Taye Diggs Explains Why He Loves Playing Coach Baker in ‘All American’ (Exclusive)

Taye Diggs has been on The CW series All American since it began in 2018. And as the show is in the thick of Season 4, Diggs continues to enjoy playing a successful high school football coach. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Diggs who explained why he enjoys playing Coach Billy Baker on All American. 

“One of the main reasons I even took the role was because I had never even thought about playing a coach, even though I’ve loved watching these sports movies and I’ve watched so many of them with my son,” Diggs exclusively told PopCulture. “It just seemed like the universe was kind of setting me up because, with my son being as athletic as he is, it just added a cherry on top when we were able to watch a program like this, the subject matter. And then for him also to see me in that role, it just adds to our relationship because, as people can imagine, it’s hard to stay cool when you’ve got cool kids. So that definitely has been helping me out.”

All American tells the story of a standout high school player named Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) recruited to play at Beverly Hills High after spending time at Crenshaw. Coach Baker (Diggs) is the head coach at Beverly, and as he gets Spencer adjusted to an entirely new world, his old friends at Crenshaw and new friends at Beverly collide. 

All American touches on various topics outside of football, including violence, relationships and racism. It has been named the No. 1 series on The CW in key demographics. “I think it’s just where we are today as a culture, where we are today creatively,” Diggs said when asked why All American is successful. “I think the pandemic played a part, people being stuck at home looking for really great television. 

“I think the cast is tremendously talented. I think the diversity aspect plays a part. And I feel like right now, and this is just me speculating, but people are going for exactly what they want. There’s so much out there. No one cares about being told what to watch. I think it’s great that people kind of are able to choose and luckily they’ve chosen us. So we’re grateful, to say the least.” New episodes of All American air on The CW Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.