PITTSBURGH — Russell Hornsby met August Wilson in 1995 as a senior at Boston University. The late playwright and Hill District native brought his then-new play "Seven Guitars" to a nearby theater and took an interest in Hornsby, one of the few Black aspiring actors at BU.
Two years later, Hornsby was cast as Youngblood in an off-Broadway production of "Jitney" and began bonding with Wilson over the fact his father also grew up in the Hill District. The young actor was simply "enamored with his wisdom."
"It was more of that Obi-Wan/Luke Skywalker kind of relationship," he told the Post-Gazette. "He's very quiet and matter-of-fact in what he says and how he says it to you."
