Amanda Seales is the co-star of the HBO hit "Insecure," which focuses on a group of millennial African-American women dealing with the realities and complexities of being black in America today.
Seales is also making her way as a stand-up comedian and headlines Hilarities in Cleveland this weekend.
She has a Master's degree in African-American studies from Columbia University and said her educational background influences her work as a performer.
Amanda Seales [photo: ideastream]
"I come at things from an academic perspective," Seales said. "I have a passion, I have a love for not only my black community, but also [I'm] looking at it from different perspectives and not just comedically."
Seales' new HBO special "I Be Knowin'" is establishing her as a stand-up comic after three years on the network's "Insecure."
Amanda Seales in her HBO special "I Be Knowin'" [photo: HBO]
HBO does "a less-is-more type of thing, a quality over quantity scenario. So to be included in that, where they're literally only putting out four specials a year, just felt like I'm in the right place," she said.
She said she also feels comfortable with her character on "Insecure," Tiffany Dubois, who came off as haughty and prissy in the show's first season.
"I think we've seen her grow to be less of the judgemental member of the group and more simply the truth-teller of the group," Seales said. "She really just wants her friends to step up the same way that she steps up for them."
Amanda Seales as "Tiffany Dubois" in HBO's "Insecure" [photo: HBO]
Seales sees all of the characters in the show as part of a tradition of strong African-American characters on TV.
"As a 90s kid, I grew up on these images when Black comedy was thriving, especially black women images," Seales said. "It's nice to be part of a show that is inspired by that era and to be part of a time right now where a lot of black creatives are trying to create a resurgence of those images and the quantity of them."
