Tristen J. Winger made his television debut in childhood friend Issa Rae's HBO series Insecure as the recurring character Thug Yoda. Now starring in CBS comedy So Help Me Todd, alongside Skyler Astin and Marcia Gay Harden, as private investigator Lyle Burton, Tristen writes for HELLO! about subverting expectations and what Black Joy means to him…
In So Help Me Todd, I play Lyle Burton, a nerd who loves science, and he reminds me of my family members, many of whom were scientists. But growing up, I saw myself in Steve Urkel (from Family Matters); I couldn't help but imitate people like my uncles, whose voices tickled me all the time.
As a Black man, I've been partially fortunate that I have never been confronted directly with the experiences of so many of my peers. I invested my time with one of my high school friends, Issa Rae, and she loves loyalty. When it comes to some of the, for lack of a better term, hardships that I faced, it's always with casting.
People just see me as my Insecure character Thug Yoda and they say, 'We're looking for someone who is not that character,' but it's like, 'Guys I'm acting. I promise I'm just acting.'
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One of the things I think about sometimes, working in Vancouver on So Help Me Todd, is that there aren't a lot of people who look like me and it has felt, at times, that I could not be my full self. I have had to keep reminding myself, No Tristen, you belong here. This is in your head because no one is telling you not to be yourself, no one is telling you to behave this way. You are a professional and you earned where you are.
Insecure really changed my perspective on what was possible for me, especially watching Issa being on HBO, the pinnacle of creative activity, and seeing the fruit of her hard work and labor. I would be on set filming and I would think, 'You have to be present, we've got to be in this thing.' Issa continues to be the blueprint for forging your own path in this industry and she just truly makes me believe that sky is not only the limit but it's what we stand on to achieve whatever is next for us.
As Lyle, who is Mr. Black and White, I knew exactly why this man was this way. He could have been one note but I think we've really made him nuanced. When we shot the pilot I sat down with show creator Scott Prendergast and we wrote notes about what I thought about this character — his background, how would he be in a relationship? How he is when he's at work, does he have any friends? What are his interests? Does he have a pet? (I think Lyle is a cat person.)
We'll see what happens in season two but Lyle has never been able to open up to anyone, or feel like someone understands him — and that makes me think about family, and what happens when your family doesn't understand you.
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My mom has always been supportive but she's always been cautious because she doesn't want me to suffer or fail — but a lot of this life is about failing, or falling down eight times and getting up on the ninth.
I strongly believe that the people we are today are a culmination of everything from our past with our parents, our relationships with our friends and lovers all rolled up into one. One of the things that I learned in one of my acting classes was to celebrate yourself within the given circumstances of the scene and the person who does that so well at the moment on screen is Brian Tyree Henry. I see him celebrating himself in everything from Atlanta to Bullet Train, and I can't wait to see what's next for him.
And that is what Black Joy is to me, that idea of celebrating yourself within the given circumstances. It's celebrating who you are, every bit of you no matter what, forever and ever.
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