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The New Black History: Interview With Nick Creegan

The New Black History: Interview With Nick Creegan

The up-and-coming actor talks about his role as the first Black man to play The Joker, what New Black History means to him, what sneakers he's been wearing lately, and much more.

Matt DeSciora

If you’ve been keeping up with our New Black History campaign this year, you’ll have surely recognized by now that the folks contributing to culture come from diverse backgrounds. Some are bettering their communities through food, drink, and philanthropic efforts while others are passing on their artistry on a global stage.

But no matter where they hail from or their occupation, the folks we’ve talked to about creating New Black History are all fiercely proud of their heritage and are role models to their friends, family, and those around them.

Actor Nick Creegan, our next special guest of our New Black History 2022 series, is no different,

Born in White Plains, New York, Nick grew up in a multicultural background. His mother was born and raised in Oracabessa, Jamaica, while his father is Irish and from the Bronx, New York. This diverse upbringing afforded Nick the opportunity to appreciate the world through a unique lens, and is something he holds close to him.

As far as how Nick has been creating New Black History, well, let’s just say that that’s something he’s been doing in abundance as Joker on the television series, “Batwoman.” This is monumental as he is the first Black actor cast in the role as the storied character.

You may also be familiar with Nick through his role as Richard Wheatley Jr., the son of a mob boss on “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

Whether you know Nick from his acting gigs or you’re reading about him for the first time, you’ll undoubtedly find his story relatable.

Nick, what’s going on, man. Before we get started I want to drop this gem on you. I was talking to my mom earlier today and I told her I was going to be interviewing you, and she told me to tell you that her and my dad like watching you on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” and that they miss you on the show.

(Laughs) Tell her I’ll be back next season, man! Richie will be back.

I’m sure that’ll make her day. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. If you could, please start off by introducing yourself, and telling us a little bit about who you are.

I’m Nick Creegan, I’m an actor, a producer, and a philosopher. I’m from New York and I’m currently on “Batwoman” as Marquis Jet, aka Joker 2.0. I’m also recurring on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” as Richard Wheatley Jr. I love to travel, I love food, I love fashion and sneakers. That’s me in a nutshell.

How did your mixed ethnicity impact you as a kid growing up in White Plains, New York? I specifically mentioned where you’re from because I wanted to give you the opportunity to also set the record straight that White Plains (and Westchester) aren’t actually considered “Upstate New York.” I know that it’s important to clear that up.

(Laughs) Man, so I grew up in Greenburg, it’s a town inside of White Plains, New York. It’s funny, do you remember those little dolls when you were a kid that used to be inside one another. You’d open one doll and then there’d be another inside of that, and so on?

Yup, of course. I know where you’re going with this.

Right? So that’s how I felt growing up in New York. People would be like, “So you don’t live in one of the five boroughs, where do you live then?” It’s like, “Well, I live in White Plains.” And then it’s like, “Oh, you don’t even live in Yonkers or Mount Vernon.” So that’s another shell. And then I’m in Greenberg, which is the smallest of shells. (laughs)

But, yeah, like you said, I’m of Jamaican and Irish descent. My dad is Irish, he’s a blue collar ironworker from the Bronx, New York. My mom is a nurse and she's from Oracabessa, Jamaica. They had to prove themselves in a lot of ways. And I’ve always felt like I had to prove myself, too. At first that was in Sports Journalism and now it’s in acting. I grew up with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, and I think that has been a great motivator for me throughout my life. I’ve learned to never be complacent.

It’s always interesting to hear how people decide to pursue their respective career paths, especially when their career is in the arts, like acting. So with that being said, how did you get into acting?

Well, when I was young my family and I would bond over television and movies—especially my dad and I. This is pretty funny looking back, because a kid probably shouldn’t have this as one of his favorite movies, but I remember watching “Goodfellas” and “Casino.” (laughs) We watched Westerns like “Fist Full of Dollars” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” My mom was into film too; she loves black-and-white movies. Anything with Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, or Joan Crawford. So I grew up watching really, really good cinema as a kid. And I always had a knack for entertaining my family members. I love making them laugh. Whenever I would see people like Jaime Foxx or Jim Carey I would try and emulate them in the way that I tell my jokes. I guess I always had it in me, but it wasn’t until I got to college and joined the theater club that I realized “Damn, I really do love acting. I love being on stage, I love performing.”

So it was kind of like this gradual thing. It was definitely something that was embedded in me from an early age. I remember working at a creative agency and I decided to make a skit on my Instagram and it went viral and after that I got cast on one of Oprah Winfrey’s shows on her television channel [OWN - Oprah Winfrey Network]. That’s when I realized that not only is this possible, but that I’m actually doing it. That’s when I was like, “OK, I’m going to really chase this thing.”

You made history when you became the first Black actor to play Joker [in CW’s “Batwoman” television series]. What has the response to that been like?

The response has been incredible. I never really expected to be the “first” of anything when I started my career in acting. The initial response online was huge. Not only from People of Color, but also from comic book fans. People who were black, white, Asian, etc. were saying “Wow this is an incredible milestone for TV. We want to see more of this.” So it was really awesome to see everyone kind of come together on this topic. The response has been really gratifying for me on a personal level.

“Batwoman” Season 3 Finale Promo Feat. Nick

To piggyback off of that, how would you define New Black History and, in addition to your groundbreaking accomplishment as the first Black Joker, how else would you say that you’re creating New Black History?

Well, every day for me is about creating New Black History. I feel like each time we add some type of positive fabric to our days, then you never know how people are going to talk about it years from now. So I think every day we choose to live our lives the best way we can as People of Color, then we’re going to be able to contribute to Black history. I think the best way we can honor those that came before us is to just be ourselves. I don’t think anyone was trying to create history when they were doing what they were doing. They were doing something because they were passionate about it and it was their purpose. You know, people like Jesse Owens, and every other person who has added to Black History, they weren’t saying “Today I’m going to create Black History.” No, they were doing what they were put on this earth to do and it just so happened that they were so monumental in whatever it is that they were doing that they created history.

You know I had to ask you about sneakers, right? Do you have a favorite Black sneaker designer?

Yeah, I feel like Kerby [Jean-Raymond, head designer] from Pyer Moss has done such an amazing job at putting high fashion in the Black community. The fact that Reebok respected him so much to bring him over as Global Creative Director a few years ago [Kerby has since parted with Reebok at the time of this interview] meant that Black designers had finally arrived. Also, Jerry Lorenzo. Those two dudes have done so much for sneaker culture.

Another person I want to mention is my friend, Ishmaila Traoré, who collaborated with Nike on the Air Max 95 “Coral” [for Coral Studios, the part-marketing agency, part-streetwear brand co-founded by “Ish” in 2013] I feel like those three guys have been very, very influential in pushing the culture forward and what it means to be a Black sneaker designer. Their work has really opened the door for other people and let them know that they can do whatever it is they want to do in sneakers.

Do you have any favorite sneakers you’ve been wearing recently?

Man, so one of my favorite recent pickups is the Union x Air Jordan 1 High OG “Storm Blue.” I always get compliments on them whenever I wear them out, so I know how important that shoe is to sneaker culture. As far as a more everyday type of shoe, the low-top Pandas [the Nike Dunk Low “Black/White”]. I’ve gotten two pair in the past year, year and a half already because I like to keep them nice and fresh. And, being from New York, you can never go wrong with a pair of all-white “Uptowns” [Nike Air Force 1 Low “White-on-White”].

How did you get involved in sneaker culture? I feel like you can always tell who’s pretty genuine about sneakers and who isn’t, and you come across as the former.

Yeah, man. I wouldn’t say I'm hypebeast. I kind of just get what I like, and if that happens to be something that’s super popular, then cool. But I’m not going to go out and get… what were those things called… the “Chunky Dunky” Dunks?

Yeah, the Ben & Jerry’s x Nike SB Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky”

Yeah, I’m not going to go get the Ben & Jerry Dunks because they’re “rare.” I’m not that kind of sneakerhead. I think I just like what I like, and I’ve always been that way as a kid. I’m not going to just hop on the bandwagon because everyone else is doing something. In high school, I was wearing Clarks. I was wearing Desert Boots and Wallabees. I loved Clarks, man. And now all of sudden Wallabees are super hot and I’m like, “Yo, I’ve been on this wave.” (laughs) I try not to follow trends too much, and stay authentic to what my actual style is.

That’s awesome, man. So I guess to put a bow on things, do you have any upcoming projects you want to talk about?

I have “A Good Egg,” coming out this year, that’s my first feature film. Right now we’re on the film festival submission circuit. I saw the screener for that the other day, and it’s going to be really awesome. It’s an adventure/comedy. Other than that, people can still look forward to seeing me in “Law & Order: Organized Crime” and on “Batwoman.”

You can follow Nick on Instagram @nickcreegan

Photos compliments of Nick Creegan. Photo credit: Megan Toriglia