Jharrel Jerome recently sat down with Complex to discuss his portrayal of Central Park Five member Korey Wise. The actor first rose to prominence for his role in the Barry Jenkins' Academy Award-winning movie, Moonlight. And now in Ava DuVernay's When They See Us, the actor offered viewers yet another compelling, raw and emotional performance which is certain to set him on the map as a talent to be on the lookout for. To note, When They See Us grasped the tragic series of events underlying the Central Park Five ordeal wherein five Black & Brown youth was wrongfully jailed for the brutal rape of a Central Park jogger. The limited series is currently available to watch on Netflix.
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During his chit-chat, Jerome spoke about embodying the role of Korey Wise and admits the role took a certain toll on his psyche: "I was getting better at it over time, and then I started shooting all the solitary scenes. That kind of put me back to square one. But yeah, you take that work home." With regards to playing Wise, he shared: "If I wanted to think about what he went through in the prison cell, I went through the script. I went through the endless, endless hours of media coverage where they're calling them animals and monsters. I went through the footage of his sitting behind that desk and lying to the police. All of that, that pain, that hurt is all there." The actor discussed his humble beginnings "hopping on the train in the Bronx" and how far along he has come since. He also discussed his future plans in acting and a lot more. You can check out the full interview here