Three decades after the show’s debut, the cast of “Martin” reunited to sit down and talk about the show’s place in television history.
Carl Anthony Payne, who played Cole on the series, said the chemistry between the former castmates was still present.
“This was the first time that we were all in the same place, in the same space in 30 years,” Payne said. “It was surreal. It felt like ‘are we about to go back to work again?'”
The actor has been in Hollywood for over 35 years. He famously played Theo Huxtable’s friend Cockroach in “The Cosby Show” prior to moving on to “Martin.” Most recently he starred in Nickelodeon’s “Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan”
“It’s a blessing to still be doing what we love to do and thrive in an industry that is crazy to say the least,” he explained. “When I look back I’m like ‘did I choose this or did this choose me?’ I definitely think it chose me and I think I was born to do this in every aspect.”
One castmate that wasn’t present at the reunion was Thomas Mikal Ford, who played Tommy. The actor passed away in 2016.
When asked if “Martin” could be rebooted, Payne doesn’t think it would be possible without Ford.
“It definitely wouldn’t be the same without Tommy. So, if we did anything it would have to be just as amazing as it was back then,” the actor said. “Maybe in some new way, shape or form, we’ve talked about how we could do it in different ways to present it to a new generation. but realistically, I think, once you’ve captured lightning in a bottle and once you’ve done something so amazing it’s best to just leave it in that time capsule and let it live there.”
“Martin: The Reunion” is on BET+ now.
You can catch up on all five seasons of “Martin” on BET+ as well.