All eyes are on Shaquille Johnson the moment he — and his purring Lamborghini — arrive on campus, five minutes into the return of A Different World. But the star football player captured the attention of his portrayer, Cornell Young IV, far earlier. A college athlete in his own right, Young knew he was destined to play Shaquille as soon as he read the audition script. 

“I was like, ‘I need this. I know this is mine,’” Young says. “I know how Shaquille is. I know how he moves. I know this dude. A lot of this character was living in my life for a long time.”  

Young, who is one of seven children, grew up in St. Louis and hit the field at a young age. “Sports was the thing,” he explains. He loved movies and appeared in plays sporadically throughout middle school, “but I just left it there, I didn’t think I could do anything past that.” The prospect of acting paled in comparison to the bright lights of the football stadium. So, he headed to McKendree University as a wide receiver.  

“But with my marketing courses I was like, ‘It’s boring, I need something to balance,’” he admits. Enter: Theater, “something fun” to break up the monotony. “I was real-life Troy Bolton,” Young continues, name-checking the High School Musical character who is torn between sports and performing. “How Troy would leave basketball practice and go to rehearsal? I was doing that. I had my football buddies pull up to my plays. They were sitting in the front row trying to make me laugh.”  

Now, after appearing in the Netflix YA romance Forever, Young is set to make the world laugh — and feel many more big emotions — alongside the rest of the A Different World cast. Nearly 40 years after the iconic sitcom debuted, Netflix’s sequel series follows a new generation at Hillman College as they experience new friendships, romances, and obstacles. Shaquille must juggle his complicated romance with fellow freshman Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), competition amongst his fellow football players, and his grief over his late mother, whose dying wish sent him to Hillman.  

“To be able to touch somebody without even knowing them physically, especially through your art — it’s just such a blessing,” he says. 

Keep reading as Young breaks down everything Shaquille is facing on and off the field. 

PHOTO BY ELI JOSHUA ADE

Shaquille’s connection with Deborah is one of the defining relationships of Season 1. What makes them so close? 

His love for Deborah is so strong because she is the person he feels the most seen by. She really can just be there for him. It’s a very difficult situation for him to navigate, because he has all these feelings, and he’s bottling himself up. He’s young and doesn’t really know how to express himself in a proper way.

Going back to the beginning, were you always a fan of A Different World? 

A Different World has always been one of my favorite shows. So, it was early 2024, and I was binge-watching, like, “Yo, we need a show like this again.” And literally three months later, the news was like, “A Different World is coming back.” I was like, “What? I need that, that’s me.”  I literally prayed to God about it. 

When the breakdowns came out, I learned about Shaquille’s character. So when my agent was like, “All right, who do you want to audition for?” I said, “Shaquille. I want Shaquille. There is nobody else.”

Why Shaquille? 

I knew I could portray an athlete through and through. I wanted to be able to portray a football player on screen that people actually find believable. That they would be like, “He can do that.”

And you got the part! How does it feel to go from appearing in Forever to starring in A Different World? 

Forever was the first TV show I ever booked. It was my first time on screen. I remember coming on set, and I was a little nervous. That was our first time meeting as a cast, and it was seamless. It really helped me go like, “Oh no, it’s cool.” Now I’m very close to that cast, they’re my dogs.

From Forever to now, it feels like night and day, just based on how much I’ve learned. To now be one of the series regulars on A Different World, it’s a blessing. I’m having so much fun. It’s just a great cast with great people. I’m very grateful and excited to be part of two YA shows — young Black YA shows, at that.

A big part of Shaquille’s internal world is his grief. How does his mother’s death color his first year at Hillman? 

This is a pivotal time in any kid’s life. That window is so important. You only really settle into yourself at this age. For Shaquille, half of him is not here anymore. To not be able to lean on his mother is very difficult for him. It’s also difficult because it’s hard to go to his dad now, too.

Because his dad, Ron, is his manager, and therefore kind of his boss. 

Shaquille has got a lot going on. He’s battling through it. As a kid, you think your parents are superheroes. They’re the masters of life. But when you get grown, you realize: No, they’re going through life too. They’re experiencing things too. And they don’t do everything right, either.

Something happened between Shaquille and Deborah the spring before they got to Hillman. The truth is revealed throughout Season 1. What can you say about that? 

For Deborah to think that Shaquille doesn’t care about her hurts him. Because it’s like, “Girl, I love you! You are who I want, period.” 

Their relationship shows how powerful communication is. Because a simple conversation could have really clarified everything at the beginning of the semester. It shows how important conversation is. I hope that’s the message that people — especially young people — can take away from the show: Just having an honest conversation can help you avoid so much. 

Start the conversation yourself by (re)watching A Different World now on Netflix. And keep coming back to Tudum for even more Hillman news.