Samantha Logan on Her All American TV Dad Taye Diggs and the 13 Reasons Why Controversy

Samantha Logan could definitely get used to having Taye Diggs as her TV dad on the CW’s All American. The dramatic new show follows two high school football families from different worlds, highlighting the acting chops of this 22-year-old, Boston-born actress. It also gives the actress, known for her roles on Teen Wolf and The Fosters, a chance to walk down memory lane.

Logan juggles not one but two complex television roles, one as Olivia in All American, in which she plays the love interest of high school football star Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) and the daughter of his coach (Diggs), and the other as a sexual assault survivor in Netflix's Thirteen Reasons Why. Logan is also making her mark in movies, including the upcoming Netflix supernatural thriller Polaroid and the 20th Century Fox horror-crime drama The Empty Man. 

Inspired by the real life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger, All American is about a rising-star high school football player from South L.A. who's recruited to play for Beverly Hills High and the wins, losses and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds—Crenshaw and Beverly Hills—as they begin to collide.

Within the complex backstory of a recent stint in rehab, Olivia navigates her way through high school and figures out how she fits in. For Logan, her high school days were just a few years ago, and this CW show evokes a cadre of teenage memories, both bitter and sweet.

Growing up in a football-loving family means that Logan says that she is more than comfortable with "guy-bonding" and finding her place in high school on All American.

You went to a private performing arts school, so I am assuming it did not have a football team. What is your connection to the sport and how does that inform your part on All American?

Well, I did go to a private elementary school and there was an after-school sports program. I was always the only girl outside with the guys playing flag football and dodgeball and other sports. So I feel really at home on this show. I grew up around football; after all, it’s a major American sport. I’m originally from New England and I am a huge Patriots fan.

With all the guys playing football, is All American a testosterone-driven show?

No, I would not say that it’s a testosterone-driven show. I would say that the ratio between guys and girls is pretty even. Obviously, you do see football featured a lot.  But there have been several actual high school teams that have been initiating girls as kickers for the team, which is so, so, so cool. I think it is about time that we established that girls could do that as well. We have many strong female characters on the show, from the younger and older generation.

You're 22 now. Do you have high school friends and memories that come flooding back to you when you're filming All American?

Oh yeah, definitely. I think my character Olivia’s relationship with Leila is very much like relationships I had in high school. My best friend, Elysa, and I met in middle school and she has been like a sister to me since then. She will always be in my life, and I consider her to be like family. That’s what Olivia and Leila are to each other on All American; they’re family because they’re so close. They went through a rough patch and that hasn’t really been highlighted too much at the beginning of the series, but we’ll definitely get into more of that later on in the series, so definitely tune into that.

Are there other aspects of your real life that you relate to with All American?

Yes, I also had a lot of guy friends back then, and I still do have a lot of guy friends because I grew up playing sports. It definitely brings back my middle school and high school memories, especially when we’re shooting in the hallways.

What is it like working with Taye Diggs, who has such a rich performing history, including major roles on TV’s Empire, The Good Wife, Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy.

My mom definitely freaked out because she loves his work. It’s funny, Taye actually played my dad on NCIS a couple of years ago when I did a guest role. So we are both very familiar with each other. When we started working together again as father-daughter, everything came full circle.

What's he really like? Audiences know him primarily for his serious roles.

Off the set, he is a goofball. He is like the goofiest person I’ve ever met. Honestly, he is so good that he brings so much to the screen. I really love, whenever I’m working with him on set, how comfortable I am. It just feels like a natural conversation with him.

Please talk about your experience on the show 13 Reasons Why, about a 17-year-old high school girl who died by suicide. I have some friends with teenage sons and daughters who refuse to let them watch it, and some who are using it as an educational lesson.

It’s hard because it’s supposed to be educational, and so it’s supposed to start up a conversation. I was really, really excited about my role because Nina was a character that I think shed a bit of light. She acted as kind of like a guardian, a really good friend to Jessica, because they both had gone through sexual assault. It was a very heavy, eye-opening role for me. I learned a lot while playing her.

Talk about the controversy surrounding the show.

As far as the controversy, I think everyone on that show is coming from a place of love, and everyone set out to do the same thing, which is just to be a voice for people who may be grappling with difficult issues in their lives.

When you started watching it, did you relate to what you saw?

Yes. I don’t really talk about this too much because I am a very private person. But it struck a chord with me. I have dealt with depression my whole life and I always will; I’ve learned to live with it. Depression isn’t who I am. I treat it as a third party. I think if I look back at my 16-year-old self, when I was going through a very dark period in my life, and let’s say the show 13 Reasons Why came out at that time, I might have been triggered by some things. This is why it’s so important for anybody who watches it to sit down with other people and talk about it. It’s definitely not a show where you can go into a dark corner in a room and watch it by yourself, because I think that could definitely be triggering for some people.

With your hectic work schedule, what are the shows and movies that you watch? Do you have any guilty or non-guilty pleasures?

Honestly, I like to read, and I like to go on road trips. Whenever I’m not working, I really like to escape rather than distract myself. I watch movies more than I do TV shows, but there are a handful of shows I am obsessed with. One of them is Game of Thrones—I can’t wait for the seventh season—and Queer Eye is another really great show on Netflix.

If you had some time off away from work, how would you spend it?

Travel, travel, travel. That’s probably the number one thing that I love to do the most. We need to learn to diversify our minds. It is so crucial when we have downtime. I’m such a big advocate for self-love and taking care of yourself. I enjoy meditation and hot yoga. I try to decompress and cleanse myself, so that I don’t overwhelm myself and then find myself with all this pent-up stress and anger. When I travel, I love to immerse myself in other cultures. I’m so fascinated by people and I would love to travel the world.

What is a favorite place you have been to?

I went to Bali a little over a year ago as a volunteer through a group called International Volunteer HQ. I taught English to third-graders because I have always wanted to teach children. Depending on your qualifications, you can teach or work in construction building homes for lower-income people there. I met this woman who had been to 40 countries, and I was so inspired. In December when we have a hiatus, I would like to go to Peru and volunteer again. There are so many places you can go, and they have a list of options.

Who in your life has supported and encouraged you in your acting career?

I would not be here today without the love and support of my mom, Colleen. She has sacrificed so much for me. She picked up and moved from New Hampshire to allow me to pursue something that I love. I grew up dancing from the age of 3. I remember being just a regular kid in my playroom, and I would write scripts for my friends and I’d film little movies. I’d always be playing pretend at recess on the playground.

My mom tuned into all of that stuff that I enjoyed, and she signed me up for this acting class at a dance convention that I was doing at the time. I did a scene in front of the class and I thought it was really fun. I convinced my mom to move to New York so I could go to a performing arts school, where I got to see people that love the same thing I do every day, and I started auditioning and doing commercials and stuff.

What advice do you have for a young person watching you on TV who sees you as a role model for their own future acting career?

I am having a great time, but at the same time, it’s hard. This image that you kind of have to live up to for these people that are casting you, the whole culture of it is kind of a little weird. So I would tell them to stay true to who you are and don’t conform to what other’s think you are, then you can have longevity in this career. It’s taken me a very long way, and I haven’t lost the courage to just do that.

What keeps you grounded?

I learned over the years that things will happen the way that they’re supposed to and I started just letting go. I started breathing more and trusting that whatever project you find will be the right one at the right time. That’s been really the mentality that kept me going. I often head up to the Hollywood Hills, look at the stars and just breathe.

All American airs on the CW on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.