Ain't Too Proud's Derrick Baskin on Working at TGI Friday's, Inheriting Hugh Jackman's Dressing Room & More on Show People

As Temptations founding member Otis Williams in the new musical Ain't Too Proud, Derrick Baskin does a lot of looking back. There is a lot of reminiscing to be done regarding his own journey to center stage. After earning a biology degree from Hampton University, he took a chance and purchased a one-way ticket to NYC on his way to a "no regrets" look-see at following his dreams. What began as an idea to "maybe sing commercial jingles" turned into a full-blown stage career. Baskin has appeared on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid and Memphis, but Ain't Too Proud marks his first time as a leading man. He stopped by Show People with Paul Wontorek to discuss his journey, how his latest gig revived his love of musical theater and more.

1. HE USED TO WORK AT THE TIMES SQUARE TGI FRIDAY'S
“After I got my degree, I moved in with my grandfather, who lives in St. Louis. I was applying for medical schools and graduate schools. I didn't want to have any regrets. I asked myself, 'Is there anything you want to do? Because once you do this, that's it.' I'd always wanted to maybe sing jingles in commercials or something like that. I bought a one-way ticket to Newark; I flew into Newark instead of New York because it was cheaper. I didn't know how to get to New York from there. When I landed, I was like, 'Just follow the group. Someone will be going to New York.' I didn't know what I was doing. I stayed at the YMCA in New York for a couple of weeks and was terrified to leave Midtown Manhattan. I got a job waiting tables at TGI Friday's. I had worked at TGI Friday's in St. Louis. I had them call, and I got the hook-up. I already had the suspenders and the little buttons.”

2. HE'S ON "CALL ME UNCLE O" TERMS WITH OTIS WILLIAMS
"We affectionately call him Uncle O. He's just such a humble person. He knew that if it was anyone's name above the title, it would not have been as successful. If it were Otis Williams and the Temptations, you would focus on Otis Williams. He wanted you to focus on the group. For him, it was always about the group. I asked him about it. He said, 'We were just all equal. We all got paid the same, so I didn't need that.' He didn't need to be known as the leader of the group."

3. HE'S GOT HUGH JACKMAN'S THE BOY FROM OZ DRESSING ROOM 
“Hugh Jackman kind of tricked this dressing room out. I owe him a bouquet of roses and a thank-you card. There are three dressing rooms on the first couple of floors. Hugh Jackman needed two. He knocked a wall down, so now I have that dressing room.”

Other must-read highlights:

ON AIN'T TOO PROUD REVIVING HIS LOVE OF MUSICALS
"After I closed Memphis, I was starting to get a bit jaded towards musicals. I think sometimes you just lose the appreciation for what you do if you don't think about how it touches people. I was trying to get out of doing musicals when this one came along. I initially didn't really want to audition for it. My agent said, 'But you haven't been seen in this particular light. This is the lead of the show. This guy is carrying the show, and you've never done that.' So, then I looked at the script, and that's when I knew I had to go in for it because I was scared. This show has stretched me in ways I've never been stretched before. This show has brought joy for doing musical theater back into my life. I'm really having the best time. For me, it's a love letter and it's a thank you letter to these men who I am standing on the shoulders of as a singer. The reason why I can carry this show is because Otis Williams carries his group."

ON HIS TIGHTKNIT CLASSIC FIVE CO-STARS
“Our energies just linked up. It happened really fast. Sometimes it takes a while to warm up, or it takes a while to find that rhythm. We fell into this friendship, this cameraderie very, very fast, which made it easier to just dive into the work.”

ON HIS WELL-TRAVELED CHILDHOOD
“My father was in the air force. He's retired now. We bounced around a lot. I was born in North Carolina and then bounced to Illinois. We went to Germany. Germany was first through third grade. We then went back to Illinois, and then I went to high school in Japan. Throughout all that traveling, I had more and more siblings added to the family. I'm the oldest of six. It's so interesting how life prepares you for what you become eventually. I didn't necessarily want to be an actor. I didn't want to move to New York or do Broadway. But when I came to New York, the moving around made it so much easier because I'd been introduced to different cultures, different ways of thinking. When I came to New York, I thought, 'This feels right' because I'm used to growing up with different cultures.”

ON LANDING HIS DEBUT ROLE IN SPELLING BEE
“William Finn hand-picked me [for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee]. He was making offers for this particular role. He called everyone that he knew. He called Norm Lewis at one time. Lea DeLaria was on the list at one point for my role. They had one day of auditions. My agent at the time got me in. Bill Finn was in the room. I sang a song from Smokey Joe's. I started to sing the song, and I hear this chuckling. Bill Finn does and says what he wants in the moment. I think to myself, 'I either have him, or I'm a complete joke right now.' He told me in that moment he knew I was the guy.”

ON LANDING HIS FIRST LEAD ROLE IN AIN'T TOO PROUD
"You wonder, 'What is my lifespan in this business? What will it be? Will I only be the sidekick?' You have to ask yourself, 'If that is your lot in this business, are you OK with that?' I would have been OK with it. Of course, I always wanted to try to be lead in a show, but had it not happened, being able to be a storyteller on a Broadway stage is a tremendous honor."

Watch the full episode of Show People with Paul Wontorek below!

Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Did you know Show People is available as a podcast? Listen to your favorite stars talk Broadway and beyond on your way to work, the gym, the theater and more on iTunes and Spotify.