Jharrel Jerome (born October 9, 1997) is an American actor. He is best
known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's acclaimed drama film Moonlight
(2016), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and for
portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They
See Us (2019). For the latter, 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.Jerome
was born in 1997 and raised in the Bronx, New York. He is of Dominican
descent and identifies as Afro-Latino. He grew up in a close-knit
family with parents who 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 theatre organization.
He attended and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and
commuted to Manhattan each day by train.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.â€
known for appearing in Barry Jenkins's acclaimed drama film Moonlight
(2016), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and for
portraying Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay's Netflix miniseries When They
See Us (2019). For the latter, 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.Jerome
was born in 1997 and raised in the Bronx, New York. He is of Dominican
descent and identifies as Afro-Latino. He grew up in a close-knit
family with parents who 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 theatre organization.
He attended and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and
commuted to Manhattan each day by train.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.â€
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