Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! is a comedic family sitcom inspired by real-life events between Jamie Foxx and his daughter, Corinne Foxx. Also joining the hilarious father-daughter duo is the King of Impressions himself, the talented Jonathan Kite.
Kite, who plays the role of Johnny Williams, shines not only as an Atlanta police officer but as Brian’s (Foxx) childhood best friend and as the infamous “protective dad figure.” He’s that single helicopter dad that puts “find my iPhone” to grand use.
The 'laugh out loud' Netflix series is made up of a cast that all have great relationships with their fathers. Although Kite may not have embarrassing moments to share with a daughter of his own, the actor spoke of the handful of not-so-pleasant moments he's had with his own father.
Yes, during the good ol’ high school days, the comedian let us know that if his friends didn’t have their shoes tied, his father would mention it to them. And then, he’d proceed by bending over to lace them up for them. With so many tidbits to share, the 2 Broke Girls alum, who loves to bring laughter into people's lives, especially during isolated times, decided to share his special behind the scenes experiences exclusively with TheThings.
The Comedy Behind The Scenes
You’ve had a lot of fun moments behind the scenes as well, and you’ve posted many Instagram photos of everyone dancing. It seems like there’s a really great family dynamic on and off-screen. What were some of the most fun moments you had creating the show?
“The idea that it looks as fun as it is, which I think is such an amazing thing to be a part of. Because when you do anything, a lot of hard work goes into it, and the fact that it never felt that way, is such a blessing.” “We’d have a lot of time while they were moving the cameras, and Jamie and I would do this thing where we’d do impressions - like two Obamas or two Trumps. We’d do this just to entertain each other, and so we’d just hang, and it felt like a party.”
It was so natural for the two actors to quickly get into character and then back to their witty selves after takes. Kite confirmed, “when they yelled 'cut,' we’d just go back and do our own foolishness.”
Kite, the talented comedian who remains so grateful for his experience on the Netflix sitcom maintained the fact that the energy they have in between cuts, is the same that they bring when the director insists it's showtime.
An Unscripted Role
Although Kite plays the role of a police officer, and a protective single dad (of course), when the show was in the process of being created, Kite, Jamie Foxx and the head writer brainstormed a little ‘twist.’ To add to Kite’s character on the show, they pondered on what else Johnny could possibly do in his life.
On that aspect of the show, Kite shared how touched he was by the incredible matter and stated, “the fact that they were coming to me and asking that was just so incredible. And so, we would sit and we had a dialogue, and we decided on stand-up comedy.”
Coincidentally enough, the star is also credited as a stand-up comedian. The graceful actor, who was incredibly touched by the gesture of inclusion mentioned, “to have that freedom and exploration while you’re in the middle of doing it is just a very special and rare thing. I was very thankful for that opportunity.”
It's All In The Details
Is there a specific moment or lesson you learned while filming that made you view the world in a slightly different way that wouldn’t have happened had you not been on the show?
“There was a joke about pumpkin pie and I literally stopped while we were rehearsing and I was like ‘wait what?’ and we had a whole dialogue about it. It was really funny and we were all sharing our opinions on what food people eat. It was such a genuine moment of connection and it was awesome.” He realized then and there that in such sporadic moments, it's the little details that matter most.
Kite mentioned how lately he thinks about the show a lot and reflects on certain instances - like the one mentioned above.
The Best Goofs
Were there any bloopers with everyone behind the scenes that didn’t make the final cut?
“All of them are bloopers. We would do one or two takes with the script, which was awesome, and then they’d be like, ‘alright, just have fun and go out there.’ I think we were just trying to make everybody laugh.”
Because of the pandemic, shooting was relatively different for the Hollywood actor this time around. The experience remained a fabulous (and safe) one though, as the gracious Kite clarified.
“Without having an audience there, we had to navigate around that, so we were trying to make the crew laugh, make the cast laugh.”
What’s the best feeling in the world when on set for the comic? “In between takes, we were just chilling on the couch and sharing stories. And then we’d yell, ‘alright, alright, we got to get back to work.’ And that’s the best feeling in the world, you never feel like you’re working.”
And as Kite exclusively told TheThings, “you’re never too old to be embarrassed by your parents.” Oh, we know! Tune into Dad Stop Embarrassing Us! on April 14 on Netflix.