Rome Flynn Steps Into Superhero Territory With "Raising Dion"

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."

It's unclear when Flynn's singing career began exactly, but he released his first single, "Brand New," in October 2019, followed by his second, "Keep Me in Mind," in May 2020. Most know Flynn because of his acting roles, but he previously told HotNewHipHop that he started doing music before acting. "The acting just kinda took off, but I felt like this was the right time and the right opportunity to put more energy, pun intended, into my music career," he said in 2019.

One of the first singing videos that Flynn posted on Instagram caught the attention of Rihanna in 2019. The "Anti" singer gave the actor his props for his cover of John Mayer's "Gravity" by sending him a congratulatory DM. "Ri damn diculous!!!" she wrote. "Man I didn't know you could sing, much less sing this great! Great job, man." Flynn was grateful for the once-in-a-lifetime message, so he decided to shoot his shot by inquiring about Rihanna's new music as well. He told Hollywood Life that he countered her DM with "let me get that 'R9,'" and she answered by telling him to send his EP first.

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."

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."