Joseph David-Jones may not be a household name yet, but with the roles he’s taking on he’s sure to be.
Fans of Nashville will recognize him as Clayton Carter, but the actor also appeared in this year’s Detroit and is set to star opposite Denzel Washington in Roman Israel, Esq.
ESSENCE recently spoke to the rising star, who dished on superhero roles, allyship, and meeting Denzel for the first time. Here are five things to know abou Joseph David-Jones.
1. He’s played Green Arrow on The CW’s Legends of Tomorrow, but there’s another superhero he’d like to portray…
“If I didn’t play Green Arrow? Blade. I feel like eventually they’re going to reboot the Blade saga. I mean, hopefully, it’s at an age where I’m a little bit older. But I want to play that, a strong black superhero. They already have Black Panther so I can’t be him.”
2. He still keeps in touch with his Detroit castmates.
“I think just in general going through it with a group of people just like you brought about such a camaraderie between us. We formed such a close bond with each other, we still talk and stay in touch and we all have this group chat going on to this day.”
3. On what he hopes viewers take away from Detroit.
“I feel like it’s more about education and community. We want people to be brought together, we want people to know about these stories, and to have these sort of stories that have been covered up learned by people, our allies, our friends.
4. He thinks now would be the perfect time for Men of Granite, which is currently being developed.
“It’s a story about a basketball team of immigrants, who overcome so many things. It’s such an uplifting story and we could use that right now with everything that’s going on.”
5. On meeting Denzel Washington.
“It was crazy just working with someone like Denzel, it was one of the top five days of my life when we sat down at that table read and I got to meet him. It was crazy. Watching him work was like being in the best masterclass you could ever be in.”