While still on the groundbreaking series, he continued to act in other productions and launched his directing career by helming episodes of "The Cosby Show," "Sesame Street," and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," among others. By the time the Huxtable clan bid America farewell in 1992 after eight seasons on the air, Warner had given himself another mandate. He was not going to allow himself to be typecast, a common pitfall for actors on hit TV shows, or to appear in projects that perpetuated negative stereotypes of African-Americans. Cosby made him keenly aware of that issue. Warner admits he was financially fortunate and in the enviable position of not having to make desperate acting choices. Generally, he gravitates to material that has social value while also being entertaining, he says.
He has recently debuted one such project, "Reed Between the Lines," a family sitcom in the "Cosby" mode that is telecast on Black Entertainment Television. It's the flagship show of a revamped network, Warner says. "The old network played a big hand in perpetuating negative stereotypes," he says. "It had a young following but received a lot of flak from the black community. Often black projects are looked at and treated differently by the industry and viewing public. When you label something 'black,' it's inherently interpreted as 'subpar,' or 'less than.' "
Warner is especially troubled by black comedy that is predicated on "black humor and being black in America," he continues. "The sitcoms always have some kind of 'Your mama' joke, 'You so ugly' joke, 'I'm going to kick yo' butt,' and slapping someone on the back of his head. 'Reed Between the Lines' is reminiscent of 'Cosby.' We're not doing a show about black love. We're doing a show about love." Warner plays an NYU English professor who teaches online from his home in order to raise three children and make it possible for his wife (played by Tracee Ellis Ross) to expand her psychology practice.
Warner admits his major challenge is the shooting schedule. While most sitcom episodes are shot in five days, "Reed" is wrapped in three, he says. "We do one day of rehearsing and two days of shooting." The abbreviated time frame is thanks to Tyler Perry's enormous success in television production. "He would shoot an episode in one day, and because of his financial returns, he changed the way black comedy is shot. At least we have three days."
After-School to Stardom
Warner was born in Jersey City, N.J., but relocated with his family to Los Angeles when he was 5. He attended public school until he was 14, when he booked "The Cosby Show," and moved back to New York.
As he tells it, his journey as an actor was almost serendipitous. In an effort to find Warner an after-school activity, his mother enrolled him in an acting workshop. But she was no stage mother, Warner emphasizes. In fact, when an agent saw him perform in a community theater production and wanted to sign him on as a client, his mother refused. At the time, she was going to school and in no position to drag her son to auditions. The following year, when the same agent saw Warner in another production and again offered to take him on as a client, his mother said no yet again. But Warner was fortunate to have an acting teacher who was willing to accompany the talented youngster to auditions. Warner signed with the agent and continued to do local theater and a handful of day player roles on such shows as "Fame" and "Call to Glory."
His life-altering experience was landing "The Cosby Show" during its national search for a young actor to play Theo. "They were looking for a 6-foot-2 15-year-old, and I was a 5-foot-5 13-year-old," he recalls. "It was the last day of auditioning, Good Friday, 1984. It was 6:30 in the evening, and my agent was begging the casting director to stay so I can come in and let me read. I did and I was called back for network callback that Monday. I was one of three actors, one from New York, one from Chicago, and one from L.A.—that was me.
"I'm at the audition, and I'm playing Theo like kids on TV—precocious, and rolling my eyes, and hitting all the beats," he continues. "I feel I'm killing. Everyone in the room is laughing. I look up, and Mr. Cosby is just looking at me with his face in his hand. 'Would you talk to your father like that?' I said, 'No,' and he said, 'Well, I don't want to see it on this show. You work on it and come on back.' I thought I had blown it, but I worked on the scene with my acting teacher. This time when I auditioned, it was real. Mr. Cosby's philosophy is that all humor is based on truth." To this day, Warner concedes, his impulse is to go for the laugh as opposed to letting it evolve organically.
Still Auditioning
Despite his visibility on a megahit—and many other series and movies thereafter—Warner continues to audition, a fact of life he takes in stride. "I have a love-hate relationship with auditioning," he says. "You prepare, you do a lot of homework, and more often than not, you don't get the role. That's the hate part. But I love getting people's undivided attention for 5 to 15 minutes. I love the homework, the character development, and doing it all in a short amount of time without the pressure of having to have a whole script down. I'm much better in the room than on a camera. For me, auditions are a workout session. I know it's difficult to be detached from the results. But having been on the other side of the table, you can smell desperation. If getting a role is predicated on paying next month's rent, don't do it. Get a day job.
"I want to say this about auditioning," he stresses. "Even having had success, it doesn't guarantee that you will work. Two years ago, I did 11 pilots, screen-tested for three, but never booked anything. No matter what level an actor is on, it can wear on your self-esteem. Auditioning is not for the thin-skinned."
If you can possibly afford it, retain the services of an acting coach before auditioning, he adds. Throughout his career, he has studied acting to make the whole process more organic. He has recently come to appreciate the acting skills necessary for the sitcom genre, but he continues to feel it's not the best place to learn the craft of acting. Given the schedule and the genre, you just don't have the time to develop a character, he says, suggesting it's a "backward approach to acting. You figure out where the laughs are, hit the laughs, and then if you have the time, try to make it organic." Stage performances with long rehearsal periods and acting classes have been the antidote, he says.
Asked how he would redo his career if he had the choice, Warner pauses before noting, "My friends call me the anti-celebrity celebrity. But I wonder: If I had spent more time with my sights set higher, would I be in a different place? But I like my life. My ambition was never to be a star, just to be working steadily."
Outtakes
- Had principal roles on such TV series as "Jeremiah" and "Malcolm & Eddie," was the voice of "the Producer" on "The Magic School Bus," and had a role in the film "Fool's Gold"
- Nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance on "The Cosby Show"
- Plays with his jazz-funk band Miles Long
