Malik Yoba Talks “Empire,” Explains Why Movie Stars Are Heading to TV
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Chuck Hodes/FOX(NEW YORK) — Malik Yoba is among the actors set to star in Fox’s new musical drama, Empire. He portrays Vernon Turner, the onscreen business partner of Terrence Howard’s Luscious Lyon, who went from a drug dealer to the CEO of a record label.
“Empire is [Oscar-nominated director] Lee Daniels’ first foray into scripted television, and so it should be pretty interesting,” Yoba tells ABC News Radio. Daniels is one of the show’s executive producers.
Along with Howard, Taraji P. Henson also stars in the series. Both are past Oscar nominees. Meanwhile, another Oscar nominee, Gabourey Sidibe, has a recurring role, while an Oscar winner, Cuba Gooding Jr., appears in the first episode.
“People want to work and it’s very hard to get films greenlit,” Yoba explains of the trend of movie stars heading to TV. “I mean there’s 53 platforms for scripted television, for scripted content now, where there used to just be a couple. So it makes sense. You know what I mean? It’s hard to get movies made.”
Fox’s Empire premieres Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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