At only 16-years-old, Jalyn Hall has amassed a truly impressive resume. He has portrayed some of history’s most iconic Black figures: Emmett Till and Martin Luther King, Jr. Currently, the breakout star is starring in the new Disney+ series, The Crossover, as basketball phenom, Josh “Filthy” Bell. The teen sat down to talk with GMA‘s Michael Strahan about the his career, the significance of portraying such iconic individuals, and more.
“It’s an honor. It’s really crucial and important to me and, like I said, an honor to bridge that gap between the youth and the history of it all,” Hall told Michael Strahan on the award-winning morning show. “With Till being a prime example, a lot of us, that’s the younger generation, didn’t know the story, or at least the entirety of it.”
Hall continued, “I was blessed to have a mother who instilled so many life changing lessons into me, and she let me know the initial kind of gist of what it was. But going deep diving into the project, I got to learn in depth. The same with MLK. You get to see him as a teenager, a young adult who is still learning his ideals, still figuring out who he was. A lot of times, we can forget that these historical figures weren’t always these historical figures. So I’m really honored to be able to show the sides of that.”
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In addition to speaking to the former NFL player turned GMA anchor about his historical roles, the teen also spoke about his new series, The Crossover.
If you remember, Hall spoke exclusively to BCKOnline about this new series as well, and this is what he had to say about his character when asked, how different or similar is Filthy to his real personality.
“Let’s be honest here. We have some similarities surrounding our age, our family, and our challenges, Hall commented. “Filthy is in high school, he loves his family, and he is a family man with a dream!”
In the interview, Hall also praised his co-star, Amir O’Neil, who portrays his brother in the series, saying that, the pair have “fun” on set.
“I get to work with someone I can have fun with. Many times, on the projects I work on, I’m the youngest in the room. It’s great to have an opportunity to work with people who are the same age as myself! We talk about the same thing, we’re interested in the same activities, and it’s just an all-around great experience.”
In our exclusive with O’Neil as well, he conquers, stating that Hall is his “best friend.”
Make sure to catch The Crossover, streaming now on Disney+. According to his official IMDb page, we know that Jalyn has various projects pending. We cannot wait to see each and every one!
Photo Credit(s)/Featured Image: Jalyn Hall Instagram; Amir/Amari O’Neil Instagram; @motherofjalynhall
