Baltimore School for the Arts alumna Imani Nia Robinson is on a mission to become a “classic” in Hollywood.

The Los Angeles resident, who started acting in the third grade, has a speaking role in David Simon’s latest HBO series, “The Deuce,” which stars James Franco and explores the porn industry in New York starting in the 1970s. Robinson plays a Southern girl named Alice in the fifth episode of the show, which premieres Sept. 10.

It was the second time she worked with Simon; she appeared in an episode of “The Wire” in Season 4. “I was able to learn a lot from him and from his writing and I applied them to my own work,” she said.

— Brittany Britto