Shonda Rhimes has a new series on the 2025 TV schedule called The Residence, in which Uzo Aduba’s Cordelia Cupp, the detail-oriented, bird-loving police consultant, is called to the White House to investigate the murder of Chief Usher A.B. Wynter. The great Giancarlo Esposito portrays the fallen staffer, but that wasn’t the original plan. Andre Braugher was the first actor cast as Wynter, and Esposito spoke candidly about the “difficult decision” to step in following Braugher’s death.
Fans were devastated when Andre Braugher died in December 2023 after a battle with lung cancer. The Juilliard-trained actor was known for both dramatic roles and comedic ones like the beloved Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Giancarlo Esposito had known and worked with Braugher for years. He told the AP that connection was on his mind when deciding if he wanted to take over the role on The Residence, saying:
The role originally was played by Andre Braugher, who had shot a number of episodes before they had to stop for the pandemic and the strike. And [he] was someone I knew and respected deeply. His work was tantamount to one of the greatest actors of our time, not only in drama but also in comedy. I worked with him on Homicide: Life on the Street. We went back to New York theater days together. We crossed paths and I saw him in a movie called Glory, in which I just thought he was – his performance was the movie.
It’s obvious that the Better Call Saul actor holds Andre Braugher in the highest regard, and I can’t imagine how tough that was on him and the rest of The Residence cast to have to reshoot the late actor’s scenes when production restarted following the shutdown.
It certainly wasn’t a decision Giancarlo Esposito took lightly, and he explained how he ultimately realized he could honor his friend through his performance. He continued:
So, to me, to step in for someone as iconic as he was, but who I had a personal relationship with was a difficult decision to make. How could I let go of my friendship, my memory and all of that, and render the character to be who I thought the character should be? And then I realized that Andre was still with us, and if I allowed myself to honor him in playing this character, all would be well. And that's the way it turned out.
Giancarlo Esposito has stayed in demand lately, even boasting a couple of credits on the 2025 movie calendar already, and he’s appeared on multiple series including The Boys and The Mandalorian. He may have been a late addition to the new Netflix series, but he fit right in with impressive names like the previously mentioned Uzo Aduba, Susan Kelechi Watson (after a disappointingly short stint on Will Trent), Jason Lee, Ken Marino, Randall Park, Taran Killam and many more.
The Residence, which is available to stream with a Netflix subscription, centers around a fictional murder, but Shonda Rhimes used the book The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower as her guide. The source material offers a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the president’s home through interviews with real-life maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen and other former staffers.
As upsetting as the situation must have been to lose Andre Braugher, I love that Giancarlo Esposito is honoring him through the character, and I’d say Wynter is in good hands.
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