Jermaine Crawford: Youngest In Charge
The Columbus Dispatch aptly observed of the teenage thesbian portraying the devastatingly impoverished and horribly introverted Duquan Dukie Weems on HBOs critically-acclaimed drama The Wire, You see Jermaine Crawford disappear within Dukie. You cant see him anymore.
Playing arguably the most challenging child role on arguably the most important show on television, Jermaine Crawford is unarguably the most talented young actor to grace the small screen thus far in the 21st century.
Performing since the age of three, the multi-talented vocalist, writer and actor is no novice. Crawford has already spent over ten years of his young life honing his craft as an entertainer: performing in the theater, winning numerous talent competitions throughout his native D.C. area, and making his way onto the big screen (via supporting roles in Explicit Ills and the forthcoming Boys of Pigs).
Now with the fifth, and final, season of The Wire underway, HipHopDX caught up with the national spokesman for The Urban Youth Racing School and youth advocate and ambassador for the Anti-Defamation League to discuss his foray into filmmaking, the development of his singing careerand a little something about his current gig.
HipHopDX: Before we get to your theater career and your upcoming movie, lets get the most important question out of the way firstin which episode this season does Omar get murked? And is it Michael who kills him?
Jermaine Crawford: UmmI have no idea. I have absolutely no idea whatchu talking about.
DX: [Laughs]. Okay, well I know youre sworn to secrecy with regards to how this final season of The Wire plays out. So let me ask you a totally off-topic question, do you like boxing?
JC: Yeah, I like boxing. Actually, Im trying to start taking boxing [lessons] up at one of the local community centers soon.
DX: Oh, you are? You know Cutty teaches youngns how to scrap in his gym?
JC: Yeah, but that ya know [Laughs]. They had a boxing teacher on the set for a little bit, but that was just for the choreography that we had to learn for that episode. It wasnt like we were learning the actual techniques and stuff.
DX: Hmm, alright, now youre messing with me. You cant give me anything, nothing? [Laughs].
JC: Well, I can tell you that this is probably gonna be the best season. For the first two episodes its gonna be more of David Simon laying down the foundation of whats gonna come later on in the season. Like, a lot of people saying, Whats up with the press [angle]? Hes just really laying the foundation. But by [episode] three, everythings gonna be on and poppin.
DX: Okay, alright, well Ill stop pressin you to give up the goods.
JC: No, its okay. Its definitely okay. I get it a lot.
DX: I do have a few more Wire-related questions. First, I understand your parents wouldnt let you watch the show before you were cast for Season 4?
JC: Yeah, the show is a little raw. I auditioned for the show when I was twelve-years-old and so I wouldve been eleven before that, and yeah, my parents werent having it.
DX: But you can watch them scenes with McNulty and all that now? [Laughs].
JC: Oh, of course! Im almost sixteen.
DX: Now your character on The Wire, Dukie, is ridiculed by his classmates for not being able to cleanse himself, but just for the record, you, Jermaine Crawford, do bathe? You aint method acting are you?
JC: I bathe, twice a day. I brush my teeth and wash my face. A lot of people dont really understand that what they see on TV is entertainment. But I guess a lot of people think that sometimes The Wire is a documentary. But yeah, me and Dukie, were totally the opposite. I mean, theres a couple of things that we share in common, as far as our characteristics, but were opposite from each other.
DX: I understand that youre making a movie about kids living in similar circumstances to that of Dukies?
JC: Im writing and producing this documentary called Teenage and Homeless, and its pretty much an expose of the reality of teenage homelessness, how all of this is going on in Americas backyard and nobodys doing nothing about it. Hopefully, much like what David Simon is doing, showing the reality, the pain and the grittiness of it, [will lead to] people taking charge and doing something about these catastrophic circumstances.
DX: Do you have anything in place yet; is that project gonna happen?
JC: Oh its for sure gonna happen. Were still writing stuff because its such an intricate documentary to put together, so theres a lot of things that need to be done. We have to make sure we get the facts. We have to get the footage. Theres a lot of stuff that needs to be broken down before we can actually start recording. Like, moreso the taping is like the final Well, other than the editing, the taping is like the final touch. But its getting the production together, and getting a strong team together, thats really gonna be the hard part.
DX: And obviously The Wire was Im sure the catalyst for this, but were there any other motivations for wanting to do that type of documentary?
JC: Well, The Wire would be my only motivation because when we were filming on the set we would actually film where the drug corners would be. We would be coming around drug addicts and drug dealers and actual homeless people. So, interacting with that [environment] it just opens your eyes and inspires you to really do something. You wanna make a change any way you can.
DX: I read that this kinship you have with your character almost never happened, you almost became Michael not Dukie?
JC: I auditioned for Michael twice. And then they told me to audition for Dukie. And to be honest, I think that everything happens for a reason. I feel that this is my reason. God knew exactly what he was doing when he redirected me to Dukie, cause he knew that if I was redirected to Dukie then this documentary would come into hand. So everything just kinda fell in place.
DX: But that coulda been you in the Roc Boys video.
JC: [Laughs] Yeah, thats hot, but ya know Tristan [Wilds, who plays Michael Lee on The Wire] is my cousin, so Im happy for him. Im always rooting for the guy.
DX: You mean cousin literally?
JC: Yeah, literally my cousin. And we didnt find that out until after we started filming. So yeah, thats family right there. I gotta support my family.
DX: Hes your first cousin?
JC: Hes actually my second cousin. His aunt married my uncle, something like that. So were second cousins. But were so close thats all we really needed. We were like, Okay, were second cousins, its official.
DX: Well, Tristan got to be in a music video but I understand that youre trying to get your own singing career?
JC: Singing was my first passion before I started acting. I mean, acting came in with the singing because I was doing plays and stuff. And I love acting as well, but singing is really what started me off. So I cant wait to start my singing career.
DX: Are you currently shopping for a record deal?
JC: Well, my thing is, this is such a busy time for me right now, trying to get this documentary under wraps. Im writing my own movie, so the singing thing, its not put on the backburner but Im gonna at least complete this documentary before I really start shopping for a record deal. But right now Im trying to get the management crew together, and undergoing vocal practice so I prepare myself for when the opportunity does come.
DX: You got an idea of what kind of music you wanna make?
JC: I really love old school music, so I kinda wanna do like a R&B [sound mixed] with Pop, and Soul with Pop. Theres not really anybody out there thats doing it, youre either like really slow, or youre really fast. So I wanna be able to mesh the two together and put a real soulful voice behind poppier beats, almost like a renewed Jackie Wilson or James Brown.
DX: Now you got some competition, you know Maestro Harrell [who plays Randy Wagstaff on The Wire] already has a deal with Def Jam. So is Dukie gonna be battling it out with Randy on the charts?
JC: Nah, Dukies not gonna be battling Randy on the charts. I mean, you never know whats gonna happen. I think that people might try to make some type of competition out of it, but were just two friends. If its any type of competition its just gonna be a friendly one. Were not bumping heads or anything, thats like family as well.
DX: You must be a pretty good vocalist, I read that you played Michael Jackson before?
JC: Yeah. [Laughs]. Thats real funny that you actually brought that up. When I was eight-years-old there was this play happening at one of the community centers and I played Michael Jackson. And then after playing Michael Jackson I loved his music so much I was going around D.C. doing talent shows performing [as] Michael Jackson. But I can definitely no longer do those songs, because Michael Jackson when he was young was like a soprano. Ive definitely went through puberty and everything, so I cant handle that.
DX: Yeah, I noticed that on the show, youre like 67 now or something, aint you?
JC: Yeah, a lot of people have mentioned that too. I started off probably around 55/56 and now Im 62. When I started off I was twelve going on 13, and right now Im 15 going on 16.
DX: Nobodys gonna be harassing Dukie no more. [Laughs].
JC: [Laughs] I mean, hopefully not. Youll just have to wait and see.
DX: Aww man, alright, we mentioned your portrayal of Michael Jackson, so lets talk a little bit more about your theater roots. Explain to me how you went from doing Shakespeare to doing The Wire?
JC: Well, I was doing a lot of theater, musicals, and what I noticed is a lot of your better actors come from the theater. So I consider my theater days as like my training days, every night performing and doing Shakespeare. But the transition came in when I made the decision that I wanted to start doing film. Then around that same time The Wire audition came. All the things that Ive learned from the stage I just applied to that character, and here I am today. I just continue to try and sharpen my craft.
DX: Are you planning on going back; are we gonna see Jermaine Crawford on Broadway?
JC: I think that further on in my career I will go back to theater. And I would love to do Broadway. I mean, thats where I come from. So you can definitely look forward to that later on down the road.
DX: Lets speak on your more immediate acting plans, after this final season of The Wire wraps I understand that youre gonna be up on the big screen in a movie about J.F.K.?
JC: Actually, theyre still shopping the movie around to different [studios] to see who will pick it up, but Im sure that it will be out before 2010. Its about this affair that this woman has with John F. Kennedy. Its a really nice drama, and its kind of a love story. Its almost like a mystery also.
DX: Who do you play in the film?
JC: Well, the woman, she has a next-door neighbor who is this boy who always stalks and harasses her in the beginning. But I play one of the little boys who bullies this guy every time he comes to school, and always beats him up, and always gets him into trouble. So Im the schools bad boy.
DX: Thats definitely gonna be a different light for people who watch The Wire to see you in. Are you making a conscious effort not to be typecast as Dukie with your future roles?
JC: Oh, definitely! I dont think that I would necessarily be typecast as the introverted character because I feel that I can be a versatile actor. Theres so many things that I can do. Im actually kinda thankful that The Wire showed my characters versatility, in this season in particular. So later on in the season youll definitely see a new side of Duquan.
DX: The murderer!
JC: Not the murderer. [Laughs] Maybe the murderer, you gotta watch. But youre definitely gonna see a new side of my character, not just the quiet person that was in the back of the classroom. Youre definitely gonna hear Dukies voice.
DX: Do you know if youre gonna be a part of the post-Wire show that David Simons doing for HBO set in New Orleans?
JC: Im not gonna be in that one, but I actually understand that Ed Burns and David Simon also just created this new project called Generation Homicide. So everybody needs to check that one out, its about to come out on HBO as well.
DX: But youre not gonna be a part of that?
JC: Nah, the storyline doesnt really affiliate with my age range.
DX: Youre 15, youve got your whole career ahead of you, but how great is it to already have a credit like The Wire under your belt?
JC: Its awesome, man. Its truly a blessing and I just thank God for it everyday. I mean, its so amazing that I really cant describe it into words, but I just thank God for what hes blessed me with, the opportunity to use the medium to be a voice for people that dont have a voice.
DX: And my final question for you is a simple oneis Avon playin Marlo or is he really gonna form a Westside union? [Laughs]. Cmon, man!
JC: [Laughs]. You gotta wait and see. Theres definitely gonna be some surprises this season. Just expect the unexpected.
DX: What happens if one of yall violates that contract? They take you and throw you off a bridge or something? [Laughs]
JC: No, but lets just say HBO has really good attorneys. So Im staying faithful to that contract and aint saying nothing.
Playing arguably the most challenging child role on arguably the most important show on television, Jermaine Crawford is unarguably the most talented young actor to grace the small screen thus far in the 21st century.
Performing since the age of three, the multi-talented vocalist, writer and actor is no novice. Crawford has already spent over ten years of his young life honing his craft as an entertainer: performing in the theater, winning numerous talent competitions throughout his native D.C. area, and making his way onto the big screen (via supporting roles in Explicit Ills and the forthcoming Boys of Pigs).
Now with the fifth, and final, season of The Wire underway, HipHopDX caught up with the national spokesman for The Urban Youth Racing School and youth advocate and ambassador for the Anti-Defamation League to discuss his foray into filmmaking, the development of his singing careerand a little something about his current gig.
HipHopDX: Before we get to your theater career and your upcoming movie, lets get the most important question out of the way firstin which episode this season does Omar get murked? And is it Michael who kills him?
Jermaine Crawford: UmmI have no idea. I have absolutely no idea whatchu talking about.
DX: [Laughs]. Okay, well I know youre sworn to secrecy with regards to how this final season of The Wire plays out. So let me ask you a totally off-topic question, do you like boxing?
JC: Yeah, I like boxing. Actually, Im trying to start taking boxing [lessons] up at one of the local community centers soon.
DX: Oh, you are? You know Cutty teaches youngns how to scrap in his gym?
JC: Yeah, but that ya know [Laughs]. They had a boxing teacher on the set for a little bit, but that was just for the choreography that we had to learn for that episode. It wasnt like we were learning the actual techniques and stuff.
DX: Hmm, alright, now youre messing with me. You cant give me anything, nothing? [Laughs].
JC: Well, I can tell you that this is probably gonna be the best season. For the first two episodes its gonna be more of David Simon laying down the foundation of whats gonna come later on in the season. Like, a lot of people saying, Whats up with the press [angle]? Hes just really laying the foundation. But by [episode] three, everythings gonna be on and poppin.
DX: Okay, alright, well Ill stop pressin you to give up the goods.
JC: No, its okay. Its definitely okay. I get it a lot.
DX: I do have a few more Wire-related questions. First, I understand your parents wouldnt let you watch the show before you were cast for Season 4?
JC: Yeah, the show is a little raw. I auditioned for the show when I was twelve-years-old and so I wouldve been eleven before that, and yeah, my parents werent having it.
DX: But you can watch them scenes with McNulty and all that now? [Laughs].
JC: Oh, of course! Im almost sixteen.
DX: Now your character on The Wire, Dukie, is ridiculed by his classmates for not being able to cleanse himself, but just for the record, you, Jermaine Crawford, do bathe? You aint method acting are you?
JC: I bathe, twice a day. I brush my teeth and wash my face. A lot of people dont really understand that what they see on TV is entertainment. But I guess a lot of people think that sometimes The Wire is a documentary. But yeah, me and Dukie, were totally the opposite. I mean, theres a couple of things that we share in common, as far as our characteristics, but were opposite from each other.
DX: I understand that youre making a movie about kids living in similar circumstances to that of Dukies?
JC: Im writing and producing this documentary called Teenage and Homeless, and its pretty much an expose of the reality of teenage homelessness, how all of this is going on in Americas backyard and nobodys doing nothing about it. Hopefully, much like what David Simon is doing, showing the reality, the pain and the grittiness of it, [will lead to] people taking charge and doing something about these catastrophic circumstances.
DX: Do you have anything in place yet; is that project gonna happen?
JC: Oh its for sure gonna happen. Were still writing stuff because its such an intricate documentary to put together, so theres a lot of things that need to be done. We have to make sure we get the facts. We have to get the footage. Theres a lot of stuff that needs to be broken down before we can actually start recording. Like, moreso the taping is like the final Well, other than the editing, the taping is like the final touch. But its getting the production together, and getting a strong team together, thats really gonna be the hard part.
DX: And obviously The Wire was Im sure the catalyst for this, but were there any other motivations for wanting to do that type of documentary?
JC: Well, The Wire would be my only motivation because when we were filming on the set we would actually film where the drug corners would be. We would be coming around drug addicts and drug dealers and actual homeless people. So, interacting with that [environment] it just opens your eyes and inspires you to really do something. You wanna make a change any way you can.
DX: I read that this kinship you have with your character almost never happened, you almost became Michael not Dukie?
JC: I auditioned for Michael twice. And then they told me to audition for Dukie. And to be honest, I think that everything happens for a reason. I feel that this is my reason. God knew exactly what he was doing when he redirected me to Dukie, cause he knew that if I was redirected to Dukie then this documentary would come into hand. So everything just kinda fell in place.
DX: But that coulda been you in the Roc Boys video.
JC: [Laughs] Yeah, thats hot, but ya know Tristan [Wilds, who plays Michael Lee on The Wire] is my cousin, so Im happy for him. Im always rooting for the guy.
DX: You mean cousin literally?
JC: Yeah, literally my cousin. And we didnt find that out until after we started filming. So yeah, thats family right there. I gotta support my family.
DX: Hes your first cousin?
JC: Hes actually my second cousin. His aunt married my uncle, something like that. So were second cousins. But were so close thats all we really needed. We were like, Okay, were second cousins, its official.
DX: Well, Tristan got to be in a music video but I understand that youre trying to get your own singing career?
JC: Singing was my first passion before I started acting. I mean, acting came in with the singing because I was doing plays and stuff. And I love acting as well, but singing is really what started me off. So I cant wait to start my singing career.
DX: Are you currently shopping for a record deal?
JC: Well, my thing is, this is such a busy time for me right now, trying to get this documentary under wraps. Im writing my own movie, so the singing thing, its not put on the backburner but Im gonna at least complete this documentary before I really start shopping for a record deal. But right now Im trying to get the management crew together, and undergoing vocal practice so I prepare myself for when the opportunity does come.
DX: You got an idea of what kind of music you wanna make?
JC: I really love old school music, so I kinda wanna do like a R&B [sound mixed] with Pop, and Soul with Pop. Theres not really anybody out there thats doing it, youre either like really slow, or youre really fast. So I wanna be able to mesh the two together and put a real soulful voice behind poppier beats, almost like a renewed Jackie Wilson or James Brown.
DX: Now you got some competition, you know Maestro Harrell [who plays Randy Wagstaff on The Wire] already has a deal with Def Jam. So is Dukie gonna be battling it out with Randy on the charts?
JC: Nah, Dukies not gonna be battling Randy on the charts. I mean, you never know whats gonna happen. I think that people might try to make some type of competition out of it, but were just two friends. If its any type of competition its just gonna be a friendly one. Were not bumping heads or anything, thats like family as well.
DX: You must be a pretty good vocalist, I read that you played Michael Jackson before?
JC: Yeah. [Laughs]. Thats real funny that you actually brought that up. When I was eight-years-old there was this play happening at one of the community centers and I played Michael Jackson. And then after playing Michael Jackson I loved his music so much I was going around D.C. doing talent shows performing [as] Michael Jackson. But I can definitely no longer do those songs, because Michael Jackson when he was young was like a soprano. Ive definitely went through puberty and everything, so I cant handle that.
DX: Yeah, I noticed that on the show, youre like 67 now or something, aint you?
JC: Yeah, a lot of people have mentioned that too. I started off probably around 55/56 and now Im 62. When I started off I was twelve going on 13, and right now Im 15 going on 16.
DX: Nobodys gonna be harassing Dukie no more. [Laughs].
JC: [Laughs] I mean, hopefully not. Youll just have to wait and see.
DX: Aww man, alright, we mentioned your portrayal of Michael Jackson, so lets talk a little bit more about your theater roots. Explain to me how you went from doing Shakespeare to doing The Wire?
JC: Well, I was doing a lot of theater, musicals, and what I noticed is a lot of your better actors come from the theater. So I consider my theater days as like my training days, every night performing and doing Shakespeare. But the transition came in when I made the decision that I wanted to start doing film. Then around that same time The Wire audition came. All the things that Ive learned from the stage I just applied to that character, and here I am today. I just continue to try and sharpen my craft.
DX: Are you planning on going back; are we gonna see Jermaine Crawford on Broadway?
JC: I think that further on in my career I will go back to theater. And I would love to do Broadway. I mean, thats where I come from. So you can definitely look forward to that later on down the road.
DX: Lets speak on your more immediate acting plans, after this final season of The Wire wraps I understand that youre gonna be up on the big screen in a movie about J.F.K.?
JC: Actually, theyre still shopping the movie around to different [studios] to see who will pick it up, but Im sure that it will be out before 2010. Its about this affair that this woman has with John F. Kennedy. Its a really nice drama, and its kind of a love story. Its almost like a mystery also.
DX: Who do you play in the film?
JC: Well, the woman, she has a next-door neighbor who is this boy who always stalks and harasses her in the beginning. But I play one of the little boys who bullies this guy every time he comes to school, and always beats him up, and always gets him into trouble. So Im the schools bad boy.
DX: Thats definitely gonna be a different light for people who watch The Wire to see you in. Are you making a conscious effort not to be typecast as Dukie with your future roles?
JC: Oh, definitely! I dont think that I would necessarily be typecast as the introverted character because I feel that I can be a versatile actor. Theres so many things that I can do. Im actually kinda thankful that The Wire showed my characters versatility, in this season in particular. So later on in the season youll definitely see a new side of Duquan.
DX: The murderer!
JC: Not the murderer. [Laughs] Maybe the murderer, you gotta watch. But youre definitely gonna see a new side of my character, not just the quiet person that was in the back of the classroom. Youre definitely gonna hear Dukies voice.
DX: Do you know if youre gonna be a part of the post-Wire show that David Simons doing for HBO set in New Orleans?
JC: Im not gonna be in that one, but I actually understand that Ed Burns and David Simon also just created this new project called Generation Homicide. So everybody needs to check that one out, its about to come out on HBO as well.
DX: But youre not gonna be a part of that?
JC: Nah, the storyline doesnt really affiliate with my age range.
DX: Youre 15, youve got your whole career ahead of you, but how great is it to already have a credit like The Wire under your belt?
JC: Its awesome, man. Its truly a blessing and I just thank God for it everyday. I mean, its so amazing that I really cant describe it into words, but I just thank God for what hes blessed me with, the opportunity to use the medium to be a voice for people that dont have a voice.
DX: And my final question for you is a simple oneis Avon playin Marlo or is he really gonna form a Westside union? [Laughs]. Cmon, man!
JC: [Laughs]. You gotta wait and see. Theres definitely gonna be some surprises this season. Just expect the unexpected.
DX: What happens if one of yall violates that contract? They take you and throw you off a bridge or something? [Laughs]
JC: No, but lets just say HBO has really good attorneys. So Im staying faithful to that contract and aint saying nothing.
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