In the very first episode of Black-ish, Dre’s son Andre Jr. reveals that for his birthday he’d like a bar mitzvah. They end up compromising with a Bro Mitzvah.

It’s an experience that Marcus Scribner, who plays the teenage son on the hit ABC sitcom, could relate to. Growing up, he went to elementary school with predominantly Jewish peers and always wondered why he couldn’t have one of those rites of passage. But the interest in one of Judaism’s biggest traditions is far from the only way that the 17-year-old actor sees himself and his own family on Black-ish. In real life, just like on the show, Marcus’s mom is half black and half white, and his dad is black. And sometimes the line between what’s on-screen and off seems like it hardly exists.

“Being on Black-ish, it’s kind of funny because when I first read the script we were like, ‘Wow, this is exactly my life,’” Marcus told Teen Vogue. “They tell the exact stories that go down in our household. Every single week it feels like they have cameras in our house because we have the same conversations.”

The show is notably important in today’s world where television continues to be predominantly white. There’s still only a number of primetime shows that center on a minority family, while there’s plenty of those out there in the real world waiting to see their reality reflected on networks. Black-ish also touches on what it means to be black today, something that Marcus’s co-star Yara Shahidi has opened up about in the past, especially considering her biracial identity. It’s something that being on the show has helped Marcus embrace as well.

“It's pretty crazy growing up being like that [biracial]. You get called named in school for speaking too properly or not being black enough. Things of that nature,” he said. “Being on Black-ish really taught me that that’s something special and to be proud of being multiracial. It’s something that’s cool and definitely, I hold dear to my heart.”

He also adds that his parents have instilled inside of him to keep his head high and staying true to himself. He’s never really thought there was a downside at all to being biracial and that he’s always considered himself to be black.

Actor Marcus Scribner, Photographed by Michael Becker, Styled by Tashiba Jones-Wilson, Grooming by Michael Duenas, E2W Collective Michael Becker

When the show first started in 2014, Marcus was 14-years-old. He’s had the experience of seeing how much he’s grown over the past couple of years in the form of television episodes. His voice is much deeper than on the pilot and he’s pretty much grown a foot since then. And while that may be an awkward thing to look back on, he thinks it’s funnier and more interesting than anything.