Thank you NBC brass for inviting us to lunch to meet William Jackson Harper, the handsome man who carved a place in television history playing the character Chidi in NBC’s hit comedy “The Good Place,” created by Mike Schur.
It’s always nice to get a “free lunch in the city that never sleeps,” and the table was filled with plates of avocado toast and soft, perfectly fried calamari. On an empty plate, a menu for lunch with an attentive waiter poised, with his pen held high in the air, waiting to take our orders.
If you are a fan of comedy then you already know the charms of “The Good Place,” which has racked up several Emmy and Golden Globe nominations along with a Peabody. Not bad for a series that’s only been on the air for four seasons. Yet despite this success and dedicated fan base, the creator, Schur, made the bold choice to wrap up the series on his terms with season 4.
William Jackson Harper arrived five minutes early which means he was on time. “Are all these mine?” he asks, referring to the full plate of fried calamari. “I can’t eat all of this, I mean I could, but then I would be like, wow, I ate all this.”
Harper’s just 38. Before the hit television show, he spent most of his life living in New York, trying to make a career happen in the theater. He paid his dues being a broke actor and learned a lot from participating in readings and workshops with playwrights such as Lynn Nottage. Although the theater was culturally enriching, the challenge of making ends meet in one of the most expensive cities in the world helped him make another decision. For a moment he even thought about quitting acting, but then he got a well-paying job on “The Good Place” and everything started looking up.
“I got the job at the right time,” Harper shares. “I was older and could handle all that came with the job. I appreciate it a lot. It’s not a given that this is the sort of thing that happens.”
Here is what Harper had to share about the iconic show.
Amsterdam News: I’m sad this season for “The Good Place” is over. Four years went fast!
William Jackson Harper: It did go fast. I remember meeting Art [Shrian] like it was yesterday and now…it’s four years later.
AMN: You call Brooklyn home, correct?
WJH: Correct. I can now afford Brooklyn. Before the series, I had a lot of roommates.
AMN: I read that you almost threw in the towel four years ago. True?
WJH: True. Wow, well, I had told myself this was my last pilot season so I just had fun. I let go. I had already made my peace with it.
AMN: And then?
WJH: I was happy I got it. I had the money. My future changed.
AMN: While back home have you seen “Slave Play” [on Broadway] written by Jeremy O. Harris?
WJH: I did. I did. What did you think as a Black woman about the play? I’m really curious. I feel as a Black man I don’t understand everything in the play.
AMN: While waiting to go inside a very well dressed, young African American man chided me for watching race porn, and I was flat-out confused and then I saw the play, and, gulp, I was not sure what I was looking at.
WJH: Race porn? Well the play is getting people to talk. I mean, look, here we are to talk about the last season of “The Good Place,” but instead, we are discussing race and “Slave Play.”
AMN: Great point. Final question—are you unhappy that “The Good Place” is over?
WJH: Of course, and I will miss the sturdy paycheck.
Harper stars alongside Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman in Todd Haynes’ “Dark Waters.” It will be released theatrically on Nov. 22.
On television, Harper will appear alongside John Krasinski in the second season of Amazon’s “Jack Ryan,” premiering in November. And he is currently in production on Barry Jenkins’ “The Underground Railroad” for Amazon.