Samira Wiley is an auntie. Nope, not that kind—we’re not getting into that again—the Emmy winner is an actual biological auntie of a 2019 Emmy nominee.
That’s right, Wiley is the aunt of Asante Blackk, who portrayed young Kevin Richardson in Netflix’s When They See Us. The Handmaid’s Tale actress recently took to Instagram to celebrate her dear nephew.
“Congratulations to my stupidly talented nephew, Asante Blackk on his first Emmy nom for his breathtakingly beautiful portrayal of young Kevin Richardson in Netflix’s When They See Us!” Wiley wrote in the caption. “Love you so much, ASANTE!!!!!!!!”
Blackk was nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series category in the Ava DuVernay-helmed When They See Us, which scored a total of 16 nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. The limited series earned the most nominations for the streaming platform.
Wiley, who won her Emmy (Guest Actress) in 2018 for her portrayal of Moira in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, took a picture (above) of Blackk holding her statuette while they called their grandma on speakerphone, likely to tell her the great news. Shoutout to manifestations!
But, back to this fun fact: I remember I found out about this during the promo tour of When They See Us and immediately had a “eureka!” moment. You know when you look at someone and try to pinpoint who they resemble, but can’t quite place your finger on it? This is what happened with Blackk. Once confirmed, it made all of the sense.
Look at them. It’s especially apparent if you’ve seen Blackk’s performance in When They See Us and Wiley’s work in Orange Is the New Black or The Handmaid’s Tale; particularly when their characters portray some sort of shocked dismay. They have the exact same face. Copy and paste faces. Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V. My friends constantly tease me about my nephew, who they believe to be my secret child, so I can relate. Genetics are amazing.
Anyway, following Blackk’s Emmy nomination announcement on Tuesday, the revelation resurfaced on social media once again!
“Ain’t even had my Emmy for 1 whole year yet, and the boy already coming for his auntie’s crown!” Wiley joked on Instagram. Yeah, a dope-ass black Emmy-winning auntie-nephew pair would be pretty epic.