Glass talks to young British actor Aaron Pierre who exchanged his sprinting shoes for a career in acting to give a medal-winning performance in the acclaimed The Underground Railroad
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
Sometimes the word “destined” is used and you roll your eyes at the exaggeration of what is being described. However, Aaron Pierre’s mesmerising screen presence in the acclaimed The Underground Railroad suggests that, yes indeed, he was destined to be an actor.
Still in the early stages of his career, the 27-year-old has already acquired a handful of impressive acting credits, both in theatre and on screen, including Othello at the Globe and Sky Atlantic’s Britannia. If you take a bet on Pierre’s future success, you are more than like to be quids in.
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
But while growing up in Croydon, south London, it was not acting that he dreamt of but athletics. “As a kid I was just obsessed with track and field, particularly the 100-metre sprint,” recalls Pierre, who regarded Olympic champion sprinter Maurice Greene as his role model: “I thought he was really cool. I still do.” But around the age of 14, his passions took a distinct shift.
“My school didn’t do drama as a subject but would put on a play once every three years, and it just so happened that I was there at a time when the play was going to happen,” he explains. With the stars arguably aligning for this opportunity to arise, the small part he was given sparked a fire inside that grew more ferocious with time. “I just thought I would like to tell stories and hopefully affect positive change through doing so.”
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
After joining the Croydon Young People’s Theatre, he continued to develop his craft at drama school – LAMDA – where he became completely absorbed with the subject. “I am a nerd when it comes to theatre, film and television,” admits Pierre. “The idea of studying Shakespeare, Steinbeck, Stanislavski, Chekhov and Roy Williams – I was, like, ‘sign me up’.”
In 2018, he was picked to play the part of Cassio in Shakespeare’s Othello alongside Mark Rylance, something he can only describe as “a dream come true”.
He adds: “I learnt huge amounts from everybody. I remember when I was studying, I had a teacher who said, ‘allow yourself to be spellbound’. I never understood what he meant at first but over time I [did]. As a creative, it is important to allow yourself to be inspired because being inspired allows you to then evolve and grow, and to aspire to do more exploration of yourself and your craft. I was certainly inspired everyday by everyone that I worked with.”
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
His performance not only led him to receive an Ian Charleson Award commendation but also the attention of Academy award-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who had flown in from the States to watch Othello, in which his friend André Holland was playing the lead.
Struck by Pierre’s ability to enchant his audience, Jenkins, director of Moonlighting and If Beale St Could Talk, sent him a complimentary tweet.
“At first, I thought someone was playing a joke on me,” recalls Pierre. However, this was no joke. The next thing he knew, Jenkins was inviting him to audition for the part of Caesar in The Underground Railroad. Filming of the 10-part series began in 2019 and when it premiered on Amazon Prime in May, Oprah Winfrey was among those to sing its praises.
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
Based on the 2016 novel by Colson Whitehead, the story follows the protagonist Cora (Thuso Mbedu), who escapes a plantation in Georgia with the help of fellow slave Caesar via an underground railroad. In real life this was a series of tunnels and safehouses but in the series it is re-imagined as an actual railroad with trains. The use of magical realism here and elsewhere does not dilute the sheer brutality of what slaves experienced in the Deep South during the 19th century and there are a number of scenes that are hard to watch.
“Truthfully, every day was challenging,” says Pierre. “We are dealing with a subject matter that was a [brutal] reality for people [who were forced to labour] against their will. The way we got through this as a unit was us all having the same objective, which was to tell this story as truthfully and authentically as possible – and hopefully to honour those that went through it.”
Full of praise for Jenkins, he adds, “Barry is the epitome of a leader, of a director. Our mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing was at the forefront of his mind and he went so far as having a guidance counsellor on set at all times. I think irrespective of whether you use that service, it is just knowing that such a service is available that can calm you.”
Aaron Pierre. Photograph: Joseph Sinclair
Being a part of a project that gets to grips with the evil of slavery is something that stays with you forever, he intimates, particularly the strength of character that the enslaved required to endure it: “The magnitude of that is huge.”
And now for something completely different, this summer Pierre appears in M Night Shyamalan’s latest supernatural thriller, Old. “I have never read a horror script before and actually been frightened while reading it,” he recalls. “That was the case with Old. I was frightened.”
In the film rapid ageing means life is reduced to a single day. “Yes, it’s terrifying and makes you jump out of your seat. But at the same time, it asks really interesting questions with regards to time and perspective – how you might utilise your time differently if your life was reduced to a single day.”
Going from strength to strength with each project, Aaron Pierre is evolving into an internationally recognised actor. With the possibly destabilising effects of such exciting prospects ahead of him, I ask him what “balance”, the theme of this issue, means to him: “Balance is being grounded, balance is being earthed, balance is being measured. I think balance is empathy, it is understanding, and it is love”.
by Imogen Clark
Taken from the Summer 2021 issue of Glass Man, entitled Balance
To make sure you never miss out on a copy of Glass or Glass Man, subscribe here or here
Photographer JOSEPH SINCLAIR
Stylists EMILY SUSAN TIGHE and NASRA MOHAMED
Grooming SHUKEEL MURTAZA at THE ONLY AGENCY using HORACE and SKINCEUTICALS
Photography assistant CONNOR HARRIS
Styling assistant ANDREZZA CAPSTICK
Talent AARON PIERRE
All clothing and accessories TOD’S SS21 Men’s Collection