Pooch Hall may have made waves with role on Showtime’s Ray Donavon, but fans will love him dearly as Derwin Davis from The Game. Looking back on his time as the character, Hall has shared some unfortunate details about the BET-revamped series and how the network reportedly dissed him after his departure.
According to Global Grind, the actor and father shared his story on the podcast premiere of Little Black Dress, hosted by Rosci Diaz and Nina Parker Thursday (June 8). After playing Derwin on the fan-driven series for six seasons, he decided to strengthen his acting chops by working on the drama Ray Donovan. It’s common for actors to have more than one gig, but the idea reportedly didn’t sit well with the producers at BET.
“So when we were in negotiating, I kind of was like, ‘Uh oh’, because I knew how BET got down and I knew how the producers got down,” he said. “It’s almost like you have this opportunity that we gave you, we want you to be loyal. It wasn’t like fly eagle fly. When we tried to make it work. It was like, ‘Well we can’t do that.’ Part of me was like, ‘I don’t want to leave’ because when you start making that type of money and getting that type of love, I was literally like the mayor of Atlanta.”
Hall says after his gig hit headlines, he felt the heavy shade from BET, who stopped answering his phone calls.
“When that s**t hit Deadline, the emails and phone calls just ceased. It was like crickets,” he said. “Then my lawyer called and asked has anyone from BET or Business Affairs called you? I was just like, ‘We might as well focus on Showtime because I know what that means.’ It was like the doors closed and all of a sudden no more BET Awards, it was like nothing. My peoples were like, “are you still acting?’”
Ironically, Hall hinted towards murky BET communication with VIBE in 2013. When asked if he would ever return to the series, he seemed doubtful.
“I can’t speak on [BET’s behalf] but if it was me, as a network representative, knowing that they had an actor that helped make The Game what it was and he’s on a higher profile show with A-listers, I would have jumped on it,” he said. “I’m at Showtime now and they show me so much love. The fact that they’re not threatened by another network is great because they know what they have and are solidifying their place in Hollywood.”
Listen to the podcast, in full here.