Taye Diggs is opening up about how “honored” he was with his shocking exit from CW’s “All American” after five seasons.
Diggs’ character Billy Baker was killed off in Monday’s episode. The Best Man star knew his end on the show was coming after he started to express his desire to move on from the role.
“I was having a great time. It was just a feeling that I got [that I was ready to leave], and I just honored that feeling,” Diggs told TV Line.
“It was maybe mid-fourth season. I don’t even remember, to be honest, because the showrunner [Nkeche Okoro Carroll] and myself are close. We’d been keeping in contact, so she had known, and we’d been talking. And we decided how to go about it, and storylines and whatnot, so it was all above board, and everyone was in the know.”
But when it came to Baker’s untimely death in season 5 episode 11, Diggs felt like his character’s death was the only way for Carroll to fulfill his desire to leave the show while honoring his character, who played an integral part in the show.
“The easiest choice would have been for me to teach at some college, but then given the intensity of the relationships between me and my family, and me and the team, it would not make sense if I was still alive and wasn’t still in contact with these children of mine—these students, these young men that had such an influence on my life,” Diggs explained.
“When I was told how I was exiting, I was impressed. [Laughs] No characters I’ve played have ever been dealt with in that fashion. I was honored.”
Baker served as the beloved football coach since the true-life-inspired show’s debut in 2018. He recruited the show’s lead, Spencer James (Daniel Ezra), as a star player at Beverly Hills High School ahead of viewers learning the surprising connection between Baker and James.
Baker’s death scene came as a cliffhanger to viewers after producers opted out of showing the exact way Diggs’ character made his exit.
“I loved that. I love leaving more to the imagination,” Diggs said. “It falls right in line with the style of the show. I wouldn’t want that image, you know what I mean? It’s nice that everybody has more positive images by which to remember me.”