Co-creator and executive producer for FOX’s new hit TV show Empire, Danny Strong, joined reddit’s live Ask Me Anything (AMA) to answer questions about the show.
Strong, a writer and actor, best known for his role as Jonathan Levinson in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was inspired to create Empire by King Lear and The Lion in Winter. “ The careers of Jay-Z, Puffy, and Kanye were very influential as well, he said.
AMA is a platform for anyone to start a conversation by first introducing themselves and offering to answer questions about a named topic. Commenters post questions, which the interviewee can then selectively choose from. Questioners can vote on questions they most would like to have answered.
As of this writing, 107 comments were posted, many about Strong’s career as an actor, but he managed to answer some on-topic questions about Empire.
Strong co-created Empire with executive producer Lee Daniels, who produced Monster’s Ball and directed The Butler. They met after Strong wrote the script for The Butler, which Daniels wanted to direct. That was the beginning of a long working relationship together for them—since it took so long to get the movie made, Strong said.
In the pilot episode of Empire, the song Jamal sings, Good Enough was written by Timbaland specifically for the character Jamal.
