Amid ‘Poppa’s House’ Reunion, Marlon Wayans Reveals the ‘True Genius’ of Damon Wayans Sr.

Kelli Boyle March 21, 2025, 1:37 pm

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Marlon Wayans as Melvin and Damon Wayans as Poppa in 'Poppa's House' Season 1 Episode 14 - 'Melvin' — Sonja Flemming / CBS

Marlon Wayans reunites with his brother and nephew onscreen on the Monday, March 24 episode of Poppa’s House. Working with Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. (and sister Kim Wayans, who directed the episode) was a breeze, he tells TV Insider, as is always the case with this family of stars. Watching his older brother work reminded Marlon that Damon Sr. is a comedic “genius” and “the quintessential artist” of the Wayans family.

“My brother Damon is probably my all-time favorite artist,” Marlon shares. “Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Damon. I love Jim Carrey. I love Robin Williams. I love guys that can do it all. And my brother Damon is, to me, the quintessential artist in the family because he’s fearless in discovering all the different levels of skill that he has. And that takes time and takes energy. Watching Damon do standup inspired me to do standup. Actually, it intimidated me to do standup for a long time. I was like, I’m not going to be that good. But it’s the very thing that made me go, you know what? Let me go on this stage and work at it, and I don’t want to be that good. I want to be as good as I can be. And we’ll see where that goes.”

Marlon pitched his Poppa’s House character to Damon Sr., who stars as Poppa in the sitcom in addition to executive producing. Marlon plays Melvin, Poppa’s little brother who’s always looking to get rich through a new business scheme. Poppa warns Junior (Damon Jr.) not to get involved, but Junior insists on learning the hard way. There’s still lots of love and admiration between the three despite their disagreements. The episode will also see Marlon reunited onscreen with his frequent costar and longtime close friend, Essence Atkins (they tease their reunion here).

The youngest of the 10 Wayans siblings, Marlon has more similar experiences to nephew Damon Jr. They both got famous at a younger age than their siblings and parent because of family’s professional success that preceded their own.

'Poppa's House': First Look at Marlon Wayans' Episode With Essence Atkins Reunion (PHOTO)

“That just means you have to accelerate on getting the goods,” Marlon explains. “It puts more pressure on you, and pressure makes for the best diamonds. So, it allowed us to really understand the legacy that we were a part of and how much work we had to in.”

Most of the Wayans have their own standup careers. Marlon thinks standup is where Damon Sr.’s “genius” really shines. He also reveals that his big bro was “frustrated” by the little time he had to show his talents on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s. Before he was on In Living Color, Damon Sr. was an SNL cast member in 1985 before getting fired for improvising during a sketch.

“I think Saturday Night Live, he never got the chance to really do what he does, so he was frustrated,” Marlon says. “But you see the makings of a true genius in the work he did on that, on the short stint he did on SNL.”

“When it comes to standup, it’s not just the strength of his standup. It’s not just about the comedy,” the White Chicks alum continues. “If you look at Damon, when he’s on a stage, he’s not just doing standup. He’s doing sketch, he’s doing monologues, he’s creating characters. He’s telling you the joke, and he’s showing you the joke. He’s animating it. He’s acting on that stage. He uses the stage to be a great writer. He uses the stage to allow himself to be comfortable enough to be free enough to create. And so looking at him not just do comedy, it’s more than just comedy. And I strive to be that as a comedian. That’s how he’s influenced me and a whole lot of others.”

See the family of comedians reunite in Poppa’s House Season 1 Episode 14, “Melvin.”

Poppa’s House, Mondays, 8:30/7:30c, CBS