Nick Cannon Wanted Accused Role to Be a Departure From Public Persona

Nick Cannon made his scripted TV return for the first time in a decade with Fox’s Accused — and he was up for the challenge.

“I’m a fan of the show. It’s great television. It makes you think and kind of keeps you on the edge of your seat,” Cannon, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly about what drew him to the role of Marcus in the newest episode, which airs Tuesday, October 22. “And then everybody who is involved really just are A-list [actors].”

Cannon was excited to “jump back into the dramatic space” after shifting his focus to hosting gigs in the past.

“It’s a departure from the big public persona that I’ve created over the years,” he explained to Us. “And everything I do when it comes to acting, I’ve always looked for that challenge. Something that I could just strip myself of what people naturally know me as. So getting to do that is a lot of fun.”

The actor definitely found what he was looking for with his new role. (Fun fact: Cannon’s final role before his decade-long scripted break was a character named Marcus on another FOX series titled Brooklyn Nine-Nine.)

“When it comes to dramatic work, I want to always be challenged. The great thing about the character of Marcus is he gets to experience every single emotion in an hour,” Cannon teased. “He’s elated, he’s cheering, he’s laughing, he’s crying, he’s sad and he’s depressed. There are so many things that you get to experience. The fact that I got an opportunity to do all of that in one setting, I was totally up for the challenge.”

Based on Jimmy McGovern‘s 2010 British series of the same name, each episode of Accused introduces the accused — who is always just an ordinary person — without revealing their crime or how they ended up on trial. The audience then sees the events that led them there from the defendant’s point of view.

Cannon stars alongside Patrick J. Adams in the third episode of season 2. The synopsis for the episode, titled “Marcus’ Story,” teases the tale of a successful tech entrepreneur (Cannon) who finds himself on trial after creating facial recognition software, which leads to devastating consequences.

“[Marcus] is completely different from me. That’s the beauty of acting is that where I’ll go left, this character probably would go right,” Cannon noted. “So just being able to step out of myself and embody completely different decisions and a journey that I’ll never go on, I feel like that’s when you’re really at your best when becoming a character.”

The overarching story was also something Cannon was proud to be a part of.

“I hope viewers take away [the message of] allowing oneself to be self-reflective. No matter what the journey is and whether it’s dealing with status, financial gain, race or family, when placed in certain predicaments, you have to question one’s character and integrity,” he continued. “That’s what the journey was for Marcus. I think you’ll be sitting at home like, ‘Man, what would I have done in that scenario?’ And I’m pretty sure everybody’s answer is different.”

In addition to Accused, Cannon has hosted unscripted shows such as The Masked Singer and Wild ‘n Out. Cannon expressed his hopes to continue flexing his muscles as an actor with work that requires him to dig deep.

“I just love acting and I think you’ll definitely see me more in this space — specifically in drama,” he said. “I’m always cooking up something. But anytime I can just dive in and dedicate myself to a role, I’m up for it.”

Accused airs on Fox Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.