Jharrel Jerome

Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997)[2] is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's acclaimed drama film Moonlight (2016), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and for portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019).[3] For the latter, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries.

Jharrel Jerome
Jerome in May 2019
Born	(1997-10-09) October 9, 1997 New York City, U.S.
Education	Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School[1]
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2016–present

Life and career

Jerome was born in 1997 and raised in the Bronx, New York.[4][5] He is of Dominican descent and identifies as Afro-Latino.[5] He grew up in a close-knit family with parents who he described as "loving".[6] His mother suggested he pursue acting when he was in eighth grade, after which he joined the Riverdale Children's Theatre, a local youth theatre organization. He attended and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and commuted to Manhattan each day by train.[1][4]

Shortly after Jerome enrolled as an undergraduate at Ithaca College, he was cast in his first professional acting role in the 2016 independent film Moonlight, as young Kevin.[3] A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times that he was "excellent" in the role.[7] Director Barry Jenkins said about Jerome, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "When you watch Jharrel in that movie, he’s not a guy who’s been over-rehearsing. That’s a dude learning by doing. It’s amazing.”[3]

Since 2017, Jerome has appeared in the Audience series Mr. Mercedes.[5] He auditioned for the role of young Korey Wise in the 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us, based on the Central Park jogger case.[4] After his audition the series' director, Ava DuVernay, asked him to read the lines for adult Korey Wise, and he was subsequently cast in both roles.[4] Jerome grew close to Wise throughout filming, and said in a Los Angeles Times interview, "He's my brother now. I look up to him. I look up to his courage. He's taught me so much on how to be strong.”[3]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Her Coloring Book	Artist	Short film
	Wheels	Narrator	Short film
	Moonlight	Teen Kevin	Austin Film Critics Association Special Honorary Award for Best Ensemble Gotham Special Jury Award – Ensemble Performance Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated–Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2018	All Rise	Osvaldo
	First Match	Omari	Credited as Jharrel A. Jerome
2019	Selah and the Spades	Maxxie
	Robu	Rob	Short film
2020	Concrete Cowboys	TBA	Post-production

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Tales	Deacon	Episode: "Children's Story"
2017–present	Mr. Mercedes	Jerome Robinson	Main role
2019	When They See Us	Korey Wise	Lead role Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2019	Live in Front of a Studio Audience	Jimmy Pearson	Episode: “All in the Family and Good Times”[8]

Accolades

Jerome and his Moonlight co-star, Ashton Sanders, won the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Kiss.[9]

Jerome won the 2019 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie category for his role in When They See Us.[10] He is the first Afro-Latino actor to win an Emmy for acting.[11] He also won in 2020 at the 10th Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries for When They See Us.

Jerome was placed on BET's "Future 40" list, which is a list of "40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young, gifted & black".[12] Time listed Jerome on their first annual TIME 100 Next list, which is a list of 100 rising stars.[13]

References

1. Venable, Malcolm (June 5, 2019). "When They See Us' Jharrel Jerome Is As Blown Away By His Performance As the Rest of Us". TV Guide. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
2. Srivideo. "Jharrel Jerome". Information Portal :: Srivideo. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
3. Villarreal, Yvonne. "After breaking out in 'Moonlight,' Jharrel Jerome channels the horrors of the Central Park Five case". latimes.com. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
4. Herzog, Kenny. "How Moonlight's Jharrel Jerome Found Himself in Ava DuVernay's When They See Us". www.vulture.com. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
5. Bergado, Gabe. "Jharrel Jerome Says Depicting One of the Central Park Five Was the Hardest Thing He's Ever Done". Teen Vogue. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
6. "'Moonlight's Jharrel Jerome Talks Playing A Queer Man As A Straight Latino". Vibe. February 16, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
7. Scott, A. O. (October 20, 2016). "'Moonlight': Is This the Year's Best Movie?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
8. Schwartz, Ryan (December 12, 2019). "Live Good Times Cast: Viola Davis, Andre Braugher, Tiffany Haddish, Jharrel Jerome and 3 Others". TVLine.
9. "Moonlight's Ashton Sanders & Jharrel Jerome Win Best Kiss". E! Online. May 7, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
10. Whitten, Sarah. "Emmys 2019: The complete list of nominees for the 71st annual TV awards show". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
11. Ruiz-Grossman, Sarah (September 24, 2019). "Jharrel Jerome Makes History As First Afro-Latino To Win Emmy For Acting". HuffPost.
12. "BET DIGITAL CELEBRATES BLACK EXCELLENCE WITH NEW ORIGINAL EDITORIAL SERIES". Chicago Defender. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
13. "Camila Cabello and More Stars Among 2019 TIME 100 Next Honorees". E! Online. November 13, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2020.

External links

• Official Instagram
• Jharrel Jerome on IMDb