At 8 years old, Marsai Martin was very familiar with the self-tape audition process: Set up the lighting, position your camera horizontally, follow the instructions, recite the lines and mail in your tape. Then her agent at the time suggested Martin and her family move from Texas to Los Angeles.

Black-ish was one of the first auditions I did when I moved here. It was such a nerve-wracking experience, Martin said. I think that was the first thing that I realized took me kind of far, like I got multiple callbacks for it. I was like, Wait, this could be a thing. This could actually happen.

Less than an hour after her final callback, Martin received official news that she had been cast as Diane Marie Johnson.

I wasnt even home yet. My mom was driving and they called us. Thats when we found out the news, and I was just so hype. We went to [BJs Restaurant & Brewery] after and ate all the Pizookies, laughed Martin.