In Swapped, Tracy Morgan is sharing the screen with someone very special: his daughter, Maven Sonae Morgan.
“She’s my favorite co-star,” he gushed to EBONY. “She wanted to be a part of it, so I asked her producers, and they agreed. They put her in it towards the end.”
Now 12 years old, Maven has grown up watching her father work. So when it comes to performance advice, he kept it simple. “I give my friends advice. I give my daughter guidance,” he chuckled.
Having already appeared alongside her dad in his 2018 sitcom The O.G., and performing her own comedy set at one of his shows at Radio City Music Hall in 2022, Maven came in ready.
“She’s been watching me since she was three, so she already knew what to do as far as acting,” Morgan shared. “She knows that preparation is important. She follows direction.”
Maven, who plays a Pinecone Hedgehog in the film. even shares a scene with Oscar-winning Michael B. Jordan, who headlines the animated feature film.
For Morgan, who plays Boogle, a talking fish in the animated feature, working with the newly minted Academy Award winner is also an incredible experience.
“I just spoke to Michael on the phone last week, and I told him about the Oscar [win], you did the work, bro. You deserve it,” Morgan shared. “I told him may the future provide you with many, many more blessings.”
Outside of acting, Morgan is focused on maintaining his well-being, looking healthy and trim at the recent 51st AFI Life Achievement Award ceremony in Los Angeles. “I work out three times a week, and I do a lot of walking… I have my trainer, I’m doing well,” Morgan shared.
“I know I’ve been through a lot, but I won’t let this stop me,” he stated, referring to past accidents and health setbacks. “I have people around me that love me and take care of me, and I take care of myself.”
Fresh off his first season of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, Morgan follows a simple plan every time he takes on a new comedic project.
“When it comes to all these things, I just close my eyes and go for it. I don’t think about anything. I just have fun,” he exclaimed. “That’s the first three letters in the word funny—F-U-N. And that’s what I try to have doing with whatever it is I do.”
Will he return for another season?
“I don’t know, I just try to stay humble, gracious… If they have me back, I’m back.”
Swapped premieres May 1 on Netflix.