Marsai Martin Has 1 Rule About All Her Projects
Marsai Martin is just a teenager, but the young star is already changing Hollywood one bit at a time. She was first introduced to the world on the hit comedy series black-ish and has since starred in other movies and TV shows. But she’s done more than that: she’s a boss in her own right.
Marsai Martin is a rising star in Hollywood
Black-ish launched Martin to stardom back in 2014, and the Texas-born actor has been booked and busy ever since. Martin has received numerous awards and nominations for her role on black-ish, including three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Young Artist Award.
Her first movie was Amazon Studios’ 2016 film An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win, which takes place during the civil rights movement.
In 2019, Martin starred in Little, her first studio feature film, alongside Insecure creator Issa Rae. Martin and Rae have a few things in common: much like Rae, Martin has a desire to create new content centering Black voices today.
Marsai Martin is a working producer at a young age
Little marked a huge turning point in Martin’s career. At just 13 years old, she was the executive producer of the film, making her the youngest person in Hollywood to ever produce a movie as well as the youngest Black producer.
In February 2019, her company Genius Productions signed a first-look production deal with Universal. She is the youngest person to get a first-look deal at Universal — and the youngest person ever to get a deal at any studio.
Marsai Martin has a strict rule about all of her movies and TV shows
Martin is perhaps the most mature 16-year-old in the entertainment industry, so she doesn’t take her production company lightly. She only wants to greenlight projects that align with her values and contain stories that she wants to tell — often that haven’t been told anywhere else before.
Martin spoke with The Hollywood Reporter after the 2021 NAACP Image Awards, where she took home two prizes. She revealed that she has a few ground rules that she and the production company follow when considering a project.
“I have a couple of rules when you come into my office,” Martin said. “I don’t do Black pain. If it’s Black pain, I don’t go for it, because there’s so many films and projects about that, so that’s not who I am. I want to make sure that it is diverse and real in its own way.”
