Jay Ellis is opening up about his acting career.
"I'm most proud of the fact that in all honesty, people who look like me connect to the characters I play," the actor said. "I'm most proud of the fact that people walk up to me, and they are pissed off at Lawrence."
"I got to be a part of The Game, which was an amazing experience," he shared. "It's one of the first shows, if not the first show, to get brought back because of the fans' support. And then coming to do Insecure, which was obviously magical and just an experience I'll never forget, I feel like I'm the luckiest kid in the world."
"One of the things we've always talked about is it's culture's place to tell us what the show means to the culture, not ours," he said. "We just wanted to tell stories that resonated with folks like us and made people feel like their story was being told. And the rest is icing on the cake."
"One of the things that was super important to me about this film was getting an opportunity to play somebody in the armed forces because it is how I grew up and it was such a huge part of my life going on and off a military base every single day,"
"We have three pillars: building a life, driving culture and hustling smarter,". "And we really wanted to lean into that hustle because I think that there is so much potential in the creative community."
"In terms of legacy, I really want us to be empowered that we are stronger together, that we really can all pour into the pot," she added of fostering creative community. "And if we don't see it, we can build it. The people will come, Jay Ellis will come, it's possible."
NEWS CREDIT - NASHIA BAKER/PEOPLE
PHOTO CREDIT - DEREK WHITE/GETTY
