Following the recent launch of Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures, we were able to sit down with the one-and-only Khary Payton (The Walking Dead; Teen Titans; Young Justice) to talk about his roles in this fun-filled live-action game.
Payton stars in Encounter Party, a serialized full-length D&D game where 7 professional actors guide their characters from the high seas to the dangerous streets of Baldur’s Gate, and into the very jaws of fate! Khary is also featured in two other new series that debuted on the channel including Heroes’ Feast, a D&D cooking show, and Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!, an improvised D&D series with celebrity guests.
In our informative chat, he touches on what he believes makes Dungeons & Dragons so special to people all across the globe, his process when creating a new character, his experience on these shows, and a whole lot more!
Watch our full interview with star Khary Payton below and/or keep scrolling to read the full transcript! Plus, please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exclusive content!
ROHAN: What do you think it is about Dungeons & Dragons that is so endearing to people across the globe?
KHARY: Well, I think that the beauty of Dungeons and Dragons is that, for a long time, you could kind of hide the aspects of yourself that you wanted to bring out, and you can hide them in these fantastical characters. It's just ripe for so much diversity, and it's a world that celebrates the things that are different about you. Two of my kids are in middle school and another is in high school, and I am always telling them that this is the only time in your life that everybody wants you to be the same. Once you get out of high school and middle school, it's what makes you different is what people are gonna love about you, so, be different.
I think, playing Dungeons and Dragons growing up, people get to be different, and be celebrated for those differences and that diversity. So, when it comes to people who feel different inside, you know, all of us nerds inside, who are hiding these things that we are absolutely obsessed with, because we think that people are gonna think we're weird or something like that. But, when you play a campaign with a bunch of people who are all like, yeah, you know, how weird can it get, you know, I think it draws those people, and yeah, it's just like anything else.
I love to watch football, you know, I love to play football, but because, I play football, or have played it in the past, or basketball, or whatever, I like to watch people who really know what they're doing. Doing all the voiceover and stuff that I did, I felt like it was kind of a training ground for actual play Dungeons and Dragons stuff, because I build characters with my voice. I'm asked to improv and riff and play a lot of the time, which is a lot of what actual play is about, and so, I've been able to play with some amazing performers and it's just fun to watch them. Just fun to watch.
ROHAN: When you’re crafting a character like Tolo, who is very close to your heart, or a character like Cyborg or Ezekiel, what is your approach?
KHARY: Everything I do, when it comes to creating a character for D&D, it’s always about kind of what my personal journey is on. When I when I did Critical Role, you know, years ago and created Shakäste, I wanted him to have a big, big, billowy afro because I've been shaving my head for years, and I miss my hair. There are hummingbirds everywhere in Southern California and I love them. I'm fascinated by him, and I just thought it would be awesome to see through the eyes of a hummingbird. So, I made him blind, but really not blind because he could see through the eyes of his hummingbird and, I was listening to funk music from the ‘70s, and gave him like this kind of Jimi Hendrix, you know, what do you call it, Bootsy Collins sort of feel, just because that’s where I was at the time, and he kind of grew organically from that, just out of the stuff that I was loving at the moment.
Tolo is the same way, you know, my son was going through this journey coming out as transgender and, he talked about how lonely he felt for so long not understanding what was going on inside of him and not knowing who or how to talk to and, I think of myself as a pretty open dad, you know, that he could come to me and talk to me, but he literally didn't know how, and I didn't understand either really, and it was kind of like when he came out, and I realized there were so many years where he literally talks about, you know, wishing that he was magic somehow that he could understand and meld what his mind is telling him he is versus what his body is and, I wanted to build a character that people like him could look at and see that they weren't alone. And also, to see that they were magic, that they had magic, and then, in Dungeons and Dragons, you literally, you can be magic, we're all magic.
That's one of the beauties of Dungeons and Dragons, I think, is that it's a reminder that we are all magic in in our own way. That thing that makes us unique is what makes us magic, and that was really important to me to impart that, you know, which is why I wanted to do this campaign with Encounter Party so much. There was a little while where I was worried that they wouldn't be cool with it, you know, and I kind of wanted to be subversive, Wizards of the Coast in this big corporation, and I was like, screw the man, I'll do this my way! But, as I was working with, especially with my cast mates in Encounter Party, and then, with the producers as well, I realized that okay, they actually are okay with me doing something new, and bringing in this transgender character.
So, I was I was excited to be able to openly tell this story, and let people know that they weren't alone, and I think that, as far as people who play Dungeons and Dragons are concerned, it's a very universal theme of trying to find yourself and trying to understand that thing that makes you unique is the thing that's beautiful about you, so, I think that's what the people who play D&D gravitate to it for, and we've gotten a really great response. I'm so gratified by it. It's exactly what I wanted. I wanted to go on social media and see people saying, this is how I felt, and it's cool to know that I'm not alone, because it's a lonely journey, you know, when you don't know you're on that journey. You just find yourself kind of lost in the woods and you're like, what the hell? I wanted them to know that there is a roadmap.
ROHAN: In the cast, you’re familiar with some people, but there are also players that you’re just meeting for the first time. What is it like developing chemistry with your fellow players pretty much on the fly?
KHARY: Yeah, it's so much fun. I love just jumping in with both feet. I feel like actual play, for me, is such a freeing experience. I feel like to make an analogy, one of my oldest friends who was the head writer on the old Teen Titans show years ago, he talked about Robin, the character of Robin, is that he has this reckless abandon that he jumps off a cliff and figures out how to land on the way down. I feel like, that's how I like to think about Dungeons and Dragons, is that I jump off the cliff, and I was like, okay, how do we do this? How are we going to do this? You know what I mean? How is this gonna happen? The possibilities are endless.
I feel like, at least with the people that I have played Dungeons and Dragons with, they've been so open, and supportive, that I just feel like, I can go nuts, you know, what are you gonna do? Kill me? You know? Fine, let's do it. You know what I mean? Let's live it to the fullest. If we're gonna go down, we might as well go down swinging, right? So, I've never felt playing D&D, that I was like put in a box or something, you know, I always just kind of roll with my gut. - That's not true! That's not true! There was one time! There was one time when I was playing with the Critical Role guys, we did this kind of four episode thing called Undead Wood. It was a zombie Western that we were doing, and I kept information to myself and I should have just blurted it out. I should have just blurted it out. I should’ve, and I won't do that anymore. I learned a good lesson there. That was the one time that I held back. Won’t do that again.
ROHAN: You’re played so many iconic characters like Ezekiel on The Walking Dead, Cyborg in Teen Titans, Aqualad in Young Justice, and so on - what kind of roles appeal to you more these days? Or would you like to revisit some of these roles again soon?
KHARY: I mean, I'm lucky enough that all of the characters that I am known for, I just love them so much. I just feel like the reason that I got him, you know, I feel like I'm not one of those actors that books everything they audition on, you know, it may take a while, but when I get it, it's because it speaks to a central part of me. So, literally every one of my characters that I feel like I'm kind of known for is something that I would absolutely revisit again. Ezekiel, I would love to play again. Cyborg, I've been playing for 20 years. Aqualad, Aquaman now, Kaldur’ahm from Young Justice, I absolutely adore and would love to play more. Even Rafiki that I got to play for a little while on the Disney Channel, I loved playing him so much. I feel really lucky that I've gotten to embody some really awesome characters, but they speak to the heart of me, and so, I can kind of wear my heart on my sleeve and go for broke.
ROHAN: I saw you mention on social media how this production really took care of its actors. What was it about this crew that made you feel so comfortable and be able to perform at such a high level?
KHARY: You know what, I just got to know the guys, my castmates, honestly, Brian David Judkins, who's our Dungeon Master. Ned Donovan, who's part of the cast, but also the creator of the podcast that this started as years ago. Andrew Krug, who lives around the corner from me, so we had coffee a few times, but I just got to know those guys and the more I got to know them, the more comfortable I was and so many of the cast have a background in theater. Landree Fleming is an amazing director and performer out of Chicago. David Lee Huynh, I mean, the dude just doesn't stop working, and is doing some amazing theater work right now as we speak. I felt at home. I came from kind of a theater based training curriculum, you know, I went to college for theater, and, so I just felt like these are the people who will catch you, you know, when you fall, and, like I said, I keep saying it over and over, but it was a freeing experience, felt like I was free to be able to just play and not worry. And, to be playing Dungeons and Dragons eight hours a day, you know, five days a week. Go, go, go. And, to have that feeling of not having to worry about watching your back because everybody's watching your back. It’s awesome.
ROHAN: Yeah, it was really evident how much fun you all were having…
KHARY: I feel so lucky that I found these guys, man, or that they found me, because it could easily go sideways, Rohan, let me tell you, it could go mad, but man, I have been so lucky. These guys are awesome. And yeah, I can't wait for people to see more, so check it out. Yes, on the Freevee app and Plex app, Dungeons and Dragons fast channel, and Encounter Party 6pm and 9pm on Tuesdays and Fridays, and actually, the first 13 episodes are on demand on the Plex app. So, go ahead and have a drinking game and get nuts. At some point, I think we're gonna do a marathon and that'll be awesome, because I'd love for people to be as exhausted as I am watching all of these episodes back to back is I felt when we were going through it man because it's a journey. It's a journey.
“Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!” serves up comedic mayhem with tabletop gaming stars and celebrity guest players, including Seth Green, Anjali Bhimani, Skeet Ulrich, Sean Gunn, Mica Burton, Patton Oswalt and series co-creator Matthew Lillard. Perfect for seasoned gamers and newbies alike, every episode features an improvised, stand-alone story along with epic, hilarious character deaths.
In “Encounter Party,” seven actors play Dungeons & Dragons to create an improvised high-fantasy adventure story. Over the course of twenty-two serialized episodes, Dungeon Master and co-executive producer Brian David Judkins and six talented players, including Khary Payton and co-executive producer Ned Donovan, guide their characters from the high seas to the dangerous streets of Baldur’s Gate, and into the very jaws of fate.
On “Heroes’ Feast,” hosts “Chef Mike” Haracz and actor/filmmaker Sujata Day prepare dishes, desserts, and cocktails from the Dungeons & Dragons cookbook with the help of special guests including Khary Payton, Michelle Nguyen Bradley, Jonah Ray, Freddie Wong and more.
D&D Adventures is now streaming on Amazon Freevee and Plex!