‘Babylon’ Star Jovan Adepo on the Blockbuster New Movie
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“Babylon” is absolutely the kind of movie one should see in theaters. At more than three hours long, it’s a commitment, yes, but one that feels like a perfect escape to cap off the year.
Jovan Adepo joins the main cast of Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva and Lil Jun Li (with cameos from many famous faces along the way) in Damien Chazelle’s new feature, which releases on Dec. 23 and follows the ups and downs of the film industry in 1920s Hollywood. Adepo portrays Sidney Palmer, a jazz musician who plays some of the industry’s big parties but then eventually gets his moment in the spotlight in films.
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Adepo calls in from Los Angeles, having dropped his Border terrier off at day care in order to get some errands done in between press commitments, to chat about the new movie and working with the star-studded cast.
WWD: How did you get cast in this film?
Jovan Adepo: It was through the normal ranks of auditioning. I saw it in my email [in 2019] and even before I even read the script, it just said Damien Chazelle and I was like, “Yes. I’m in there. Whatever I can do, I’m in there.”
Originally they sent me the full script and then my audition sides and I sent a tape in and I hadn’t heard back because of the pandemic really becoming a severe issue. So I was just like, “Oh, maybe they went elsewhere or they just weren’t going to cast me in the project. It wasn’t for me.” But then after the 2020 Emmys, my agent told me that Damien wanted to give me a call. So he called me when I was at the grocery store that November and he was just like, “Yeah man, I want you to do this film. I’d love for you to be a part.” And before he even got that full sentence out, I was like, “Yes. Do it. I’m ready.”
WWD: What about Sidney grabbed you as a character?
J.A.: His journey. I think he is a representation of a collective of people, of Black artists in that early time of entertainment who were really just trying to survive. I think that this was a shift in entertainment where a lot of these musicians were finding themselves earning opportunities to become stars, like proper stars. It was a really interesting time, a really fresh time, and Sidney was representing someone who was day by day just playing gigs and trying to make ends meet. And then he finds himself in this position where his lifestyle drastically changes seemingly overnight. And so it was really cool to get to play a fictional pioneer of the era that’s based on an homage to a collection of people who paved the way for Black entertainers, such as myself, to be able to work and to be successful.
WWD: Who are some of the people from that time that you based him on?
J.A.: Early on, Damien mentioned Curtis Mosby as an early influence, and then he allowed me to pick and choose from a lot of different people. I remember when I accepted the role, Damien and I had spent two hours on the phone just talking about jazz music and what we love about the genre. So I was really lucky that Damien wasn’t married to me performing Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis or Curtis Mosby. He was like, “We had a conversation and then you pick and choose what feels useful to you as long as you can perform full and sincere and truthful. If it’s truthful to you, then that’s a sweet spot.” So I had a bit of a luxury where I could just take what I needed and just really enjoyed playing Sidney without too many constrictions.
WWD: What have been some of your other favorite films this year?
J.A.: You know what, I have to catch up on a lot of the films. I would say the last one that I saw that really stuck with me was “Till.” Danielle Deadwyler is a close friend of mine, and her performance is brilliant, but that’s not a shock to me because she’s been amazing for years, since I’ve known her. And so I’m just happy that she’s getting the type of attention that she deserves and that her talent deserves. I want to see “The Whale.” I worked with Darren Aronofsky on “Mother” a few years ago, but I’m a huge fan of his outside of that. I haven’t seen “Tar” yet, but I want to see that.
WWD: Any New Year’s resolutions?
J.A.: I don’t know, maybe get in better shape? I think that’s a normal resolution. This year is going to be my year. As far as anything deeper I can’t think of one because I try to stay on it for most of the year. I mean just everything, my studying, my work ethic, everything. I try to keep it at a level where I don’t need to fix it in the next year.
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