By Jasmaine Payne

IF you’re not familiar with the name “Prince Marni”, perhaps “Suzan” will ring a bell. She’s the provocative, ombre-haired Jamaican firecracker with the signature nightie and the sharp, dirty tongue whose videos evoke bouts of laughter all across social media.
“Suzan” is played by 23-year-old Jamaican actor and dancer, Anthony Grant, who also plays the dual role of Suzan’s boyfriend, ‘Prince’, in the videos.
The 15-second skits often feature situations in which ‘Suzan’ reacts in some inappropriate but side-splitting manner to everyday occurrences in their bumpy relationship.

POPULARITY
Since the creation of the character just about 10 months ago, Anthony has racked up more than half-a-million followers on social media. His popularity has allowed him to join the scores of other comedians who have begun to build careers by reaching mass audiences via the relatively cheap and definitely quick structure of “short-format comedy”.
As a result, Grant was able to quit his regular job as a waiter in a New York restaurant, and focus on his career of acting via the doors ‘Suzan’ opened for him.
“I would usually do videos imitating females in general called, ‘Jamaican females be like…’ And one day, I did a video asking why girls get defensive when men ask about their hairstyles, and the character I used was called ‘Suzan’.
“The video went viral, and from then on, everyone kept talking about ‘Suzan’; so I let her keep that name, and I kept doing more videos,” Anthony told The Buzz late yesterday.
As his popularity grew, Anthony admits that many doors opened for him, allowing him to meet significant people, and tap into opportunities that are slowly bringing him closer to his acting dreams.

THE DOWNSIDE
But his fame does not come without some backlash, as he is among many male comedians on social media who receive homophobic comments about choosing to dress and act like women.
“I don’t really pay attention; I do get one and two of those comments, but they are ‘once in a blue moon’. And it’s usually coming from men, so I know it’s coming from somewhere dark,” he said.
Anthony expects that, regardless of what one does, there will always be negativity. But he is sure of his sexuality, and says that his fan-base, which is mostly female, is well aware of that as well. “It just means I am a good actor,” he said.

GUYANESE FANS
Though his following is huge, Anthony says that he absolutely loves his Guyanese fans, as the love and appreciation he received from them was something he wouldn’t forget.
“The last time I was there, I never felt as much love like that anywhere else. The fans there are amazing! As soon as I stepped outside the vehicle or building, it was crazy! I love my Guyanese fans,” he said.
Moreover, Anthony shares a personal connection with Guyana through his father, who is also Guyanese.

NEW-AGE COMEDY
Anthony loves this new age of comedy that has been birthed as a result of Social Media, and hopes to use it to his fullest advantage.
As such, he believes that Social Media can play a great role in helping to promote artists. To those artists who seek to use it for that reason, he advises that they stay focused, and not get discouraged by negative comments, which are inevitable.
“Let it be a stepping stone,” he says. “Take every criticism in a constructive way, and keep trying hard. You might try something at first, and it feels like you’re not going anywhere; but push towards it.
“If you have a dream work as hard as you can to make that dream come true.”
Though he has no scheduled trip to Guyana in the near future, Anthony is of a good mind to just hop on a plane and return. Just because of how much he loved his last experience!