Tyler Lepley’s Hollywood trajectory isn’t slowing down. In the midst of his breakout role in P-Valley, the actor also stars in the critically-acclaimed Prime Video Harlem. On top of acting, Tyler’s also an artist.
Harlem recently wrapped up its second season with a major cliffhanger that could involve Ian. And then there’s P-Valley, where viewers last saw Diamond with his life in serious jeopardy. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Tyler about Ian’s future with Camille, Diamond’s relationship with Keyshawn, and what’s to come. Read our full Q&A below.
Ian and Camille have gone through so much, and then that finale happened. Do you think they’re truly over? Do you think that’s the final nail in the coffin for them?
Tyler Lepley: I don’t know if they’re truly over. I feel like they just can’t get enough of each other. But what I will say in terms of where they’re at right now, I do feel like Ian understands that you chase the life you want or you settle for the life you get. He’s never shied away from being able to articulate exactly what he feels and going after exactly what he wants, even if it’s something that he can’t see, he only feels, you know what I mean? He did it with the restaurant and leaving Paris to come back and do it his way. He feels the same way in terms of the life that he sees fit in terms of his family life. In that last episode, that last scene, he was very vocal about experiencing some of the things we may look at as basic just in terms of having children, tucking them in the bed, and reading them a bedtime story. These are things that he’s not willing to give up just because his partner sees it differently. So as of right now, he’s definitely chasing the life that he sees fit for himself, even though it’s leading him away from the one true love he’s always had.
We have to talk about that cliffhanger. One of the girls is pregnant. Obviously, there are issues with Camille and pregnancy, but miracles happen.
Tyler Lepley: Of course. I’ve seen it happen in my own life before. I’ve had friends that feel like they are just past the limit that they can have children, and they end up having children. It happens all the time.
How do you think Ian would react if Camille was pregnant, given their last conversation?
Tyler Lepley: Having an idea of who Ian is, I just feel like the responsibility of it is something that would be paramount. There’s no way around handling the responsibility of it. But then also, I feel like we’ve never seen him be spiritual. I do feel like, if that were to happen, he would understand that it all happened for a reason, even though we saw the last conversation that they had. All in all, I feel like it’s something that he may have some mixed feelings about. He may have to get over some things because that was a heck of a conversation to have and to part ways on, but something like a child trumps some of those feelings you get that are in the front and center of your ego.
I feel like we have to get a season 3 after that cliffhanger. Have you heard anything? Are discussions being had?
Tyler Lepley: There’s been some discussions about it. But at the end of the day, this is show business. You never really know until you show up on set for season 3. But we got high hopes for it, and we’ve had a great response about it. Knowing the girls and knowing some of the creatives and even just people in the production, that’s something that we really laid a piece of our soul down onto. We let the chips fall where they will, but even if it didn’t, it’s something that we all hold special in our hearts for sure.
Speaking of a show that has gotten a season 3 so far: P-Valley. That show also ended on one heck of a cliffhanger. Do you know what happens to Diamond yet? Are you in the dark as well?
Tyler Lepley: Katori’s pretty tight-lipped about what she’s writing in season 3 as well. I don’t know what will happen to him. I hope he gets out of the trunk. To speak on that idea of my characters, if you will, always ending up in these spots where the cliffhanger has kind of centered around them, it’s been great to be able to collaborate with such creators that hold my whole skill set with high regard. To be able to do something around a character that people care about, it’s just been a blessing. There’s been a lot of fun to play with.
Especially on P-Valley, the reason I’m so drawn to your performance is that you can say so much without saying much at all. A lot of it is evoked in your eyes and mannerism. I think that’s why so many of us are intrigued by Diamond.
Tyler Lepley: I appreciate that. I talk about it a lot. I like to play with the juxtaposition of characters because I just feel like that’s how we are as humans. We have the light and the dark. Diamond is one of those cats where even if there’s not too much going on, there’s a lot going on. I’m glad that comes across like that, and we can see ourselves in some of these performances.
When he’s thrown into the trunk after being stabbed, we see some brief flashbacks to his time in the war. Do you think that the show will that part of Diamond’s past in season 3?
Tyler Lepley: Yeah, for sure. I think we started in season 2 to dive into who he was outside of The Pynk. When you see him in his cabin, you see kind of how he’s living. You also see some of the practices that he gets into. We’ve always been alluding to since we first saw Diamond what it was like in the war. He never really talks about it, but everybody talks about him being in the war and going through serious things. So I feel like them given those flashes as he’s thrown in the trunk is the writers’ way of kind of letting you know what we’re about to go where we may go.
Just before he was blindsided and kidnapped, Keyshawn called him and asked him to do her a solid with Derrick. Do you think Diamond had every intention of killing Derrick?
Tyler Lepley: One hundred percent. Even if you’re looking at what he’s gathered in the trunk, he’s got tape and gloves. I remember even playing around with some of the props in that scene. Even if you didn’t catch it with the camera, that was definitely his full intention of handling him the way Diamond knows how to handle a problem like that. To Diamond’s credit, I feel like if it ever happens, when it does happen, even just having the idea of going there with every intention to kill Derrick, I feel like Diamond’s earned that. We’ve been alluding to this since the beginning, Keyshawn is continuing to be abused. I feel like to get to it finally at the end of season 2 is something that I feel like we’ve all earned. I gotta give my props to Katori Hall for writing it like that as a slow burner and allowing us to get to there.
Keyshawn and Diamond are the definition of a slow burn. Do you think Keyshawn and Diamond are ultimately a good match for each other?
Tyler Lepley: I was having a talk with Katori one time just about, and it was in the midst of that, with Keyshawn being away from The Pynk and Diamond being away. Here we have these two characters that were tied to the soul at one point that are nowhere near each other and are nowhere near to be found. We were kind of just having a conversation about it. She was letting me know that she does believe that Keyshawn is Diamond’s soulmate. If we were to get back to that place… I don’t know either way. I don’t know if being each other’s soulmate when it’s littered with that many obstacles, I don’t know if it can still go through. One thing I will say is I would agree with Katori. I think Keyshawn is Diamond’s soulmate. There’s just a lot of obstacles we’d have to try to try to flesh out. Sometimes such as life, sometimes you don’t end up with your soulmate. The obstacle can be too big to get past depending on what was done. But I mean, we’re going to see.
On top of acting, you are also a singer. You recently released the song “Just Because.” What are your future music plans?
Tyler Lepley: I think musically for me it’s more about encompassing and embodying everything that I am as an artist, as opposed to stopping one and switching gears and doing a 180. It’s not so much of that, but the way I see it there’s no way why I can’t be the lead of a movie franchise, maybe spin it off into a series, executive produce the whole soundtrack, and then spin it off and go on tour with that into my own stuff. That’s just the way I see it going for me. It’s just important while I’m picking up steam in one area that I’m very passionate about continuing to water all the plants that I’ve dropped seeds in the ground. Right now we’re pushing “Just Because.” I have an album that I’m dropping in the next few months, but it’s important for me to make sure I pick up steam the right way and give a few lead-off singles start off with.