Jay Ellis, from ‘Insecure’, revisits the past and talks about his main role

The New York Times

Jay Ellis, 39, was shopping for something to eat at a bodega on a street corner in Harlem, New York, United States, when a woman wearing sunglasses and a sleeveless T-shirt approached him. “My God, I’m so happy,” she said.

It was a warm September Monday, and we were on our way on a nostalgic tour of Harlem, the neighborhood Ellis occasionally lived in in the mid-2000s when he was a model and trying to start an acting career.

After years of sporadic work, he landed a starring role in BET’s “The Game,” a drama comedy set in the world of professional football, and then became romantic partner of the lead in “Insecure” on HBO , playing Lawrence, Issa’s boyfriend, the character of Issa Rae, creator of the series.

At the end of the series’ first season, Issa betrays Lawrence. He retaliates by hinting at the possibility of a reconciliation, but ends up sleeping with a co-worker. Which means that audience attitudes towards the character – and Ellis – are very divided. (“Insecure” has recently returned for its fifth and final season.)

“I’m not your fan,” the bodega woman clarified. “That rematch wasn’t cool. But you’re a great actor.” Ellis returned the statement with his best Sunday morning smile and left the winery carrying the mineral water and unsalted chestnuts he had bought.

Tall as a skyscraper and endowed with stunning charisma, Ellis, 1.90 meters tall, was too elegant for the day’s program, dressed in jeans, a striped Comme des Garçons T-shirt, a blue jacket, and shiny new white sneakers.

The guide who would lead the Harlem tour, Neal Shoemaker, was waiting for us at the Harlem Heritage Tours office on Malcolm X Boulevard. Together, we set off on a disorderly walk through the neighborhood.

“My mom could show up at any time,” Shoemaker said as he showed Ellis the basketball court that occupies center stage at the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers housing development. Fourteen floors up, Shoemaker’s aunt was waving furiously from the window. The guide greeted her with a yell and joked, introducing Ellis as “her new nephew.”

Then they went to the African market on West 116th Street, just beyond the Masjid Malcolm Shabazz mosque, where incense clouded the late-summer air and a nearby cafe featured advertisements for men’s equipment and veggie burgers. Ellis hadn’t visited Harlem much in the past 15 years. He noticed that some of the houses had been renovated and that the police presence seemed less.

The tour continued, past Minton’s Playhouse jazz house and Marcus Harvey Park, site of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, recorded in the documentary “Summer of Soul” which Ellis had seen shortly before. He stopped outside the house where the poet Maya Angelou once lived, admiring the grassy walls.

All along the walk, fans interrupted Ellis and asked for autographs and pictures – “take a picture with me, not me,” the actor told an excited middle-aged woman who had stopped her car just to photograph him. . Friends and relatives also frequently interrupted Shoemaker, and Ellis, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and young daughter, regarded the busy urban life with some envy.

“It’s the music mecca for black culture,” said Ellis. “The style mecca. And, religiously, it’s a mecca. When I come here, I always wonder why I decided to live in LA.”

Ellis is the only child of a US Air Force family and moved to Los Angeles soon after his years in Harlem. He gave up being an actor for a while, and then decided to resume his career. An audacious move — he pretended to have been recommended by a casting director — led him to find a decent manager, and after two years of acting lessons, roles began to emerge.

None of them were as important as Lawrence, a character who struggles with the obligations that black masculinity imposes. Lawrence shouldn’t have continued to be part of the story after season one, but something about Ellis’ nuanced interpretation made him a fan favorite of the series. And one of our favorite villains.

“I always say that if people are mad at me, if they’re happy with me, if they’re sad or anything else, I’ve done my job well,” said the actor. “Even if you hate Lawrence, I will have done my job because you will have felt something. I hope people love you because I love him. But I understand if that doesn’t happen.”

And how does the game between Issa and Lawrence end? Ellis knew better than to comment. “I want them both to be happy,” he said diplomatically. “And hopefully with each other.”

He has already started his post-“Insecure” career, with a major role in “Top Gun: Maverick,” which comes out next year. (Your character’s code name? Payback [Revanche].)

He recently signed on for a role in the romantic comedy “Somebody I Used to Know,” and is one of the creators of the “Written Off” podcast, which features works by writers who served prison sentences.

Ellis followed Shoemaker through the Dapper Dan fashion studio, the Harlem Haberdashery clothing store, and the Harlem Shake, which the actor would visit for a burger after the tour. On 125th Street, he stopped to read the text at a monument to politician and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

The tour ended at the Apollo Theater, “where stars are born and legends arise,” Shoemaker said. Ellis is already a star, but continues to fantasize about performing at one of the theater’s famous freshman nights. Doing what, singing? Telling jokes? “All of this,” Ellis said with a seductive smile. “I would do all that”.

Shoemaker pointed to an unoccupied rectangle on the Apollo Walk of Fame, next to Lionel Richie’s name. “I can see the name Jay Ellis right there,” he said.

Ellis posed for pictures with a fan or two, including a teenager who recognized him from the thriller “Escape Room.” Afterwards, he and Shoemaker said their goodbyes amicably. “Thanks a lot, boss,” Ellis said, making his way back down 125th Street. “You can let your mom know I’ll show up. I’m hungry.”