Glynn Turman is always working. Starting as a child actor, the award-winning talent has two projects that will capture the interest of those who have followed his career, and those who might be new to the longtime stage, television and film artist.
Airing now on AppleTV+, Turman is featured in “The Big Cigar,” a mini-series about Black Panther Party member Huey P. Newton, who, with the help of a few celebrities, escaped to Cuba to avoid prosecution for murder. In an exclusive interview with The Washington Informer, Turman revealed he knew Newton.
“I don’t think this aspect of the Huey P. Newton story has ever been told,” Turman said. “He was pursued by the FBI, and we learn about his efforts to avoid being captured [for] a crime he did not commit.”
Actor, producer, and director Don Cheadle is attached to “The Big Cigar.” He is a co-executive producer and directed the first two episodes that Turman is in.
Turman is also in the cast for a Kevin Costner project, “Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 1.” The film, a Civil War Western, premieres in theaters on June 28. Behind the successful “Yellowstone” projects, Costner is the executive producer, director and lead actor for “Horizon.”
Costner and Turman have known each other for many years. They admire each other’s work and are ranchers and horsemen. According to Turman, he was approached to be in “Yellowstone,” but there were scheduling conflicts.
“He came up with this and gave me a call,” Turman said about “Horizon.” “I just had a great time working with him. We shot in Zion National Park in Utah.”
Both “The Big Cigar” and “Horizon” found Turman working with directors who started as actors.
“There’s a short-hand communication between actors,” Turman said. “We know how to communicate the emotion, or how to phrase what we want to get across from actor to actor.”
If that were not enough, Turman has been on tour with fellow actors for the groundbreaking television sitcom “A Different World.” A new generation of viewers is now seeing reruns of the series. The actors have been enthusiastically welcomed on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) campuses.
“The questions from the HBCU students were so smart,” Turman said. “Some of the issues we dealt with on the show are still relevant today.”
Turman receives some of the biggest applause during the HBCU tour because students have seen him in commercials for Ivy Park Beyoncé Knowles Carter’s clothing line. One of the commercials, in which Turman wears a denim jumpsuit, was filmed on his ranch in Southern California.
“My wife got jealous because the students were calling me ‘old zaddy,’’’ he joked.
From a child on Broadway in “A Raisin in the Sun,” to now in two new films, Turman will continue to be in demand.
“Just another reason my mouth fell open to see him in the ‘A Different World’ reunion touring HBCUs! A spry 77, Glynn Turman’s first big acting role came at 12, originating Travis Younger in ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ on Broadway in 1959,” said social media user Valerie Hawkins on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Learn more about Turman in “The Legend of Glynn Turman,” a documentary about his life, now streaming on Roku, Tubi, Peacock, Crackle, Sling, Prime Video, Vudu, Hoopla and many more.
View the trailer for “The Legend of Glynn Turman” documentary at LegendofGlynnTurmanTrailer