Landing the role of football star Spencer Paysinger in The CW’s new series All American was the perfect meld of football and fitness for newcomer Daniel Ezra -- despite the fact the All American lead is actually British and has never played gridiron in his life. Inspired by Paysinger’s real-life rise to football prominence, All American follows the story of his recruitment from fictional South Crenshaw High in Los Angeles’ South Central neighborhood to Beverly Hills High by team coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) and the promise of NFL greatness, along with a better education. The only caveat for Spencer is a change of zip code, and while it’s evident Spencer is good for the team, the team isn’t so good for him, at least at the start. Series star Ezra is thankful for his status as the “new Brit on the block” as it helped inform his character. “No one is more aware of the fact I'm not American than I am,” he laughed during a recent interview with MediaVillage. “It just meant me working harder and doing things like staying in the accent, carrying a football around, spending as much time as I could in South-Central Los Angeles and trying to go above and beyond to make it as authentic as possible.
Daniel Ezra of The CW's "All American" on Preparing to Play Paysinger
