For as many conversations that are had about the negative depictions of Black men on television, not enough are had about the actors who are shifting that narrative. Kofi Siriboe is one of them.
As Ralph Angel on the OWN scripted series, Queen Sugar, Siriboe has showed us what vulnerability, sensitivity, active parenting, and protecting look like from the perspective of a young Black single father trying to make a living for the past five years. Now married in season 6 of the show, Darla and RalphAngel's relationship is expanding as they move from co-parents to their son Blue to husband and wife, providing yet another necessary and honest example of Black love.
"This last six years has been discovery; it's been trial and error, it's been a lot of newness," Siriboe, 27, says of his journey as an actor. "It definitely was my intention to be my most honest self and bring myself to whatever platform I could and be whatever the world needed from me. To see this is the result and the path God has me on, it's beautiful."
Outside of Queen Sugar, Siriboe certainly left an impression on audiences in his role as Jada Pinkett-Smith's young boy toy in 2017's Girls Trip, but it's his latest part in the Netflix film Really Love that's built on the work he's done with the Ava DuVernay-created series and cemented his place as a star who's expanding audiences' view of Black masculinity.
"I could have only dreamed of that," Siriboe says of the impact of his work. "I appreciate and accept the responsibility. I just said yes and this is where the yes has taken me."
Check out or full interview with Kofi Siriboe in the video above as he talks about filming difficult scenes in Queen Sugar and what we can expect during this new season.