Peter Parros is an entertainment industry veteran, with a career spanning more than 30 years. He is probably best known for his roles on “As The World Turns”, “Knight Rider” and a host of other television series with guest appearances and cameos in some of your longtime favorite television shows and dramas. He is currently taking Black Hollywood by storm as Judge David Harrington in Tyler Perry’s the hit drama series “The Haves and Have Nots”.

Peter Parros’ talent does not stop with just acting, he is also credited as a writer with a series of faith based comic books and a producer on his own feature film projects with his company ‘Ten Talents Productions’. This Brooklyn, NY native has taken his veteran acting skills to a whole new level with the hit OWN drama and we had a chance to chat it up with this superstar. He goes on to explain what first brought him to the realm of acting and it turns out that acting was very far fetched from his original plans.

“Acting really came to me late. In fact, after high school I thought I was going to be a dental technician like my father but after high school I got a job with a company making miniatures for movies and I also had a magazine I was writing for as well called Special Effects Monitor. It was a magazine about how miniatures were being used in movies, the whole CGI and all of that and we use to actually build the spaceships and hand props for the first Star Trek film and it was much more exciting to me then teeth. So I ended up having a cousin that’s an actor who was heavily involved in theatre out in L.A. and they got me into that. So I started out in the theatre and commercials before moving onto television.”

Playing a vital character like Judge David Harrington, Parros explains the challenges in playing such a dynamic yet passive character in the drama.
“A challenge I would have to say is dealing with Veronica (lol). Its tough to deal with somebody that’s pretty much out of control. You know people always say “when is David going to get his balls back”, so as an actor I justify certain things knowing her history because as an audience we see her as strong but the character David sees more of what is behind her behavior, her brokenness and he is trying to simply love her through that.”

Receiving the role of David was one thing but he did more for his role than just reading the words off a script. He had to mold the character into a true southern judge and to do that, Peter had to find a way to make this character likable, relatable and all his.

“When I was originally cast, David’s role was much smaller – in fact he was really just Veronica’s husband and there wasn’t much to that. Then as the scripts started coming along, he was a judge and running for Lieutenant Governor. The first day they didn’t get to my scenes and I was watching the show which was suppose to take place in Savannah – I was like wait a minute, when I auditioned I didn’t know who I would play opposite, so as a black man running for Governor in the South, he should be from the South and not somebody from the North, so I added the accent and it worked, it added a whole new air of sophistication to the character so I think that’s the main thing I added and I’m proud of it.”

“The Haves and The Have Nots” have made high ratings in its debut on OWN and still holds its #1 spot in its upcoming fourth season. Peter gives his take on what makes the drama a good fit for the network.

“Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are two people that have a very clear vision of what their message is and what their purpose is. The way that I think both of them display their purpose is primarily in their messages and roles that speak to women. I think Tyler writes stories that works for that particular audience and the network and there are a lot of strong women being displayed. Oprah’s message is very much about empowering women and women’s relationships. I think that’s what makes it such a good fit – the fact that there is a very strong overlap between Tyler’s audience and Oprah’s audience. They are vulnerable with a very spiritual basis behind what it is that they’re doing. What Tyler presents is mainly from the Christian perspective, which I think is great and strong.”

“Strangely enough, the casts’ chemistry seemed to come naturally. We all get together on set and hangout off set, which is really rare because there have never been any instances of major egos, issues or problems. It’s really been a positive experience and I thank everybody because we get along as friends off set so it makes it easy to do whatever it is we have to do on set; whether we are doing close personal scenes or we’re getting in each other’s faces. It kind of frees you up because nobody is going to take it personally. We’re trying to bring out the best we can in our cast mates and Tyler Perry himself is great with building momentum between the characters. I think working with him has been a great experience and it definitely adds to our dynamic.”

Being new to social media, but not so new to fans, Peter goes on to explain his increase in social media interaction since being on the show.
“Before filming, they encouraged us to get a Twitter account in preparation for promotion and I got on social media just because of the show and that purpose. The industry has really changed to where people really go by your follower count. I find that instant interaction during the show quite interesting and it really makes watching the show, for me, a new experience and really fun.”

As a veteran actor in Hollywood, at the ripe age of 55, Parros has maintained a positive image and carries himself very well.
“I think a lot of it is quite honestly due to genetics. My dad is turning 90-years-old this year and if you were to see him, you’d probably think he was 20 years younger. So I think that helps and of course I go to the gym a couple times a week, play racquetball and I go sailing too. I sail single handedly and I do things to keep active. I’m also a pescatarian as well so fish is the only meat I eat and fresh vegetables are how I keep my weight in tact.”

With the fourth season airing tonight, he gives us a little teaser on what we can expect this season.
“For David you’ll get to see him step up a bit more and show more strength. Also in this season you’ll get to see a little more of people reaping what they have sown. Tyler has a way of revving up the drama so you can definitely expect to see more character drama but also characters growing as well. And of course, there’s going to be some mystery reveals of people’s backgrounds and such so you can definitely be on the lookout for that.”

Tyler Perry’s “The Haves and Have Not’s” season 4 premieres Tuesday June 21 on OWN at 9pm/8pm central.
Also don’t forget to check out Peter Parros on his social media accounts all listed down below.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeterParros @PeterParros
Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialpeterparros @OfficialPeterParros
Facebook: www.facebook.com/officialpeterparros Peter Parros

By Mark Pollard