21 Questions: Chris Jarell on Acting in Atlanta and WuTang Television Series
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Questions and Photographs by Cassell Ferere. Transcribed by Jaclyn Burday.
Being a comedian and entertainer is a journey long a hard fought. Chris Jarell knows the beaten path and that undefeated feeling is what is keeping him in the fight to success. He is currently acting in Wu Tang: An American Saga, and has appeared in the hit show Atlanta. He recently sat down with us for 21 questions of unfiltered conversation. He gives us insight to his journey and to what he has planned for the unassuming comedy world when it comes to fashion.
1. Where are you from?
"Man, that’s a hard question. I was born in Chester at Crozer Chester Hospital. Raised in Philly. I moved to a small town outside of Harrisburg called um Stilton then I ended up back in Philly and now in New York. So I’m a P-A kid.”
2. Philly born and bred?
"Well, Chester isn't really Philadelphia. It’s like outside Philadelphia. Chester used to be cooler than Philadelphia back in the day. People used to come from Philadelphia to shop in Chester. Chester was always the wave."
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3. Does this make you feel that your city comes second to Philadelphia?
“I feel like that’s strategic.”
4. What do you mean?
“I think every 20 years a community over-changes. Like every 20 years, a hood will become gentrified and the gentrified areas become the hood. Like, they flip.”
5. Whose music are you into right now?
"I like Joey Badass’s music."
6. When did you realize that you wanted to act and/or do comedy?
“I started with comedy first, I had just moved back to Media, PA with my dad - I was always funny! I was working at a supermarket and a coworker said that I was funny and suggested I should do comedy. It was never a real thought; I didn’t even know you could “do comedy” as a regular person. They said Wanda Sykes comes in here and I was like, ‘Imma make her laugh this is my moment …. and she laughed!’ I told her this joke, I was working at Acme and I said “What are you doing shopping in here, shouldn’t you be shopping at some rich people store like Whole Foods?” So then, I asked her if I should try comedy and she said “Yes, you have the charisma”.”
7. Did she tell you anything worth sharing?
"She told me how she used to sneak Dave Chappell into clubs at 14.“
8. What was your experience in embarking on this journey as a comedian?
"Then I researched open mics and I’ve been building ever since. I've had a very well versed life. I’m not just a pigeon-holed type of dude. I was always told I was a disruptive kid, from bible study to class to football [practice] meetings. I’ve been in the hood; I’ve been in the suburbs and places where it is split down the middle. I've seen all walks of life. I have enough past and history to mesh it all together. I'm working on hosting now and getting my skills sharp. I've decided to like, immerse myself in nothing but comedy because I’ve been doing acting for so long and I’ve kind of neglected comedy."
9. What is your daily grind like?
"Even though, obviously it’s been natural since I’ve been young, and I kind of just want to do comedy all day. I want to work on my hosting skills and my quick chops from morning tonight. So, that’s my hustle and then all the way up into the night time working on my stand up. I want to give my 29th year all of my attention to comedy so that way when I transition into 30, Lord willing, I'm going to be hitting the ground running. So that way for every year that I've neglected comedy I want to make up this year. Not that I have to force it all down in one package but, I’m committed to comedy. I married her this year, for sure."
10. How do you feel about certain trends today?
“Well, those bags that the guys have around their chests, like in skate culture? I'm not mad at that. I'm really open to a lot of different fashion but the babushka. I actually wouldn't care if that went away. You know what I want to see come back versus subtracted? As a comic, I haven't seen anyone consistently be on their suit game, in a while, like the King of Comedy, Steve Harvey. I wore a peach pink suit for my last comedy show. My man came in the all-black looking like Wesley Snipes. He had a chain on he looked like Nino Brown — I saw me and him and I had the vision and I was like - I want to bring back that suit culture, that tailored suit culture.”
11. How do you feel about certain trends today?
“As a young dude I think that would be a hot look and it would be crazy if people started catching on to it. Like people started walking around in suits like it was the 60’s again or something like that. Like they were just chillin’ on the block with suits like Frank Lucas type of shit - and Malcolm X.”
12. What is it like for you to get on stage, especially for something where your appearance really matters? Does it add to your confidence? Does it add to your comedy?
“For me yes, it adds to my comedy. Because I'm old school, I have an old soul and a lot of comics are not really fashionable. Like you'll see Louis CK get on stage in jeans and a t-shirt and tennis sneakers, basic but rip the house down of course!”
13. Whose style stands out to you on the comedy stage?
“People like Kevin Hart, Cat Williams, and DL Hugley. People like that really keep the fashion thing going. I see them being on stage keeping fashion alive to a certain degree.
14. Do you think fashion can be a strength in performing comedy?
"You can't be too fashionable, as a comic, because you don't want people to be paying more attention to your suit then to your jokes. Like if you have a distracting outfit, people are going to be more worried about your outfit for the first like 5 minutes and that's the crucial time to establish you’re funny.”
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15. What was it like style-wise working on the Wu-Tang series?
“It was crazy because they cut my hair. Like, they gave me a Gumby [haircut].”
16. So you were really transcending the era?
“They gave me a Gumby. I had a step; I looked like [TuPac] from Juice.”
17. What was the overall reaction?
“It was crazy because Dave East came into my trailer before my set and he was like "O you got that good Gumby”! We were roasting for a while. RZA came in all cameoed-out with the bucket. He had overalls on, it was really a 90's vibe and I can't wait to see that. I love doing period pieces. I also did Atlanta and my episode was based on the 60's so they had me in a fro and a daddy cane look. I also did the 90's in The Breaks on VH1.”
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18. Which one of those style periods is your favorite?
“I mean it just depends on where I'm going and how I’m feeling. My style is a mood ring. How I’m feeling is how I’m dressing. Like, if I'm going out I’ll throw on some nice dress-up but if I’m just chilling walking the street coming to meet y’all it might be my Tims [Timberland boots] and a tank top.”
19. How do you define your style?
“My style is diverse and a mood ring. So, how I’m feeling is how I’m dressing through and through. Because as an actor I’ve learned how you dress is how your character comes out.”
20. How does dressing for the part essentially work for acting specifically?
“So, you’ll be feeling like if I just got out of the gym and I’m pissed off like you may see me come dressed like Pac. If I'm going out to a night club, I might have my shirt open and I might have it open all the way down to the naval because I’m feeling like Prince out this bitch. So, literally, my style is a mood ring so, however, you see me is how you can approach me.”
21. Where can we find you?
“My name is Chris Jarell. You can find me in the new show called Wu-Tang: An American Saga the first episode of Wu-Tan Clan. My character's name is Oren, the drug-dealing friend of Shotgun a.k.a. Method Man and friend of RZA and Ghostface Killah.”
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