Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's drama film Moonlight (2016) and for portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019). He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries for the latter.
Early life
Jerome was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Born to a Dominican mother and a Haitian father, he identifies as Afro-Latino. He grew up in a close-knit family with parents whom he described as "loving". His mother suggested he pursue acting when he was in eighth grade, after which he joined the Riverdale Children's Theatre, a local youth theater organization. He attended and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and commuted to Manhattan each day by train.
Career
Shortly after Jerome enrolled as an undergraduate at Ithaca College, he was cast in his first professional acting role in the 2016 independent film Moonlight, as young Kevin. A.O. Scott wrote in The New York Times that he was "excellent" in the role. Director Barry Jenkins said about Jerome, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "When you watch Jharrel in that movie, he's not a guy who's been over-rehearsing. That's a dude learning by doing. It's amazing."
Since 2017, Jerome has appeared in the Audience series Mr. Mercedes. He auditioned for the role of young Korey Wise in the 2019 Netflix miniseries When They See Us, based on the Central Park jogger case. After his audition the series' director, Ava DuVernay, asked him to read the lines for adult Korey Wise, and he was subsequently cast in both roles. Jerome grew close to Wise throughout filming, and said in a Los Angeles Times interview, "He's my brother now. I look up to him. I look up to his courage. He's taught me so much on how to be strong."
Music
On September 24, 2020, Jerome released his debut single "For Real", featuring Bronx rapper Kemba and produced by duo Take a Daytrip. The song was released with a music video directed by Spence Hord. Jerome followed up on August 25, 2022, with "Someone I'm Not", which came with a music video following a day in Jerome's life at home, on a film set, and in a recording studio.
His third single, "Chinatown", was released on May 1, 2023, with a lyric video and the announcement of an upcoming project called Someone I'm Not set for a 2023 release. On August 23, Jerome posted a video on his Instagram of him including a snippet of a new song and announced Rap Pack, set for an August 30 release by Sony Music. Rap Pack is the first part of Someone I'm Not, which will be released as a four-part series.
Jerome's musical style has been compared to early career Kendrick Lamar.
