same on the students?
I’m more inclined to say that it’s Coach Billy Baker’s past that is coming back to haunt him, and that past is D’Angelo Carter. If anything, D’Angelo is living through the pain of his past and he is on this path that stems from these things that have haunted him.
In South Crenshaw High, you now have to pay to play. While Billy has sorted that out by giving a part of his salary, will Carter have a hand in changing that new rule?
I have absolutely no idea. It’s just my speculation, but I don’t think D’Angelo would change that rule again to hinder the team. If he was to give the team a different mountain to climb, I would think he would find different ways to do that. I think the pay-to-play obstacle has come and now they have to deal with that but there might be some other hurdles to overcome as well.
Will Carter get a lot of backlash for his idea of gentrifying the surrounding neighborhood to convert South Crenshaw to a Magnet School?
I’m not sure. It seems like converting South Crenshaw to a Magnet School was a problem last season, but with Spencer coming back to South Crenshaw I think that idea has been pushed to the side. It could be something that is dealt with again, but I’m not sure if D’Angelo’s stance on that idea has changed because of his new position as interim principal.
Will we see more of Carter's past and love life in the show too? Can you tell us what to expect in the upcoming episodes?
Yes, we will get to see more of D’Angelo’s past. I’m not sure if we’ll see more about his love life. I definitely think things are going to start heating up for D’Angelo but I don’t know what that is just yet.
How has the experience been working with the cast and crew for The CW show?
It’s been great! I was just working with Karimah Westbrook and Daniel Ezra and they were both fantastic, and anytime that I work with Tay Diggs is just incredible. Even though I’m not part of the main cast, I still feel like I’m treated and welcomed like one of their own. It’s always a good time when I get there, and everyone is super welcoming. I always have a great time when working with them.
What's next for you? Are there are other projects lined up for the future that you would like to tell us about?
Fans can still watch me on 'Days of Our Lives', Monday-Friday on NBC. My character on CW’s 'All American' will reappear in early March, so fans can look forward to seeing him then. Between those two projects, I’ve been very busy and I feel very blessed to have been able to work during this time.
Can't wait to watch Carter's role in the show? Here's when you can watch it. ‘All American’ Season 3 premiered with its first episode on January 18. The CW announced the estimated schedule for its fall shows and the series is slated for the 8 pm to 9 pm time slot on Mondays. Going by the previous seasons, this one should also come with 16 episodes.
If you're wondering when it will premiere on Netflix, you'll have to wait a little more. The series will drop on the streaming site once all episodes finish airing weekly on The CW.