Big Sean made his acting debut during the first season of BET’s drama-comedy Twenties. The 33-year-old plays Tristan, a recurring character whom he described as a “hippie, semi fu*k boy” in an Instagram post. He was hand-selected to play Tristan by the show’s creator, Lena Waithe. And while he may not have had to endure the traditional audition process, the rapper is taking his acting career very seriously.
Twenties is a semi-autobiographical series first dreamt up by Waithe when she herself was in her twenties. It follows a trio of young women—a queer black girl, Hattie (Jojo T. Gibbs), and her two straight best friends, Marie (Christina Elmore) and Nia (Gabrielle Graham)—as they “spend most of their days talking ‘ish’ and chasing their dreams,” as described by a press release. All three women work in the entertainment industry in some capacity and are at different stages of their lives and careers.
The show debuted in March 2020 and was renewed for a second season in October 2021. Nia's yoga student-turned-love interest was introduced as the "Bounce Back" rapper's character, whose unusual habits made their romance a little problematic at times. Tristan and Nia have reconnected and appear to be figuring things out as of the season 2 finale, which aired on December 15.
VIBE sat up with Big Sean a few days before the finale to discover more about his role on Twenties, how he hopes the show will end, and his passion to the discipline of acting.
Big Sean: I think Tristan's biggest issue with Nia is that he sometimes feels like she thinks she knows more than he does. He becomes irritated with her at times. I also believe he may not always manage it well. That is a mirror that can be turned around. You could counter with, "Well, he knows better, too." He understands how to connect with and respect others, as well as the fact that there is no right or wrong, only opinions. We're all coming from a different angle.
I believe it's one of those things where it's kind of meant to be in the end, because she was kind of in the middle, leaning more towards her other dude, and then all of a sudden it's one of those things where it's kind of meant to be. [Tristan and Nia] keep showing up. It simply continues happening, and [he] keeps circling around and bouncing back. When they kiss and get really close with each other again, I think it strengthens the fact that there's more.
Well, the evolution is funny. Tristan’s a funny guy. I think that I can relate to him in a lot of senses. Sometimes, I feel like I don’t want to have a phone. Sometimes, I want to just be like, off the grid and just doing my own thing, so I can relate to that sense of it, but then, I also am somebody who loves being on the grid too. I love communicating with people, I love being able to get my vision out, I love people hearing me out, and hearing other people out as well. It’s like a double-edged sword, you know what I’m saying? It’s what you make it.
Him getting on the internet, you can tell he’s kind of hamming it up, he’s doing lives and giving us inspirational quotes, which isn’t a front, I don’t think. I think it’s just a part of him expressing [himself]. People grow, people change, people will be anti-something, and then they’ll love it. That’s just the development of a person sometimes. I see the development with him, and I think that his dynamic with Nia is testing a lot of his development as well. It’s frustrating him. He seems like a person where it’s hard to get under his skin. He’ll just ghost you; he won’t care. But it seems like he really does care about her and she really cares about him, we see that in the finale probably more than ever.
