Given the outstanding performances and critical acclaim of When They See Us, its five young stars are guaranteed to be five of the most in-demand actors in the industry right now.
One, in particular, Jharrel Jerome is receiving red hot buzz heading into Emmys season. His performance, as well as the series as a whole, is sure to remain heavy in the minds of viewers with When They See Us’ release date of May 31 coinciding with the final day of Emmy eligibility.
Here’s more on the five actors (who spoke to Shadow And Act shortly before the series premiere), what they’ve been in and what’s up next on their schedule as of June 4, 2019:
Asante Blackk
When They See Us happens to be the first on-screen credit for the young scene stealer. The true newcomer, who is the nephew of actress Samira Wiley, was found through the nationwide casting call for the five. DuVernay says she “plucked” Blackk out of a school play in Baltimore. Recently graduating from high school right before the release of the series, we’re absolutely sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of the young actor given his performance in the miniseries.
Caleel Harris
Harris has many credits, dating back to almost a decade when he had a recurring role opposite Jada Pinkett Smith in Hawthorne. From 2015-2018 he was a series regular, voicing characters in the Nickelodeon animated series Blaze and the Monster Machines and The Loud House. Last year, he appeared on the big screen as one of the young leads in Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and he recurred on Hulu’s Stephen King anthology series, Castle Rock, opposite Andre Holland. His older brother, Curtis Harris, was also a child actor on Nickelodeon and currently recurs on L.A.’s Finest starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.
Ethan Herisse
Herisse has appeared in several television shows, including an appearance on Key and Peele back in 2014. He has a role in the upcoming film Miss Virginia, which stars Vanessa Williams, Uzo Aduba, Niles Fitch and his When They See Us co-star, Aunjanue Ellis.
Jharrel Jerome
While Jerome may be known primarily for his supporting role in Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Jerome has been constantly booked in the last few years leading up to When They See Us. In 2017, he started his role as a series regular on the Audience Network’s Stephen King series, Mr. Mercedes. Last year, he co-starred in the Netflix film, First Match and appeared in the buzzy Sundance title, Selah and the Spades. Later this year for the big screen, he’ll also appear in All Rise, the adaptation of Walter Dean Myers’ Monster.
Marquis Rodriguez
Like Harris, Rodriguez has several credits over the past decade, from Law & Order: SVU back in 2007, to most recently, an episode of NBC’s Manifest. He had a supporting role in last year’s LGBT musical-fantasy drama film, Saturday Church, which also starred Pose‘s Indya Moore and MJ Rodriguez. This fall, he’ll be taping the Game of Thrones prequel pilot with Naomi Watts and Naomi Ackie.
When They See Us is streaming on Netflix now.
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Photo: Monica Schipper / Getty for Netflix, Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty for Netflix
