Interview Magazine

KENDRICK SAMPSON ON HIS RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF LIBERATION. Shortly after arriving, at the age of 18, in Hollywood from his hometown of Houston, Texas, Kendrick Sampson joined the Robey Theatre Company, a nonprofit troupe dedicated to staging new plays written about the Black American experience. His time there galvanized the now 32-year-old actor, who, in addition to appearing in projects such as Insecure and Miss Juneteenth, has embraced activism, joining the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter and cofounding BLD PWR, an organization that seeks to dismantle racism in the entertainment industry.“As much as I’ve always dreamed of being the lead in massive films and winning awards, at the end of the day, that’s not my purpose,” he says. “Those are tools to effect change, stages that I can use to amplify the real work of liberation. At the end of my life, I want to be able to say that I did all I could to leave this world better than I found it. That is the end goal.”