Where are you from?
I’m from Indianapolis and a lot of my family are from Alabama and Kentucky. My outlook on life is very different from the city mentality. I still appreciate the small things, which is the key, especially in this business. If you get too focused on the job, you start to lose yourself.
Are you a Sundance virgin?
Yes. My cherry’s been popped. I’m thankful, I’m blessed, I’m overwhelmed, I’m nervous and I’m anxious.
How does it feel to be a Sundance sensation?
Sensation is such a great word. I don’t know how to describe it but when I hear it I just think: Wow. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. And it’s crazy how things come full circle. This film was brought to me three years ago and somebody else was going to be the lead, then it randomly fell into my lap, and out of nowhere I was flying to Virginia to shoot it. And the whole time on set I was like: Yo! We’re going to Sundance. And everybody was like: “Don’t say that. You’re going to jinx it.” But I said: No, I believe in this film. And in everybody that’s in it. We all had so much passion. So the fact that it’s now happening is crazy.
What’s the buzz about your movie?
Fraternities have never been viewed in this light before. They’re no different from gangs. People live, eat, breathe, sleep and die for that stuff. The whole point of a fraternity is to mentally and physically break down their members. I feel like a lot of fraternity movies have been — you know, I don’t want to say cookie cutter, but just not as deep. This film shows the hard side of it: The hazing, and how it hurts your relationships and your school work. It’s like yo, this is real, this is raw, this is what happens. It’s dope, man.
How would you describe your character?
Heartfelt, selfless, curious, strong. He’s kind of the leader of his brothers and he wants to be great so that they can be great; he wants everybody to be the best versions of themselves. He’s college student — a young man becoming a grown man. In a fraternity, you start to figure out where you stand.
Do you relate to your character?
Yes, in the sense of becoming a man and making hard decisions. He’s too busy to have a girlfriend and to make it to work and I related to that. Becoming a man — that’s one of the hardest phases of life. It’s confusing, it’s scary, it’s exciting — it’s all of these things. We started shooting when I had just turned nineteen and there was a lot going on with my music, with my relationships, with my family. I was going through a lot, but I realized that’s the beauty of this thing called life: The struggle. It’s the gray areas that matter. We have the black and white — the start and the finish — but it’s the gray area in the middle that makes it the beautiful thing that it is. People lose themselves because they’re so worried about the destination, but the joy is in the journey.
