Content area
Full text
Barbara Lippert puts him on the spot
And now, a few words from that black guy in the commercials. You've probably seen him-the guy with the big, square, nerdy black glasses and funny hair? He's having a beer on the roof with his buds in a Bud Light spot; he's grilling in the backyard in winter with his buds in a Honda spot; he's snuggling on a couch, unabashedly flirting with his wife, when he's interrupted by his grossed-out tween son ("Really?") in a Time Warner Cable spot. In his best year, he made 14 different spots.
He's actor Jamison Reeves, 44, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Wendy Clifford Reeves, a sometime actress and spa owner (who happens to be white), and their 5-year-old daughter.
It seems like you're everywhere. Are you really the only black man cast in commercials these days?
I don't think they see me as a black man. They see me as a non-threatening entity. I'll get called for a "black commercial." but I never book them. They don't think I fit into what is typically considered black, that means close-cropped Afro and darker skin than me. He's not a Huxtable - a doctor or a lawyer. He's not hip or trendy. He's the average joe, trying to buy a TV al Walmart. A simple person.
I'm the quirky guy with the glasses. Not the guy who's going to be in a light. I seem like the type...