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DeVaughn Nixon has heard all his life that he’s the “twin” of his father, NBA legend Norm Nixon. Now, the 38-year-old is playing his dad in a new series about the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers.
“I was completely in shock,” Nixon tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of landing the role of his father, who won two NBA championships with the Lakers in 1980 and 1982.
“It’s truly a dream come true,” says the actor, whose stepmother is actress and dance icon Debbie Allen. “It’s the biggest layup I’ve ever gotten in my entire life.”
Nixon, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, says when playing his father, he had one goal in mind.
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“I just wanted to give a fresh take on it, a fresh take on Norm,” he explains.
Nixon says he did get advice from his father on how to approach certain situations, including asking what his relationship was like with then-Lakers General Manager, Jerry West. But he also “raised the stakes a little bit” so hisWinning Timecharacter would be even more memorable for audiences.
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In many ways, Nixon has prepared for a moment such as this his entire life.
He began his career as a child actor and appeared in the popular filmsTerminator 2with Arnold Schwarzenegger andThe Bodyguardstarring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner.
“Whitney was my guardian [on set],” says Nixon, who played Houston’s son in the movie. “She and I were really, really, close.”
Houston, Nixon remembers, used to sing to him in her trailer, and read him Bible verses when they weren’t filming, which he says “was a beautiful experience.”
But he admits Houston did become annoyed with him once.
“I remember I didn’t want her to smoke, because I was like, ‘You have such a beautiful voice,’ " he recalls. “So I threw her pack [of cigarettes] away.”
Nixon recalls, “I flushed it down the toilet, and she got so mad but she couldn’t get mad at me because I was a kid.”
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Nixon also remembers Schwarzenegger lifting him up on set while shooting theTerminatorsequel.
“It might have not been that hard for a bodybuilder like him,” Nixon says, “but I was just like, ‘Whoa, dude, you’re so strong.’ "
Now, 30 years later, Nixon admits he felt some pressure stepping into his father’s shoes, but says he simply wanted “to do him justice” in the series.
“I just really hope people really understand Norm,” Nixon says, “and he gets the respect that he’s due.”
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynastyairs Sundays on HBO Max.
source: people.com
