'Empire' star Trai Byers on the importance of his upcoming film 'The 24th': 'It's our history'

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'Empire' star leads timely new film 'The 24th'

Trai Byers co-wrote and stars in new historical drama 'The 24th' based on the true story of a deadly 1917 race riot in Houston.

Trai Byers is moving on from "Empire."

The 37-year-old actor stars in "The 24th," a drama inspired by the racial tension in 1917 Houston, which culminated in a deadly riot.

"First of all, it's our history. Like it or not, it's our history," the actor told Fox News of bringing the story to the big screen. "One of the many stories in our history that isn't told. This year, it's 103 years old ... I think it's always important to know the history."

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In fact, Byers said that a lot of the issues surrounding race that are addressed in the film are "still alive and well."

"It felt like, in terms of who we are now and what we experienced then, it doesn't feel like a big gap," he explained. "It feels very in-touch, very visceral and ... very relevant."

Now, the actor, who also co-wrote and produced the picture, said he's hoping the movie will "spark conversation."

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"With films like this, it's my hope that we become curious, we become curious about ourselves, we become curious about our history and we let our history inform our identity," Byers said.

Now that he's completed his work on "The 24th" and "Empire," Byers said he's setting his sights on staying in the movie business.

Trai Byers, known for his role in 'Empire,' now stars in 'The 24th,' which he produced and co-wrote. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

"I love film, I've always loved film. It's always been my passion," he said, explaining that he feels "called to" tell stories about "identity and honor."

"I'm looking forward to continuing to tell those stories on whatever platform, but I prefer film," said Byers.

As far as "Empire" goes, the actor said he thought it ended "responsibly," despite coming to a close earlier than expected due to shutdowns spurred by the spread of coronavirus.

Plus, he thinks the show's ending did a good job teeing up a spin-off starring Taraji P. Henson.

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"I"m super happy for her," he gushed. "It's so cool that she's an executive producer on [the spinoff] as well. She worked so hard in 'Empire' and was, let's just be honest, the reason people watched the show."

"The 24th" is set to be released on VOD on Friday.

Fox News' Ashley Dvorkin contributed to this report