JE S S IE
Stylist: Tia Usher Photographer: Ramona Rosales
Simply Unstoppable INTERVIEW BY ANGEL NEAL
THE BOYS actor Jessie T.Usher spoke to us at Disrupshion Magazine about his journey and his current role as A-Train. Usher is well known as A-Train on The Boys, but is also known for his roles in Survivor's Remorse, Shaft, independence Day: Resurgence, G.I. Joe Renegades, and the upcoming series Tales of the Walking Dead.
DM: A lot of our fa vorit e v illains are ones we sy mpat hiz e wit h i n the end. A- tr a in i n a way is his own worst en e my . What wa s your approa ch for hi m star ting off as an unlikeable c harac ter in season one t o the worl d s ympat hizin g wit h him by t he e nd of s eason 2 a nd goin g in to season 3. J TU: In the beginni ng y ou saw ATr ain for who he was i n th e c i rcu mstances that he was i n but t h roughout the cou rse of th e se rie s y ou be gan to unde rs tand wh y. An d t hats the only thing th at has give n people an d opportuni ty to sympath ize wi th h im. Because t he what is the sa me . He ’ s still maki ng t err ible de c is ion s, he’s still A-Train . Ever yone is a bl e to r elate in a way the y couldn ’t be for e be cause its n ev er bee n li fe or de ath for a lot of us. But for A-Train ofte n times it is life or death . Its re ally lik e I wil l ki ll you un less y ou do th is. I wi l l de s troy you. he’s al way s fac ed aga i ns t with these i deas whe re he’s like kil l you or be ki lle d and he does wh a t h e doe s. People have be en able t o r e la te to that. Bu t n ot on ly c an pe opl e re late, now A-Train is aware he ’ s be e n making th ese bad de ci sions. The consc iousne ss of it i s goi ng to cha nge how he re acts in th e futu re .
DM: A -Train is bu r de ne d wi th an al l fa miliar ity co n u n drum of how mu ch of yo u rse lf, y our co mmu ni ty, your c are e r sh ou ld yo u sacr ifice to ge t ah ead e spe cially in a wor k co nte xt? H ow d id y o u b ring yo u r o wn e xp eri en ce s an d em ot io ns int o t he ch ara cter surrou nd in g the sacr ifices? J TU: I’ m me. I’ m me a ll d ay . I’m alway s look i n g for more wa y s to be my se lf an d im po s e my thou ghts a n d feel ing s on s o met h i ng and j ust b e a b le to bou nce th o se i deas aro und b eca use my per spe c ti ve i s t he o nly on e tha t I ha ve a n d i t s a l so a persp ectiv e tha t n o on e els e ha v e s. I ha ve to sh ar e it.
D M: A-Tr ain is rea lly go od a t f ine ssi ng his wa y i n a nd ou t of s itu a tio ns wh ic h does no t see m to b e wor ki ng fo r h im a n ymo re . In a wa y hi s a c tio ns lea d to hi s br othe r getting pa ral yze d, H o w d o we s ay A- Trai n e volv e a s so meo ne w ho i s n ot use to getti ng hi s wa y d ev el o p i n se as on 3. I think this is the first ti me he re al ize s b ein g s elfis h and pu tting his nee ds ov e r oth ers no longer w orks . Un le ss he ’s reacting in a way thats not p rem edit at e d h e doe s n ot get a c hance to talk hims e lf out of bad dec isions . Usual ly th eres alw ays a s elfles s act. At th e end of s ea s on three he has dug himse lf in a w hole a n d the res no w ay ou t of it u ntil he dec id es to put others before him.
Photo Amazon Studios
PUSHED TO NEW HEIGHTS. It's not often that these types of projects come around and the fact that I'm on THE BOYS, a show that has meaning and depth, that is a dream come true."
- Jessie T. Usher DM : T he B o ys m ir ro r our pre s en t real it ies g r ee d , p ow e r, ma n ipu lat ion an d t a ck le s i ss u es he a d o n w it h o u t s hyin g away. Wh at a r e so m e ta k ea w ays y ou w ann t t he au id en c e t o t a k ea w a y fr o m s eas on 3 ? J TU: W el l, c or po r a te c o r ru pt i on is o ne u nd er ly i n g the me t hr o ug ho u t a l o t of t he sh ow t h i s s ea so n. Yo u g et to s e e th e wa y t h a t a c o r r u p t l ea de r c a n i nfl uen ce a wor l d. T he t hi r d se a s o n r efl e c ts t he po wer of soc ial me d i a a nd by i m p lyi ng it wi th sea son 2 h ow w e s a w S t o r m fro n t wa s a bl e to bui ld an ar m y a l mo s t j u s t t h r o ug h s oc i al me dia . T h is seas o n w e a re v e r y i n yo ur fa c e wit h it . For e xam pl e, y o u ' l l se e S t ar li te r ea liz i ng she c an say so me t hi n g an d us e h e r vo i ce be c au se sh e h a s a h u n dr e d mi ll io n fol l owe rs e ct Sh e re a l ize s, I c an s ay s o m et h i n g to a ll t hese fo l lowe r s a nd i t c an i n f l ue n c e t h e wo rl d . T ha t is an u nde r r a t ed as p e c t o f r e al life t ha t peo p le a bu se all t he t i me m a ybe be c a u se th ey' ve r ea lize d j ust ho w p o w e r f ul s oc i al me d ia i s. T h er es l a ws t ha t h av e be e n ov e r tu rn ed j ust bec au se it ble w u p o n T w i t t er . So t ha t 's so m e t hin g I h ope pe opl e t ak e a w a y f r o m t he s ea so n a nd ho pe fu l we u se f o r go od a nd no t j ust e nte rt a inm e nt p u r po s e s be c au se it 's p ow e r t he re . Al s o th e sho w do e s a gr e a t jo b r e fl ec t ing t he wor l d a r ou n d us w i t h h op e s th a t it g iv es pe op le a w a k e up c a ll an d h e lp t hem t hi nk . So m uc h i n fo rm at i o n i n a n d out of o ur h ea d s ea c h e pi s o de .
D M : H e re we a r e i n S e a s o n 3 a nd A - T ra i n i s re b ui ld i n g h i s r e p r e s e n ta t i o n w i t h V o u ght, r o ck i n g a ne wl y d e s ig ne d s up er s u i t i n s pi red b y h is A fr i ca n A m e r ic a n he r i ta ge a n d a s o ng p l us a m u s i c vi de o fo r F a s t e r . Wh a t i ns p i r ed a l l t he s e n e w t h i ng s fo r A - tr a i n? JT U: I j u st th i n k th e de s ir e to be r el ev en t to b e h on est w i th y ou . He l ook ed u p on e da y an d h is w h o le i d en tit y i s g on e. L ik e h e i s A Tra in t h e f a st es t m a n a l iv e th a ts l ik e w h o h e is an d al l of a s u d de n n ow h e c a n 't ru n . S o h e th i n k s I am n o l on g e r w h o I th o u g h t I w a s. S o w h o i s A - Tra i n . He' s i n a d es pe rat e a tte m pt t o f i n d h i s i den ti ty , so h e 's t ryi n g mu si c , h e' s try i n g to b e m or e c u lt u ra l an d t ap i n to h i s roots an d aw a re o f w h a t h e sa ys . Bu t i ts n ot w h at h e w a n ts , h e r e al l y w a n ts t o h a v e a n i d e nt i ty . He' s d es p era te l y l oo ki n g f or a w a y t o d o th at.
USHER'S THOUGHTS ON THE OVERALL TAKEAWAY FROM THE BOYS SERIES This Show has depth. This show has meaning. We do a lot of really creative, innovative, wild, crazy stuff and that's fun but its not as important as the messages and what we say.