Even though working with Davis was new territory for Martin, acting alongside Anthony Anderson, who plays First Gentleman Derek Sutton in the movie and was her on-screen dad for eight seasons on Black-ish, felt like coming home. “It was amazing,” Martin says of their reunion on set. “He is forever my dad, so honestly, nothing changed at all.”
Off-screen, family is an omnipresent support system in Martin’s life too. While the actor and I spoke, her mom helped to take down her box braids. (Talk about a family who supports you in every way!) Read on for more with Martin about working with Anderson again, preparing for the role, and being a young girl boss.
Glamour: In G20, Anthony Anderson plays your dad, which is a very similar dynamic to Black–ish. What was it like working with him again?
Marsai Martin: After the show [Black-ish] ended, we kept in contact with each other. He reaches out to my family, and I reach out to his, and the feeling is mutual. We were both very excited to be working alongside each other again on this project, and we caught up on everything. It was lots of fun.
Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Anthony Anderson at Amazon MGM Studios “G20” World Premiere at TCL Chinese Theater on March 27, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)Michael Buckner/Getty Images
It always looks fun when you guys are on screen together! Your character, Serena, uses her smarts and coding abilities to ultimately save the day. It reminded me of Shuri in Black Panther. How do you feel like roles like this expand the narrative of blackness and womanhood–girlhood–on screen?
It’s really important, especially for young Black girls who want to be in these spaces one day, to see how many characters you can be and how versatile the world is. Letitia Wright’s character, [Shuri], was the first one I saw that I was like, ‘Wow, this is deep.’”
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