“It was a three-piece to the heart,” Anthony Anderson quipped on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood for the fourth annual Paleyfest when referring to the time Tracee Ellis Ross punched him in the chest. The chemistry between the husband and wife team of Ross and Anderson is palpable, but it turns out it didn’t start that way for the twosome. In fact, Tracee admitted that she wasn’t too fond of the co-creator of the hit ABC show Black-ish prior to nailing her audition.
“I hated him,” Ross exclaimed. “I hated him and I had a justified reason.” The Black-ish star pulled no punches when asked by moderator Nischelle Turner of Entertainment Tonight whether or not she was cool with Anderson prior to landing a gig on the show. The two have known each other upward of “15 years,” claimed Anderson. But it wasn’t until they began working together that they started seeing eye-to-eye.
“I will describe Anthony this way,” said the fierce co-star. “Anthony has a heart of gold but it’s covered in shards of glass.” The crowd roared at the revelation. “No, I’m serious. And if you come at him you will get cut. And if you’re somebody who thinks they can say, ‘Well, I didn’t like that you did that…’ You’ll only get cut more.” The two stars form the backbone of the Black-ish cast and the show has been renewed for a third season on ABC.
And now that they have been working closely for two seasons, Tracee has nothing but positive things to say about Anderson. “Because of Anthony, I’ve been able to stretch in ways as an actor,” said Ross. “There’s no one I’d rather work with.”
The next episode of Black-ish airs this Wednesday at 9:30 pm EST on ABC.
PHOTO CREDIT: Paleyfest
