You might’ve seen Catfish Jean on Survivor’s Remorse, the LeBron James-produced Starz basketball drama. But he’s just getting started. During a conversation with Blavity, we covered a range of topics that can only come from a truly natural conversation.
After talking to him, I’m sure you’re going to be hearing his name in Hollywood for years to come. There will be details about his life that the public becomes privy to, because that’s what we demand from our stars. But here are some things that Hollywood might not tell you:
He & his brother used to watch Spider-Man on Saturday mornings.
It’s one of his fondest memories. As the resident black nerd, I clung to this common ground as the through line during our talk. Catfish is of Hatian descent. He told me they “had a different lifestyle…learning two languages in the household, it was great man.” So the fact that the two of us, from completely different walks of life could relate to a young Peter Parker was so fascinating to me.
Jean loves being a part of the Survivor’s Remorse family.
We spoke about his character on the show, and we both had the same point of view. Catfish’s role is like the Turtle of Entourage. He said that much of what the character’s job is plays as “a joke to the family.” But that’s far from the relationship he has with his co-stars. He told me, “working with RonReaco Lee, Teyonah Paris, Tichina, they all took me in. The first episode was like, ‘Yo, you’re family. You’re gonna be in the family. So, we gotta treat you as family.'”
But he doesn’t want to be the sports dude.
We spoke about several other roles that he’d been cast in more recently, specifically a pilot he did called Halftime. Catfish plays a football player and the show is a comedy about the interpersonal relationships between teammates, staff and other personnel during halftime. He said, “Comedy comes to me easy, but I like shows like Quantico, sci-fi shows, but I always get the athlete role. I guess because of my stature and my size. But I’m a very dramatic actor.”
There aren’t enough black people represented in sci-fi, so I instantly got excited. I basically asked him to pitch me his dream sci-fi role over the phone, and he did. “I am a such an analytical person. And I always want to know what people are thinking. So either [a character] to know what people are thinking, or a sci-fi character that could change the world.”
This got me even more interested. He continued, “I know that’s asking for much, but every superhero has a power…I want to be a superhero that changes the world.” So, then I got extra nerdy and started talking about molecular make up, shifting atoms and telekinetic powers. But the main gist of it is, “like Professor X.”
Catfish has a successful tech startup.
We talked about his company, Mobile First. They started out building an app for content creators to house and monetize their work without a middle man, but were met with a lot of cold feet. “Everybody always wants to be second, no one wants to be first,” he said.
But what they decided to do with the infrastructure that they’d already built is the real genius. Mobile First went to networks and studios instead – a built their first app for WGN’s Underground. “It seems like the studios understand having their own space, monetizing, and aggregating all their videos to keep everybody in one space. Underground was the first show to give us a shot, and we’re also doing their second season.” He told me that Aldis Hodge (Noah on Underground), who is a partner in the company, was very instrumental in opening the door for the deal to be made. Catfish hopes that the work they’re doing with the show will lead to content spaces for all of WGN’s other shows as well as the same kind of deal with other studios.
And finally, the one thing Catfish Jean wants you to remember about him is…
“I’m a giver. I love to give. It was something instilled in me as a kid.”
Keep up with Catfish by following him on Twitter @CatfishJean.
