'He was on a list of someone who could play a kid and he was on a list of being able to play a man. And his auditions for both were stellar.' -Ava DuVernay on casting Jharrel Jerome for WhenTheySeeUs Emmys
in October 2016, one month before he was elected President of the United States. “The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same.
But when I decided to firmly root the story in the men’s voices and their stories as boys and their families, all of the rest of that fell away. When you prioritize them, he becomes a lesser part. The pain of having your child ripped from you, of being the child ripped out of his youth, of the taunts as you’re walking into the courtroom, of the threats to the family — all of that.
But it always came back to the men and then their families. Over a four-year period, it was just exhaustive. Interviews, but sometimes just spending time. Lunches, dinners, just getting to know them. Sometimes it’s the little things more than just the core stories. Jerome was the only one who portrayed his character all the way through. What went into that decision?
But it really came to be perfect because he has his own bottle episode, his own part — the finale episode is his episode. So it really served for a seamless transition from boy to man within the final part of the piece. And he was adept at playing both and did it beautifully.Well, I always knew that Korey was going to have his own part.Because when I first met Korey, within 15 minutes he said, “There is no Central Park Five, it’s four plus one.” And I never forgot that.
DuVernay and Caleel Harris, who portrays a young Antron McCray, on set. Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix
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