THE BEST OF TASTY CLIPS: From ‘Murder’ to ‘Imperfect Women,’ Rome Flynn stays busy
By Bill Vaughan
Entertainment Writer
The old saying of one door closes, another one opens can certainly apply to Rome Flynn. From his pivotal role of Gabriel Maddox on ABC’s “How To Get Away With Murder” to stand out parts on ‘Chicago Fire,” “Godfather of Harlem” and Apple TV’s “Imperfect Women” (with Kerry Washington and Elizabeth Moss) the actor is in demand.
We spoke some years back before the premiere of the music video for “Keep Me In Mind,” a song he wrote for his EP, produced by Ye Ali, Bizness Boi,Fortune & Keyanos (who have worked with Chris Brown, PartyNextDoor, Wale and other chart toppers).
“I used to listen to a lot of Earth, Wind & Fire,” said Flynn in describing some of his influences to Tasty Clips. “My dad was really big on like 80s era of music. Teddy Pendergrass was an inspiration. Not necessarily vocally, but the way he was able to transcend masculinity. I look to the way he kind of held a room onstage. I [also] take a lot from Miguel. His presence. The way he is able to play guitar and captivate an audience.”
The handsome Chicagoan of Afro-Cuban descent has had eyes on him since landing the part in 2015 of Zende Forrester Dominguez on CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful,” earning him a coveted Emmy Award.
“The beauty of doing soaps is that you have the luxury of choosing what kind of career path you want to have,” Flynn said. “If you can maintain a soap career, then you can maintain an acting career, because the work schedule is so strenuous. You are filming like eight episodes a week so there’s a lot of material to digest, but it’s really up to the person.
“I know actors who don’t look at working on soaps as an art form. They look at it as a job, which is totally OK if you want to make a living like that. You have to put in the extra work to really be good to get the Emmys and the other accolades.”
Being cast in “Madea’s Family Funeral” led to a creative relationship with Tyler Perry, which in turn transitioned to a regular supporting role on OWN’s “The Haves and The Have Nots” as bartending conman R.K.
“We kind of worked on this thing together which was kind of a dream,” he said.“I was only supposed to do 10 episodes. It ended up being more because Tyler liked the effort I put in.”
On working with Viola Davis, he believes he has learned just about everything that he can — or tried to anyway.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of close one-on-ones with her,” he said. “She brings the best out of you. I just wanted to be that for anybody else that I was in a scene with. I learned how it’s OK not to be perfect all the time, because she’s not perfect. She imitates life on screen the same way. There is something so beautiful about that. I definitely miss working with and being around her.”
Flynn would love to portray the late singer Sam Cooke in a biopic but for now it is about walking through another door — that of big-budgeted projects where networks and production companies have preconceived notions of what Black acting or a Black actor is.
“You have to almost be a household name to get into those kinds of rooms,” he said. “I’m on my way to doing that, but it’s always just one at a time. It’s like we’re all in line and have to wait for the next person to go. Once that person is out of the way then it’s your turn. I just have to keep building my credits and platform to be universally accepted.”
“That’s why you see the same African American actors all the time in blockbuster movies,” Flynn continued. “That is amazing for them, but I think we’re on the cusp of a cultural reset. Where somebody will have the opportunity to give people the chance to be represented in these films. Hopefully, I’ll get my shot. I know what I am capable of. Now I’m just trying to work my way there.”
For 12 years, Bill Vaughan has kept Wave readers up to date with the latest news in entertainment. To contact Vaughan, visit his social media pages on Facebook and Instagram or @tasty_clips, on X @tastyclips, and on LinkedIn to William Vaughan.
