'America's Big Deal' Host Scott Evans Talks About His Career and His Latest Deal With NBCUniversal

From the first gig to the height of his career, Access Daily and America's Big Deal TV host Scott Evans shares his inspiring story with The Quintessential Gentleman.

Third grade was the first time Evans experienced the thrill of being in front of a camera, all thanks to his older sister Stacy who booked his first gig for the NBA home games with the Pacers. In the player intro video, Evans portrayed a young Reggie Miller pitted against a young Larry Bird. Inspired and encouraged by his mother and sister, he continued to pursue his passion for television. Working with the NBA was just the beginning, he later joined a youth development after-school program with video production for teens. Evans and his fellow students started a TV show called 360 Degrees, where they interviewed celebrities and shared stories relevant to viewers their age. All the content was directed and produced by young people and aired on the MTV 2 affiliate.

In his adult life, he never forgot the importance of mentorship. In 2014, Evans and a group of friends created a youth development non-profit in Indianapolis with the sole purpose of exposing young people to life-changing opportunities. In addition to developing a non-profit, Evans became an anchor at Channel One News. But after four years, he was ready to move on. He sent a tape to the then executive producer of Access Hollywood, Rob Silverstein, and was offered a job days later.

Like many others during COVID, Evans developed a creative outlet for communicating when meeting in person was no longer possible. He created the So Close podcast to share uplifting stories of when celebrities had difficult times in their lives.

"We were trying to figure out how to get a show on the air every day that people would care about, or that would give them a break from the news of the day," he explains. "Bad news is mood-altering. "

For Evans, the most rewarding aspect of his career as a TV journalist is having a comfortable connection with interviewees, which allows them to be their authentic selves.

"When I first started working for Access Hollywood, my first interview was an exclusive with Taylor Swift. It was supposed to be a six to seven-minute interview, and we ended up talking closer to 20 minutes," he said. "She talked about things that she'd never said publicly before. And when we finished the interview, she grabbed me by the hand and said, 'I'm so sorry. Did you get what you needed? I didn't even realize that we were really in the interview. That was so much fun.' And her publicist called a coworker of mine afterward and said, 'Anytime you ever want to do something with Taylor, he's our guy.' And I'm pretty sure it was the reason why I got the job."

Being African American in the industry, Evans was the first and youngest encore host and emcee for the Pacers. He was also the first African American host of Access Daily, which was then Access Hollywood Live. Recognizing the importance of these milestones, Evans sought to change the narrative in a way he felt would be impactful. Changing the style of his hair seemed like a good place to start. With the hope of conveying a message of non-conformity, self-acceptance, and cultural inclusion, he chose to wear his hair in locks.

Evans has chatted with numerous famous and influential people throughout his career, but a few stand apart amongst the crowd.

"I'm going to tell you this, Oprah Winfrey will always give you a moment," he recalls. "She will always deliver. She's worked in TV long enough to know the reason why we all are there. And she does it in her sleep. She can make a moment in her sleep. The Rock and Kevin Hart are two individuals who always deliver in a big way, and also remember that my mom is such a big fan of them, so they always ask about her. And genuinely, the last time we were together, they both argued about who was considered more my family than the other."

America's Big Deal is his latest venture as a host, and he agreed to share some insight on the show.

"So we're actually on air now every Thursday at 9:00 pm ET on USA Network," he said. "It's the first shoppable live competition series. But it takes some of the best elements of shows you have seen before in the entrepreneurship spirit. And then the opportunity to pitch your product live to America and the viewer gets to buy the product in real-time. That purchase equals kind of like a vote, so to speak. It's the entrepreneur with the most in sales that get's the opportunity to stand in front of this incredible retail panel with titans like Lowe's, Macy's, QVC and HSN. So there's a deal worth at least $100,000 done every show. So far, every show has had a deal, well over that. The last show we did was a $200,000 deal on top of what they sold during their live pitch."

Aside from hosting America's Big Deal, he is embarking on a new opportunity with Universal, Comcast, [and] NBC Universal.

"I'm really excited about being able to tell the stories of people who have still been unheard, who still feel unheard or unseen," he stated. "And to have been granted this opportunity as a kind of a window."

Make sure to follow Scott Evans on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest happenings.

Photo Credit: George Starbuck/NBC