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Ernest Kingsley Jr. is grateful that Hulu’s Washington Black offered him the chance not only to share the screen with Sterling K. Brown — but to be mentored by him as well.
During an exclusive interview, Us Weekly mentioned to Brown, 49, how much his costars praised him for the support he provided on set. Kingsley Jr., for his part, shared his own experience getting to work with Brown after admiring his work.
“First of all, I feel like I kind of dragged Sterling into being a mentor. I just kind of asked him so many questions, like, ‘Hey man, how are you doing? It’s 1:00 a.m. but I need your help,'” Kingsley Jr., who plays adult Wash, joked to Us while discussing the show, which premiered on Wednesday, July 23. “It was natural, to be honest. It was naturally built.”
Kingsley Jr. pointed out how Brown “operates with vulnerability in such a powerful way,” adding, “Sterling operates with a sense of power, and he encourages and incites it in you. It is this sense of, if you open up to that [kind of vulnerability yourself] then it will be held and cared for and loved. I feel like he spread that out across multiple cast members and across the crew.”
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He continued: “Just his presence was a mentorship and getting to see him every day. It was a blessing and a gift to have him on set. Also, just to have him in my life. Now he can’t get rid of me.”
Brown, meanwhile, attempted to play off the praise, quipping, “I paid them all. That’s really the bottom line of the whole thing. I walked their dogs when they needed me to. I do special favors so they say nice things about him.”
Based on Us‘ other interviews with the Washington Black cast, the confidence in Brown as a costar and executive producer was universal. Iola Evans recalled how Brown was “very generous with his time and energy” on set.
“For someone who’s got a lot on his plate to be very, very open and who encourages openness, that is really nice for actors and was always very, very positive,” she shared. “He really leads with positivity and on a set. When you’re on really long days, I think energy is really important. So you are really grateful to have someone who’s a really great spirit.”
Disney/Chris ReardonEdward Bluemel felt the same way.
“There was an aura of safety around him and of confidence. He’s so experienced and obviously so well known,” Bluemel, 32, noted.”But he’s ultimately incredibly positive and kind. When you’re at the top of a production like that, I think having that attitude really rubs off on everyone around you.”
Based on Esi Edugyan‘s novel of the same name, Washington Blake partnered Brown up with Selwyn Seyfu Hinds on a TV adaptation following George Washington Black (Eddie Karanja and Kingsley Jr.) through past and present timelines as he is raised under the shadow of slavery before catching the attention of the sugar plantation owner’s brother.
A young Washington is recruited to help the owner’s brother, leading to an adventure around the world. Washington in present day goes by Wash and lives in Nova Scotia, where he is taken under the wing of town leader Medwin Harris (Brown).
“Sterling is an amazing actor. He’s an amazing producer as well. He knows how to get the best performance out of an actor. Him being an actor himself and him being at such a high level really helped to elevate us performance wise a lot,” Karanja, 16, gushed to Us. “Sterling taught me to take my time as an actor. There’s no rush if you don’t need to think about getting it perfect. Sterling is a very zen guy. I really did get that vibe from him — and it’s infectious.”
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In addition to expanding Medwin’s role in the show to allow Us to spend more time with Brown, Washington Black also highlighted Kingsley Jr.’s breakout performance. The actor’s scene-stealing presence as adult Wash allowed him to elevate material he was very passionate about.
“The book sets an amazing foundation for the creativity and the hero’s journey. Where the show leads on from that is you have a much more explorative, innocent and fantastical element to the show. It kind of builds upon what’s already been put down in the book,” he teased to Us. “It’s epic, it’s wondrous and you definitely get to see more characters fleshed out as well. You get to really see character relationships develop more and how those characters influence Wash’s life and his journey to seek that life of freedom.”
Kingsley Jr. is thrilled that audiences are finally getting to see Washington Black.
“There were definitely times where I was in my room thinking, ‘Man, when is this show going to come out?’ But I’m also overwhelmed with gratitude and just the excitement of introducing this project to the world,” he added. “So many hands were poured into this and so many passions are poured into this. Just being able to see that work and take pride in it, this is a huge thing for me.”
Washington Black is currently streaming on Hulu.
English (US) ·