Tika Sumpter has always admired Jim Carrey's work.
"I look up to him," Sumpter says of her Sonic the Hedgehog co-star in this exclusive interview clip from Friday's Daily Pop. "Most actors do."
To perform alongside one of her professional "heroes" in a feature film was an "amazing" opportunity on its own. And still, the Mixed-ish star recalls how Carrey surpassed her expectations.
"He is incredibly kind, and he's everything your hero would want to be," she tells co-hosts Carissa Culiner and Justin Sylvester. "They say don't meet your heroes. That's the hero you want to meet."
Sumpter remembers a particularly meaningful moment from Sonic the Hedgehog's set wherein Carrey (who she fondly describes as a "mad scientist, but…also super normal") herself and their fellow cast members collaborated in order to "[break] down a scene together."
"We were just talking and having a good time," she says of the creative process, which takes shape on the big screen starting next Friday, Feb. 14.
Carrey was not the only subject of Sumpter's praise during her Daily Pop interview. Later, she explains why her role on ABC's sitcom Mixed-ish, currently finishing up its first season on air, is so important to her.
"The show's very important. But also, for me as a black actress, I don't always get to play these different, dynamic characters," notes Sumpter of her character Alicia. "So, she's a lawyer, but she's also a little quirky. She's not up on all the cultural things…She thinks she's cool, she's not…I love that I can be all these different things on this show, while sending an amazing message."
Watch Sumpter's full Daily Pop interview in the exclusive clip above!