Originally from Breaux Bridge, Justin Sylvester first got into the nanny business when was a tutor in Louisiana, and it just transpired into me becoming a nanny. He has been a personal assistant, stylist, life coach and consultant. He lumped all of those together and coined the term "Ladysitter." Previously a babysitter and Ladysitter for Kyle Richards Umansky, he is currently starring in ABC Family's BEVERLY HILLS NANNIES.Kevger.com's Kevin Mulcahy Jr. recently caught up with Sylvester to talk about his career and new role.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: Could you tell us about a scene from your life that for no other reason didn’t make it onto the show but you wish we got to see it?
Justin Sylvester: It’s a little to say because it’s only been two episodes and I haven’t seen the rest of them. I’m hoping everything gets put in. I don’t want to spoil anything. I think as of now from the first two episodes, everything I’ve done has been showcased on the show.
Maybe going through Marika’s closet. It’s a very fascinating place, that closet. That didn’t get put on the show.
I think the bickering and the banter between Marika and I, it’s more like brother and sister as opposed to employee and employer. I think that got cut out of the first two episodes. That’s sort of a letdown for me because it’s so funny and it shows the love that Marika and I have for each other. But, also we’re so different. We’re like brother and sister. It’s funny; it’s great and that got cut out.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: It seems like you’re set up to be the break-out star of the nannies. But, do you know if any of the other people might be competing with you? Who do you think is your main competition for being number one nanny of the crew?
Justin Sylvester: I think everybody. The competition is up in the air. I think everybody brings something different to the table from Amanda who brings her home town humbleness and kindness with her to Shaun who’s an author and an illustrator to even Maggie. I think everyone has that certain something. I’m really excited for you guys to see how Maggie’s story unfolds because Maggie’s got so much to offer that you haven’t seen in the first two episodes that you’re going to be really surprised by at the end of this season.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: It’s really cool to see an out man of color on TV. We don’t get enough of that. I’m curious has it helped your career and in what way being black and gay?
Justin Sylvester: I guess growing up in the South, being black and being gay was supposed to be a taboo. But, I didn’t see it that way. I’ve always been comfortable with who I am, so I never thought about myself as black or gay.
I’ve always just thought about myself as Justin. So, it’s really hard to even gauge that because I don’t even think about people looking at my color or my sexual orientation. I always feel like they need me and my personality. I was surrounded by great people growing up.
I always just relied on who I was and my character and my morals. I don’t know. It’s a tough question. I don’t know if that even plays a factor in my career.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: Some of these other famous housewives and people like that have created these incredible careers. I’m curious what would you like to do? Where can we find you say in a year from now leveraging your success?
Justin Sylvester: It’s so funny that you ask that because the reason why I’ve always wanted to move to L.A. since I was 13 years old. When I was 13 years old, about two months before Christmas, I saw a GAP holiday commercial. I thought to myself, I have to move to L.A. because I have to be on like a GAP holiday commercial.
That was my dream when I was 13 years old. Every time they would come on, I would put on this cape and I would dance and I would learn the GAP holiday commercials. I would write to GAP and tell them I wanted to be in a holiday commercial. How corny was I at 13?
But, I have a degree in advertising from LSU and I really would like to be either doing something with my degree, or, my biggest goal to date is I would love to empower women, whether it’s through affordable clothing, coming up with a clothing line that’s affordable for the everyday woman with style. That’s a really big dream of mine. I think I’m going to make it happen, hopefully.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: A lot of people would love to see more of you on TV. So, I’m curious if you could guest star on any of the ABC Family dramas, which one would you like to be on?
Justin Sylvester: Girl, I already have this role picked out. I want to work on PRETTY LITTLE LIARS and I just want to work as a hot barista at the coffee shop and have one or two lines every now and then and just hang out at the coffee shop because I think it’s cool. I would like my job on Felicity whenever I was a kid. I wanted to work with Steven DeLuca and everybody.
I think if I could be the sassy black gay man that works at the coffee shop and helps the girls figure everything out-that would be like my dream role.
Kevin Mulcahy Jr.: If you could work for any family, who would your dream employer be?
Justin Sylvester: It’s so weird. Everyone asks me that question. I think I already had my dream job. Working for Kyle Richards was such an unbelievable experience. It was literally a dream come true and it was the best job to have fresh out of college. I think I had my dream job.
My second dream job I think would have to be working for Beyoncé because she traveled so much. She’s so creative and she has her hand in everything. To learn everything from her would be unbelievable.
