William Jackson Harper: The Good Place is normalizing interracial relationships

The Grapevine

"It’s an interracial couple and I feel like that’s something that on network TV we don’t see it without it being, you know, something that is germane to the existence of the show, or the existence of the episode," Harper says of playing Kristen Bell's love interest. "I just don’t know how a guy like me would land a role like that. I just hadn’t seen it on network TV. Granted, you know, the creators of the show weren’t thinking like that; it was really just a product of growing up in the U.S. (But) I didn’t feel like I had a real shot. And the thing that I love about the show, beyond the fact that I get to play this role, it’s normalizing interracial relationships. The fact that I’m a dark-skinned black man and Kristen Bell is a fair-skinned white woman, and that we’re in a relationship is secondary to the fact that we’re just dealing with issues of life and death and eternity. And trying to save our mortal souls. That’s what’s important. " ALSO: Kristen Bell says Michael Schur told her how The Good Place will end.