Some family ties are stitched at birth. Others, like those between Carl Clemons-Hopkins and Uzo Aduba, are sewn together later—and tighter—with time, art, and a few unforgettable Thanksgiving charcuterie boards. Cousins by marriage but peers by fate (and maybe some familial influence), the pair have each carved out singular careers across stage and screen. Fresh off major milestones, a conversation between the two felt not only timely, but like a long overdue catch-up.
After turns in the likes of The Chi and Candyman, Clemons-Hopkins has stolen screens with their role as Marcus in the compulsively watchable Hacks since 2021. That same year they became the first out non-binary actor to be nominated for an Emmy, an accolade that was echoed when they were awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award in 2024. "Yes, choosing visibility can be complex," they asserted in their acceptance speech, "but beautiful complexities are what we are made of." Aduba is no stranger to the awards circuit herself—her role as "Crazy Eyes" in Orange Is the New Black won her two Emmy trophies. This year, she's back on Netflix as the kooky detective lead on the Shondaland-produced The Residence.
From swapping stories about spotting each other across a sea of Hollywood stalwarts to plotting their dream project (Thanksgiving leftovers might be involved), here Clemons-Hopkins and Aduba reflect on what it means to advance a day job that's known as all-consuming while still holding family close.
CULTURED: How did your family dynamic nurture or nudge you towards storytelling and performance? Were there family traditions that inspired you both?
Uzo Aduba: I think because we're cousins through marriage I'm always so aware that our blood is in each other's house.
Carl Clemons-Hopkins: That's a very real statement.
Aduba: I think [our family dynamic] certainly nudged me towards performance. I was in the choir because my mom—your aunt—recognized something before I did. She made me go to the choir, and that drew out the whole of myself. It was our family paying attention to the real me and really encouraging me to be positioned into what it is that I truly enjoy and what I'm passionate about.
Clemons-Hopkins: What always seems to positively astound me is that, although our initial steps into the arts weren't shared, there are parallels. My mother also pushed me to choir. I also was studying classical voice, so I think while both of us had those early signs, what's cool is how it manifests itself in our everyday adult life. The finding and refinding of a cousin relationship—the very real bridges that are there, the very real understandings that are there, the family knowledge and family history and connection—I think it's, as you were saying in the beginning, one of the coolest and craziest things at the same time.
CULTURED: Was there a moment in the beginning where you looked at each other and thought, Oh, we're really in this together?
Aduba: Quite literally, the 2021 Emmy Awards, when we both saw each other from across the room, which was so wild. I'm like, Is this really our story? We had those conversations back in Brooklyn at Thanksgiving time. I was the first person in my family to pursue the arts as a career. You couldn't ask, "What's going on with Hamilton?" My other siblings had cousins that they could have those conversations with in the corporate sports space, but now I'm talking about something that I actually care about. That's just a nice thing to have—somebody who really gets it, and understands the rigor of it, the ride, the challenge, the excitement. I loved from such a deep place in my spirit when I heard your character’s name at the Emmys. I was like, That's my family.
Clemons-Hopkins: It's a comfort to know that you have family looking out for you and helping you in this pursuit, but also just making you feel welcome, comforted, and heard. It's a reminder that you have the right to pursue this, you have the right to go after what you want. To have someone who's not only a living representation of it, but also is showing you love and guidance in addition to that, I think there's nothing like it. That's what makes me feel so very special and so very lucky and so very blessed.
The last five years have been some very, very real life. To have that love, to have that support, to know that there's at least someone that I can come to with frustrations or confusions, that's something I'm very grateful for.
CULTURED: With Hacks coming back this spring, how have you seen your role evolve over the seasons? And, Uzo, from an outside perspective, what has excited you most about Carl's character?
Clemons-Hopkins: One thing I've enjoyed about my character, Marcus, is that [I've known that] this character is going to be growing up during this series, and so am I. What's been fun is seeing how our maturation parallels, and how it very much diverges. I'm most excited about people being able to reference this guy they saw five years ago. Marcus is in this season of finding out: Where am I? What am I doing? What do I want to be doing? I'm hoping that people really take away some encouragement and some inspiration with this person who is leaving the comfort of the world that he knew to figure out what else is out there.
Aduba: Watching on the outside, I feel, first and foremost, a level of pride and excitement. From minute one, Marcus was so captivating on screen––the dynamic between you and the cast was just so wild and exciting, and so rich, and continued to grow in that richness. With Marcus this season, there's a lot of introspective questions. You see in this season not only how he determines and defines his own self-value, but also the world around him comes to understand just how integral and important and valuable he is. That's such a beautiful story to watch because you feel his size. I love that because I feel your size every day. I feel your presence every day. As a peer and as a cousin, I really respect and have such pride for your ability to do that. You've shown you're dexterous, you've brought depth. It's a comedy too, but then you'll see the pushback. It’s powerful. It makes me have real respect for the depth of your talent and what a rich actor you are.
Clemons-Hopkins: I appreciate it coming from you, because we were saying the same things about [your performance in] The Residence. It's my first time experiencing you leading a comedy or at least a comedic situation. For me, it's so fun to see pieces of the fun that is you.
CULTURED: If the opportunity arose, would you collaborate on a film or a show together? What kind of project do you think would perfectly merge your dramatic range and comedic timing, and what would you call it?
Aduba: I don't know if we've ever been like, "This is the thing we need to write." But when I was reading this, I was like, We need to write a movie about Thanksgiving.
Clemons-Hopkins: My gosh! I have it. I have it from the turkey. I have it from the interludes with your mother, and the television.
Aduba: We need the jambalaya recipe. We need the backyard with the dog. We need the runs to get butter. We need Thanksgiving. We need the charcuterie board. I can't deliver on the same level as [Carl’s]—my charcuterie board, apparently, is garbage compared to my cousin’s. It's the highlight disappointment. I don’t put a honeycomb on it, and therefore, I’m a disaster.
Aduba: At first I was like, Oh, and it can be called The Holiday, forgetting there’s a full-on movie called The Holiday.
CULTURED: Carl, you recently received the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award, which honors individuals who use their platform to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community. Can you tell us about what it means to use your craft for advocacy?
Clemons-Hopkins: I find it to be very important, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to do that and to receive that award. I'm very aware of and have been in the presence of people who choose, for whatever reasons they choose, to keep parts of themselves unexpressed—to keep parts of themselves hidden in an effort to advance what they think their career should be. While I'm not going to say anything toward people who make that decision, what I will say is for me, it is much more beneficial, helpful, needed—especially as we see what we’re surrounded with now—for those of us who can walk in our truth and use what we can for advocacy.
I'm not trying to sanctify myself or anything, but I do see and understand and appreciate and accept that mission: to help advocate for those people who do not have an advocate, or to help speak for those people whose voices are constantly being silenced in this current society. I take it all with a great deal of reverence and respect, and hope that I can help literally anybody, anywhere.
CULTURED: Uzo, you launched a media company and moved into production. Carl, you're stepping into writing and producing spaces as well. Who are some people that you’re dying to work with?
Aduba: Carl Clemons-Hopkins. And you just saw our first pitch—our first development.
Clemons-Hopkins: It needs to be out there.
