Topeka native Antwayn Hopper recently made his debut on season three of the ABC show “Will Trent” as Rafael Wexford.
Hopper’s character, Wexford, who is known as a dangerous criminal and gang leader in the community, is the prime suspect in the shooting of two Atlanta Police Department officers, one of whom died. The show is based on the “Will Trent” novels written by Karin Slaughter.
The main character of the show — Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Will Trent — had just made the difficult decision to fulfill his law enforcement duties by arresting his ex-girlfriend. That decision led Trent to end season 2 by going on a six-month hiatus from the GBI.
Trent’s hiatus ends soon after the start of season three after Hopper’s character Wexford called for Trent to return to Atlanta and the GBI to help him since they were childhood friends.
Rafael Wexford is a bold role for Hopper
Hopper had the chance to audition for the show without warning via a video call. He said it was a great opportunity, because typically film is sent in, and actors are never sure of how they may have performed or if their tape was even been viewed.
“They said that Raphael is on the couch, and he’s surrounded by cops outside of his house. So, I had my ‘moo moo’ on, which is lion print, and I had a bright yellow bonnet because I have my extensions. So, I said, ‘Let’s do it,'” said Hopper. “And I got in the middle of in front of the screen and she’s like, ‘Oh.’ I was like, ‘Yes, let’s do it!’
“And I loved it because even though I looked loud, I still played him very, very masculine.”
In addition to being known as a dangerous criminal and gang leader in the community, Hopper’s character Wexford is gay and a single father to his daughter Sunny.
“So, I knew right then the juxtaposition of that was a win-win, and I knew it was bold,” Hopper said. “I knew no one else was going to be man enough to wear a moo-moo and a bonnet and still be able to be seen and heard as a man.”
In a SubReddit post about “Will Trent” titled “I’m liking Rafael Wexford,” viewers shared their thoughts with such comments as “He’s so sweet with his fam and a big crime boss who wears nail polish? Yeah! I love his whole vibe and so nice to see some of Wills backstory through him.”
“I loved at the end of the episode when he went from friendly and flamboyant to ice cold head gang leader. He plays that character so good!”
