Kendrick Sampson Talks Something from Tiffany’s, Connecting with His Character, Working with Zoey Deutch, and More

Kendrick Sampson is one of the leads of Something from Tiffany’s.

Adapted from the bestselling novel, nothing compares to the magic and excitement of the holidays in New York City, where the streets blaze with lights, windows dazzle, and a special box from Tiffany could change the course of a person’s life. Or several lives. Rachel and Gary (Zoey Deutch, Ray Nicholson) are happy enough, but not quite ready for that big commitment. Ethan and Vanessa (Kendrick Sampson, Shay Mitchell), the perfect picture, are just about to make it official. When a simple mix-up of gifts causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unexpected discoveries that lead them to where they’re truly meant to be. Because love–like life–is full of surprises, in the holiday romance Something from Tiffany’s.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Kendrick about Something from Tiffany’s, connecting with his character’s flaws and mistakes, working with Zoey Deutch, and more!

PC: Tell us about Something from Tiffany’s and your character in the film.
Kendrick: Something from Tiffany’s is a holiday rom-com. It has a very classic feel with twists. It centers around this woman who is a business owner and my character Ethan who get caught in this ring swap. That’s what is going to happen when you have the same little box, and it gets switched out and drama ensues. It’s really a fun ride. Somebody described it today as a warm hug. I feel like everybody needs that right now, especially during the holidays with the dumpster fire that we are experiencing in 2022. Everybody needs that warm hug.

Ethan is a dope character. He’s a young single dad who has this incredible relationship with his daughter who is kind of an adult in and of herself. They’re like each other’s best friends, which is beautiful. He’s on a journey of learning how to not force things. Even if you’re trying to people-please all the time and give everybody what they want, that’s still a form of trying to force things. This movie teaches you that what’s meant to be will be. Sometimes you have to go with the flow of life and let things happen organically.

PC: You’ve said in the past that part of your process to get into characters is to examine them from the internal to the external. What was it about Ethan that you connected with on a human level?
Kendrick: The flaws and mistakes. I definitely can relate to trying to control things but not in the way that he does. He’s very much a people-pleaser. He’s a Libra. He loves to people-please to the point that it’s a detriment to his own health. He will tell a little white lie to keep everything copacetic and chill. Every time he sees a conflict, he’s like, “Let’s go the other direction.” That’s something that we all do. We think that when we compromise for other people that that’s our moral high ground and that we’re better people because of it. It can actually be unhealthy if we’re not factoring in our own health, especially because sometimes everybody can’t be pleased, and sometimes pleasing those people is unhealthy for them too.

The biggest lesson that I got out of it, like I was saying earlier, is to let things go and go with the flow of life. Go through life with purpose, but let things happen organically and respond to them. Don’t try to force how you think things should be. I definitely can relate to the mistakes that Ethan makes in that process and how he finds a way to recover and turn those obstacles into an advantage. Sometimes he does a good job of that, sometimes not so much.

PC: There’s such fantastic chemistry that comes off the screen between you and Zoey. How did the two of you build that bond? Was there a moment on set when you realized you were creating magic?
Kendrick: We didn’t really have to build that bond. She’s a great actress. We didn’t have to work too hard. We connected. We had to do a chemistry read over Zoom, which isn’t easy. So I was elated when I realized we didn’t have to work hard for it.

As far as making something special, there was a moment when they shut down Soho, Bryant Park, and Central Park. They were trying to get some quick shots. I’ve been to New York so many times. The first time was for a political campaign where I was trying to get people in Bryant Park to register to vote. When we went back to shoot in Bryant Park, I thought about the fact that I had previously been there sweating and asking people, “Have you voted yet?” Now I’m filming there.

Jeremy Pope saw me filming and came over and was like, “I saw you on the street. I wanted to yell, but I didn’t want to mess up the take.” That was hilarious and really special because I’m getting to do what I love in this place that I frequent so much and where I have experienced so many life-changing things. I’m sitting in the middle of Bryant Park and we’re filming with all these cameras around us and people are watching us. I had to stop for a second and be like, “We’re shooting in Bryant Park.” It was really cool.

PC: Mentorship has been such a driving force in your career. Leah Jeffries, who plays your daughter in the film, is just getting started in her career. Did you share any words of advice with her about navigating this industry?
Kendrick: “Yes” is the short answer. Leah asked some incredibly advanced questions for her age. Most of her questions and the advice she was seeking were about friends and how to respond to certain situations. It was cool to see her be a kid. We were playing tic-tac-toe in between takes and listening to music. She was teaching me TikTok and how to do certain dances that I couldn’t do. We had a really beautiful time and relationship.

But she was mostly with Javicia [Leslie] who played Batwoman, Shay [Mitchell], and Jojo [T. Gibbs]. They’re incredible actresses. I know most of them, and I was like, “I need to connect Leah with them” because Leah needs Black women and women of color to look up to in this industry. For her to see Zoey, Lauren [Levy Neustadter], Morgan [Des Groseillers], and all these incredible women behind the scenes producing was inspiring for her.

I tried to highlight that, and I’d be like, “Did you see this? You’re going to be a boss one day, and this is how you do it.” For the most part, it was conversations about her life. But if she had serious questions about her career, we would talk about it.

To keep up with Kendrick, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Something from Tiffany’s on Prime Video today.