All eyes are on Hillman heartthrob, Cornell Young IV, who sent A Different World viewers spiraling into swoonlivion over his ’90s fineness currently fueling hilarious thirst tweets, memes, fan edits, and more across the internet.
The 26-year old star (who portrays 5-star football recruit and lover boy Shaquille Johnson) trended immediately after his epic introduction on the hit sequel series which skyrocketed to #2 on Netflix’s global TV chart.
“I was like, ‘I need this. I know this is mine,’” said Young about the role in an interview with TUDUM. “I know how Shaquille is. I know how he moves. I know this dude. A lot of this character was living in my life for a long time.”
Young, who is one of seven children, grew up in St. Louis with a love for movies and sports which eventually lead to him playing football at McKendree University as a wide receiver.
It’s there where he connected with theater to break up the monotony of his marketing courses.
“I was real-life Troy Bolton,” he continued, referencing the High School Musical character who is torn between sports and performing. “How Troy would leave basketball practice and go to rehearsal? I was doing that. I had my football buddies pull up to my plays. They were sitting in the front row trying to make me laugh.”
Fast-forward to 2026 where he’s starring on Netflix’s buzzy A Different World revival as a star athlete juggling his complicated somethingship with fellow freshman Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), heated QB competition, and his grief over his late mother, whose dying wish sent him to Hillman.
“A Different World has always been one of my favorite shows,” said Young. “So, it was early 2024, and I was binge-watching, like, ‘Yo, we need a show like this again.’ And literally three months later, the news was like, ‘A Different World is coming back.’ I was like, ‘What? I need that, that’s me.’ I literally prayed to God about it.”
“When the breakdowns came out, I learned about Shaquille’s character. So when my agent was like, ‘All right, who do you want to audition for?’ I said, ‘Shaquille. I want Shaquille. There is nobody else.’”
At the time, he probably didn’t foresee viewers spiraling into an endless TIZZY over his now-viral scenes that continue to propel the series into one of social media’s biggest trending topics.
Are you rooting for Shaquille and Deborah to be together? Will you be going back and watching his other projects? Would you want to see a Cornell and Aaron Pierre team-up in the near future? Tell us down below and peep the heart-eyed hysteria over Cornell Young IV on the flip.
