Zatima is back with two episodes Thursday, following the season’s return on Dec. 26. The spinoff follows the ups and downs of couple Fatima and Zac, played by Crystal Renee Hayslett and Devale Ellis, who pulls from a few real-life experiences to tap into his character.
“My mom is like freaking amazing, but what I do is I pull from parts of the relationships with my mom that I wish were better to put me in that mode with Zac,” Devale tells ABC Audio of his character, Zac, whose mother, Gladys, has always spoken negatively toward him. He also pulls from his post-NFL days when he mentored more than 500 young men, some of whom had mothers who reminded him of Gladys. “I could see what that did to their sons … so when you see Zac act out, it’s the way I watched young men act out when their moms were just like Gladys,” he says.
Having played Zac for eight seasons on Sistas and three on Zatima, Devale says he “never worried” about whether he’ll be typecast.
“One thing I’ve learned about life is that people can’t put you in a box, only you put you in a box. … I never want to do that. That’s why I always did other things while I was on Sistas,” he explains. “A lot of people say, ‘You got a series regular role, why would you take a guest star role on [The] Blacklist or Blue Bloods or NCIS?’ And it’s because I want people to see me do other things. … I want people to see that I’m an artist. Devale is not Zac, and Zac is not Devale. Devale plays Zac. So for me, I just thought I’m not going to [be] put in the box because I’m going to keep working while I’m working.“
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