If traveling is still on your no-go list during the pandemic (understandably so), I recommend you carve out some time to live vicariously through the characters in Netflix’s latest film, Resort to Love, if you haven’t done so already. The RomCom stars Christina Milian as an aspiring singer whose latest gig at a luxurious resort in Mauritius involves singing at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding and, obviously, shenanigans ensue.
While the thought of finding yourself in a similar situation likely makes you shudder, the beautiful views in the film are worth whatever flashbacks the storyline brings up — and I don’t just mean the “jolly rancher blue” water, as Milian’s BFF in the film refers to the ocean. Starring opposite Milian is Sinqua Walls, a fan favorite from Power who’s currently filming the NBC pilot At that Age from Malcolm D Lee.
Walls makes quite the introduction in the film and adds welcome stability to what could’ve been an even more chaotic wedding weekend. And, let’s be honest, no one’s going to be mad looking at his six-pack or his smooth chocolate skin– which he says he’s taken pride in from a young age — for 101 minutes or so.
“Pride of self and pride of skin tone, I’ve always had it,” Walls tells ESSENCE. “I was grateful that the women in my life at an early age instilled that pride. My mother, she’s a double-edged sword because she gives you the cinnamon and she gives you the spice at the same time. She pulled no punches, but it was her purpose to raise a man and not just a man, but a confident man, an articulate man, an intelligent man, and man that didn’t pull any punches, and one of those things was being proud of the body that you lived in and the skin that you had.”
Though discussions around representation are often focused on women — Black women, in particular, Walls adds that seeing other darker-skinned men in the public eye added to his self-confidence growing up. “My heroes early on became chocolate brothas that looked like me. Michael Jordan had to be a hero, whether I liked him or not. I didn’t even watch New Jack City but it was Wesley Snipes… Deion Sanders — anybody that was successful and in the realm of chocolate. “
Again crediting his mother for her influence, Walls said his mom would hang posters of these athletes and entertainers in his room as a boy so he always saw what he could be. “It was really important to her and I’m grateful for it.”
Check out our full interview with Walls as he talks about his journey in Hollywood and his upcoming projects in the video above. Stream Resort to Love on Netflix here.
