Anthony Anderson and “Mother Doris” Hancox Bowman had their respective passports stamped across Europe on the show Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris. The star and his (scene-stealing) mom spent six weeks venturing through some of the most beautiful destinations in England, France and Italy. Their memorable vacation began in London with a sightseeing tour and a catwalk walk during African Fashion Week.
From there, they checked off their bucket list experiences in cities like Paris and Venice. And along the way the two enjoyed luxurious accommodations, wining and dining, shopping and cultural immersion. Not a bad gig. Ahead of the finale, we caught up with Anderson about how he celebrated Mama Doris and where the final stop in Rome will take him. He also offers his thoughts and insights on the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike.
(Note: Since Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris is a reality show, not part of the SAG-AFTRA strike.)
What kind of feedback have you received about the show?
Anthony Anderson: The feedback I received was very discouraging. I keep telling myself that my mother is the star of the show. That I have to start riding it and get my own career and my own job. People really enjoy the show and what they see between me and my mom and this relationship. More importantly, he just enjoys my mom, and rightly so, as she is the star that she is.
What did you learn about mom Doris and yourself from this trip?
I found out that my mother is old. She is a young woman in her 70s. She is also a 70-year-old woman. Just stuck in her tracks. What I really learned from this trip is that you only live once. My mother is getting up there in age. It’s moments like these that add years to our lives and give us moments and things to cherish. Growing up as a child, you have those moments and then you become a young adult and live in the world and live your life, which takes you away from the family nest. Those intimate relationships. Then you come back together like on a six-week vacation, just you and your mom free and without fancy, throwing caution to the wind, which really adds to this chapter in both of our lives.
There is a touching moment when you make shoes for your mother in Italy. I felt there was some symbolism there.
My mother gave me everything I needed and wanted as a child. For me to be in the position I am now, I can give him everything he wants and needs. Seeing his son grow up and thrive thanks in part to the faith he had. It was very symbolic. Mom won those shoes on the spot. I was shooting at the market in rural London. I really didn’t lose. She just won. It was a full circle moment. My mom wears a size 13. We were the same shoe size. As a child, my mother had to special order her shoes. He couldn’t just go somewhere.
Half the time it wouldn’t fit well because her foot was so wide. I used to lay out her shoes for her. So to top it off, it was moving to have these shoes handmade especially for her. You delivering those shoes in front of the camera was a great thing. I’m telling you right now. He didn’t wear those shoes though. Almost a whole year has passed. He didn’t wear them once.
Shane Sinclair/E! Entertainment
Are they displayed in the house because she is so proud to have them?
They’re in the box they came in, Scott! They are probably in the corner of a room somewhere and not on display in a box!
There are some stops that, as a viewer, can be a son’s worst nightmare when it comes to their mother. Like when you create art together using a nude male model for inspiration. You were a good sport.
My mother put me in situations and positions many times growing up. Sitting back and painting a nude model with my mom was interesting because my mom hadn’t been with a man in 11 years. So for her to be so close to a naked man, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Sharing those experiences and having fun. Just doing things outside the box. Outside of her norm. We all become complacent in our daily lives. I thought, “Mom, let’s take this trip and do something we don’t normally do.” This is what I learned about my mother. She is very set in her ways and really open to a lot of new things. She felt that she was living her life in a certain way and that is how she is living it now. She doesn’t want to break the norm. This trip showed him that it’s okay to go left when everyone else goes right. It’s fine.
So she is ready for more trips.
Mom wants to take the show to Rio De Janeiro and go to the Carnival. I don’t know why, but mom wants to see naked people and be half naked herself. Her trip is to fly but stop in Amsterdam so she can smoke a must in a cafe and eat a space cake and then hang out with the ladies who work in the Red Light District. Then from there they fly to Carnival in Rio. That’s on her itinerary. I don’t know how we’re going to fill the other five weeks.
What can you tease about the final episode?
We will end it in a vineyard in Italy. What my mother didn’t know through this course, I was making this migration to this vineyard in Italy because I was developing this wine for her as a surprise. I will reveal them in this final episode. The wine is called Dolce Mama. He likes sweet wine, so I developed that and that was the whole process.
Can we expect more mother-son projects?
We watch podcasts together, talk shows, multiple game shows together, and multiple seasons of this show together. The list goes on. We’re really interested in building this mother-son band together and enjoying it and having fun entertaining not only people but ourselves.
Photo: Ernesto Ruscio/E! Entertainment
This comes in the middle SAG-AFTRA strike. Having been in the industry for so long, are you surprised at how things have turned out?
I’m surprised how things turned out, but it’s about time. Things need to be reset and balanced. We must hold each other accountable. We need to hold producers accountable just as they hold us accountable. We have to find a happy medium. Some things haven’t changed in 40 years. You can imagine that 40 years ago our industry and lifestyle were completely different. They ask us to give back certain things, but inflation keeps hitting us over the head. So how can we turn around when the cost of living continues to rise? You are asking us to reduce our salaries.
It’s all about artificial intelligence and us as animators protecting our image and getting compensated. Me being and looking like me when the studio can take advantage of that in the way this technology is moving. He applauds the way we’re moving forward technologically, but there have to be parameters and moves so that everyone involved is protected. Not just a group of people who control it and get the lion’s share of everything.
Some people believe that this could end in the fall, while others predict that this could end by next year. What is your perspective?
I hope it doesn’t take a year. There is a small percentage of actors who make a living. I happen to be one of them. Most everyone in our union has regular jobs and besides being an actor. People depend on our union and this industry to make a living. It has to be right. I hope cooler heads prevail and we are able to sit together at the table without getting upset or put off and meet in the middle. Compromise on both ends for the betterment of today and what tomorrow might bring as well.
Actors and writers are not trying to be greedy. We just want a fair contract. Something that is fair and just. What I would really like to see is negotiations in a public forum… Not necessarily about numbers, but just information to see what is happening in real time as opposed to dissemination and speculation. I want us to watch these negotiations unfold so that we can move forward together.
Trippin’ with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris season finale, July 27, 10/9c, E!