Durham, North Carolina native Joshua Suiter is having the kind of year most actors spend a career waiting for. His path started early; he caught the acting bug at just seven years old at a summer theater camp in his hometown, a program his mother signed him up for almost by accident, driving past a small sign in the ground that most people would never notice.

That early spark eventually pulled him away from a promising future in sports, and after years of driving back and forth from North Carolina to Atlanta for auditions, the work paid off.

Suiter booked his breakout role in Hulu’s All’s Fair, the Ryan Murphy-produced legal dramedy following a squad of divorce attorneys navigating high-stakes cases and complicated lives inside a powerful law firm. The role marked his television debut, and it came with a cast list most actors only dream of sharing a screen with, Niecy Nash, Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Teyana Taylor, and Glenn Close among them.

On the show, Suiter plays the on-screen son of Niecy Nash’s character, a relationship he describes as feeling like family both on camera and off.

Now, Suiter is stepping into an entirely different kind of legacy with Netflix’s reboot of A Different World, the beloved ’90s sitcom that helped define HBCU life for a generation of viewers. In the new series, he plays Andre Tillsdale, Hillman College’s starting quarterback and football team captain, a role that puts him in tough competition with Shaquille (Cornell Young IV) on the field and Kojo (Chibuikem Uche) for the ladies.

A proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where he earned his theater degree, Suiter brings genuine HBCU roots to a fictional one, and it shows in the way he talks about both the character and the significance of the show’s return.

For him, playing Andre isn’t just a role; it’s a chance to bring the authenticity of his own college experience to a franchise that shaped how the world saw HBCU life decades before he ever set foot on a real campus himself.

The Quintessential Gentleman talks with Suiter about his journey from a Durham summer theater camp to sharing scenes with Niecy Nash, what it means to originate a brand-new character on a beloved franchise, and why he believes A Different World‘s return is bigger than nostalgia.

[Interview has been edited for length and clarity]

You were born in Durham, North Carolina. What was it like getting into this space? I know you started in theater at seven.

I started at North Carolina Central University. It was an acting camp called A Name for Ourselves, or ANFO for short. My mama put me in, and she said she just drove by a small little sign in the ground that, honestly, if you’re driving by, you’re not looking for it. She really doesn’t know how she saw it, which is God, of course. She just didn’t want me to be in the house all summer. Durham is very artsy. It’s very Black. It’s a lot of culture, a lot of history there. So it actually makes sense, becoming an artist and coming up in that. I was into sports, and I knew what it felt like to love something with a passion. So when I got in there, I said, “Oh, I have the same feeling.”

Tell us about your TV debut in All’s Fair.

Yes, it was. Hulu, Ryan Murphy produced alongside Niecy Nash, Kim Kardashian, and a slew of other people. When you have to name the people in the show, this list is crazy, and to be in the midst of that list.

When you first got the call that you got the role, what was it like?

I was working at a phone store. You’ll probably hear a lot of actors say this: the roles you really won’t pay attention to are the ones you end up booking. It was my brother’s wedding week; I was the best man, back in Durham, just started the job, first time taking time off. I’m like, bro, this is not the time for them to be sending that. But it was due soon, so I did it and sent it off. My manager texted me back and told me to go see Leland, a coach who’s helped me for years, because this was something big and the quality of the tape wasn’t where I usually put it. So I did it again when I got back, tired, a couple takes, sent it off. That coaching really put me in a good place. Months passed before I got the availability check. I was in the parking lot of my apartment when I got the call. Honestly, I could have cried. To finally get that yes is something every actor needs and deserves.

What was it like to first step on set for this major production?

It was similar to when I was at the Oscars. It felt like home. I prepared myself to have nerves, to be sweating, to do a pep talk. When I stepped on set, I was just like, oh, this feels like home. I didn’t feel a lick of nerves, not a butterfly. And I was like, oh, that’s God. That’s a confirmation; this is where I belong. I’m staring opposite Niecy Nash, and Anthony Hemingway‘s directing; he did Red Tails, the movie I watched every week growing up. That set the bar up here, dog, for real.

You play Niecy Nash’s son. What was that experience like, working alongside her?

That’s ma dukes. We really don’t call her by her name. If I text her, I say, “Hey, mom.” She treats us like her own. The first season, we were shooting in the house, and she literally walked in holding, where all of us — me, JeMarcus [Kilgore], Armani [Barrett]— were at, and said, “Why don’t y’all sit with me, y’all gonna learn.” She might be like 5’1 or 5’2 by height, but she’s like seven feet in stature and in spirit. The Niecy Nash you see, that’s her. That’s not a persona, that is her. I’ve learned how to treat people, how to move, just by watching her. The Bible says your cup runneth over, you pour it into other people’s cups. I feel like I get to witness that firsthand watching Niecy, a thousand percent.

You’re a graduate of NC A&T. How did attending that school prepare you for A Different World?

I mention God all the time, and that’s a preparation. There’s no greater step to prepare for it than to experience it. When you talk HBCUs, there’s nobody that loves them more than me, nobody that knows them more than me. And Hillman, even though it’s fictional, is just as real as A&T, or Howard, or Morehouse, or Shaw, or Livingstone. We’re finding our heartbeat in a new era, but the day-to-day experience on an HBCU campus is enriching. You’re not just a number; you know your professors, you know the people you’re there with. So we get to bring that on screen. There’s no better preparation than going to the number one public HBCU. That’s not an opinion; that’s a fact.

You said your first time watching A Different World was on campus during college?

On campus. Sophomore year, Richmond Hall, 1317, to be exact, in my suite. My sister was watching it when I was in high school, and I would hear Whitley’s voice and the laughs. A couple years later, I’m falling in love with the characters. Fast forward to 2025, 2026, and I’m now meeting the same voices I was hearing, knowing them as Jasmine Guy, not just Whitley. It’s a dream come true, literally.

How was it working alongside these legends, people who raised a lot of us?

You have to prepare; everybody isn’t going to be lovely, that’s just human nature. But it’s such a blessing to start my career, my foundation, meeting these people, and they’d be better than you could ever think. To hear them tell stories on set, give advice, and then tell us, y’all have that same magic, that same love we’ve had, you can’t make that up. That’s what you need as a young Black artist making waves, to have the people that did it before you, because we stand on the shoulders of the ones that came before us. That’s the wind beneath our wings to soar and now trailblaze as well.

Tell us about Andre, the character you play on A Different World.

The way I’ve been able to describe him, he’s a firecracker. He’s got a nice edge to him. He’s a great dude, one of my favorite characters I’ve gotten the blessing to create and originate. In theater, a lot of roles you’re doing have been around for hundreds of years, so many iterations, but there’s only one Andre T, and that’s me. That’s such a great feeling to have as an actor. He don’t play it safe. He’s very passionate, just like me.

What are some misconceptions about the HBCU experience?

Number one, that we’re party schools. That’s so far from the truth. I’ve never taken my education more seriously than my four years at A&T. I graduated with honors, and I say that proudly. I’ve been to schools that aren’t HBCUs and witnessed some real parties — we thought we was partying. We have so many amazing programs — engineering, arts, agriculture, business out of the Willie Deese College, STEAM. We have astronauts that have come from A&T. Another misconception is that we all look the same, act the same. No two Black people are alike — we can be similar, but we’re different. I’d implore people to really go to the campus and learn the history, not just what you see on the surface, because when you get into the heart of a campus, your mindset will be forever changed.

Check out the full interview. A Different World is now streaming on Netflix.

Photo Credit: Damar Little and Netflix