‘It was like coming out again & again & again.’ Jussie Smollett On Empire + See His Bleu Spread! [Photos]

Jussie Smollett

Maintaining synergy between Jamal and Jussie:

When I met with the writers [of Empire], I was telling them that I’ve been able to go through the journey with Jamal. In some ways, I learn from him and he learns from me, at least in the sense of what I’m able to bring from the character. I’m bouncing back and forth with this character and it’s almost like–I’m sure this will sound a little strange from an outsider looking in– I’m having a friendship with this person who does not realistically exist. I’m almost able to have conversations with myself about the pieces of me that are all the way me, and the pieces of me that are Jamal. To find ways for these two people to bleed together has been very freeing for me. I don’t hide behind [Jamal], but he is in a place I’d like to be–-it’s scary, but it’s also freeing.

Performing “You‘re So Beautiful” with a slight twist in the lyrics–“The kind of lyrics that make a man love a man.”:

Every time I did that scene it was like coming out again and again and again. Right before shooting that scene I felt very nervous, as if somehow things would never be the same–and they weren’t, yet they were. It’s the same feeling that I had when I did Ellen. It was a little bit scary, but it was freeing. The fan response that I’ve gotten from that scene has been next level to me.

His relationship with Terrence Howard:

I have such a wonderful brotherhood with Terrence. The scenes with Terrence and I are most intense; they’re also draining. But at the same time, I trust him with my soul. I feel like our chemistry is great. He’s dope. And I have such a love and respect for him that I feel comes across in the show.

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