Nicco Annan

Nicco Annan is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and playwright best known for playing Uncle Clifford on Starz’s drama series “P-Valley.” The series, created by Katori Hall, premiered in 2020 and follows workers and customers at The Pynk, a strip club in the fictional Mississippi town of Chucalissa. Uncle Clifford owns and manages the club, balancing financial pressures, local politics, family responsibilities, and complicated relationships while protecting the dancers who work there.

Annan originated the role before the television adaptation. He performed as Uncle Clifford in Hall’s stage play “Pussy Valley,” which premiered at the Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis in 2015. That production introduced the club, its performers, and the world that later became the television series. Annan’s experience with the character helped shape Uncle Clifford’s distinctive voice, movement, clothing, and emotional contradictions on screen. The character is a nonbinary, gender-nonconforming club owner, and Annan’s performance received particular attention for presenting Uncle Clifford as both a powerful businessperson and a vulnerable individual navigating love, grief, and social hostility.

“P-Valley” centers on the lives of several women, including Mercedes, played by Brandee Evans; Autumn Night, played by Elarica Johnson; and Mississippi, played by Shannon Thornton. Uncle Clifford is not simply a supporting manager. The character is central to the club’s survival and to the series’ exploration of Black Southern identity, queer life, labor, ambition, and chosen family. The first season premiered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second season aired in 2022.

Annan’s work extends beyond television acting. He has worked in theater as a performer, choreographer, and writer, bringing dance and movement into his approach to character. His performance background is especially visible in “P-Valley,” where club scenes function as dramatic set pieces rather than decoration. The choreography, music, and physicality reveal how the dancers control their labor, negotiate danger, and construct public personas.

Through Uncle Clifford, Annan became closely associated with one of contemporary television’s most recognizable queer characters. The role also earned him major award recognition, including an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance. Rather than presenting the character through a narrow stereotype, Annan gives Uncle Clifford authority, sensuality, humor, and grief. His portrayal remains the defining work of his career and the emotional anchor of “P-Valley.”