Rome Flynn has made a name for himself in Hollywood with roles on several TV and film projects, but his latest claim to fame is starring in season two of Netflix’s “Raising Dion” – which premiered on Feb. 1. The Chicago native plays the role of Tevin, Dion’s (Ja’Siah Young) new BIONA trainer, replacing the young superhero’s old mentor and now nemesis, Pat (Jason Ritter), aka the Crooked Man. His character in the family-friendly superhero series is a departure from other roles he’s taken on that tackle more mature subjects.
Prior to the series, Flynn has appeared on shows like “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Dear White People,” and most recently, “With Love.” Some may also recognise him as the handsome love interest in Chlöe’s “Have Mercy” music video. In addition to “Raising Dion,” Flynn also currently plays the role of Zende Forrester Dominguez on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” which earned him a Daytime Emmy for outstanding younger actor in a drama series in 2018.
When he’s not busy on set or working on his music, Flynn is a father to his beautiful 7-year-old daughter named Kimiko. Keep reading to learn more about Flynn, and be sure to tune into season two of “Raising Dion” on Netflix now.
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"Raising Dion" Is the First Project He's Proud to Let His Nephews and Daughter See Him In
Despite having over a dozen acting credits under his belt, Flynn’s acting career hasn’t exactly been family friendly. But when speaking on the new season of “Raising Dion,” Flynn told BET that starring in the kid-superhero show is something he can finally brag about to the kids in his family.
“In my journey of acting, I’ve done a bunch of projects where I’m like, ‘Cool, that’s tailored towards certain genres or groups,’ but never anything I could actually have any of my nephews, or even my daughter, watch,” he shared with the outlet. “They never watch me in anything, so they can watch me in this and, all of a sudden, I’m cool again. That’s all this is about. I’m just trying to be cool with all the little kids in my life.”
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Kehlani Gave Him Advice on How to Navigate His Singing Career
Flynn is actually good friends with Kehlani, and after establishing himself as an actor, he went to the singer for advice on how to transition into becoming an R&B star. “I had a conversation with Kehlani about how she navigates being an artist,” he told HotNewHipHop during an interview. “She’s one of very few artists who are just out in the open with everything and it’s a really vulnerable space, but she kind of elaborates it to being a freeing place to be. . . . Her kind of perception on that is being true to yourself. People are going to hate you or love you regardless, so as long as you’re happy with what you’re doing, that’s really all you really have control over.”
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He Learned How to Embrace Imperfections as an Actor From Viola Davis
Flynn starred on Shonda Rhimes’s “How to Get Away With Murder” from seasons four through six, acting alongside Hollywood vet Viola Davis. On the show, the actor played lawyer-in-training Gabriel Maddox – a role that Flynn took seriously in terms of representing for other Afro-Latinos on television. During an interview with Baller Alert, Flynn shared that he learned a lot while working with Davis on the show, but the biggest lesson from her that he still carries with him is embracing his imperfections.
“I learned from her that it’s really not super important to be perfect,” he said. “I thought you really had to be perfect to do this line of work, and the interesting thing is actually the opposite.” He went on to say that while he would stress over certain scenes in the show, Davis would handle “everything with grace” and almost made it look “effortless.”
