Coop could have easily been cast a best friend that was a guy. I really love that All American embraced the reality that are LGBTQ+ people in our communities, friend groups, and families. This young Black guy who spends so much time with and defends the sexuality of someone who is a lesbian is a form of allyship from Black men that is not talked about a lot. Can you speak to that relationship between Coop and Spencer?

“In my experience, most men have that one lesbian friend that's just cool, that's just the homie. She can come wherever and do whatever. She might not even be a lesbian, she might just be a cool homegirl that can hang with the guys. I think if Coop was a man, we would not be able to play on the intimacy as much because it could be perceived as [them being] gay. I think Coop being a girl makes it better because everything is translated and received in the right light. There's no undertone or hidden agenda behind it. It looks exactly like what it is. It's good to see that. Spencer is someone who brings that little girl out of Coop. You're able to see that, as well. Again, that was something important. I hate the way lesbians and the LGBTQ+ community in general have been depicted in film forever. It's never been 100% accurate or realistic. It's always a sex-crazed monster. It's never a normal life and I just so happen to date girls. They make such a spectacle out of it, and they don't do that with heterosexual relationships. [Ezra and I are] friends in real life, so it makes the chemistry that much better.”