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sunglasses. James Oro
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boots. H&M
sunglasses. James Oro
They say to ‘hit the ground running’, but Ernest Kingsley Jr. was already at pace before his feet touched the tracks. Before graduating from drama school, Ernest booked his first lead role in the new drama miniseries ‘Washington Black’, acting alongside Sterling K. Brown and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. With quiet intensity, Ernest brings to life the story of George Washington “Wash” Black — a story about identity, resilience, and the power of dreaming beyond your reality.
In conversation with Schön!, Ernest Kingsley Junior speaks with the same emotional clarity he brings to the screen, and it’s clear this is only the beginning.
So this is your first lead role, playing George Washington Black, and a huge one at that. What went through your mind when you found out you got this role?
Yeah, it was crazy. I remember exactly where I was. I was on the train home after doing a play at The Royal Court Theatre. My agent called me, and I guess what it felt like — it’s not going to make sense — but it felt like pins and needles all over my body. The audition process was back-to-back callbacks and chemistry reads. When I got the call, it just felt like I was entering a new kind of state. It was surreal. It was crazy.
Like shivers down your spine, congratulations! What was your first emotional reaction when you either read the script or the novel?
I read the novel first, and was really moved by it. I thought it was just a tremendously beautiful piece, such a journey. The screenplay has gone a different way than the book, but you have that adventure in it, and it’s larger than life emotions. When I read the first episode of the series, I cried. I cried because I was just moved by the level of heart. I think what Selwyn Hinds, the showrunner and creator, has done with this, which is beautiful, is that there’s this lyricism and poetic vibe to the show that accentuates the love and the heart and the hope, and this feeling of dreaming.
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sunglasses. James Oro
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Was there a specific moment where you started to tear up or was it all hitting you at once?
Do you know what I think it was? It was the parts that spoke about this connection between Washington Black and Big Kit, the woman who raised him on the plantation. Multiple moments in the story talk about ancestry, where you come from, and who you pray to — that feeling of ‘you’re never alone’. You’re always connected to something bigger than yourself, and that can be your source of strength to go forward. I just think it’s so beautiful that you’re never alone, and if you feel alone, just look at yourself as the manifestation of those who came before you. I think that part made me tear up.
Was there a part of Wash’s journey that you connected with the most?
I think the idea of identity is something I really struggled with myself, and therefore connected with him in that. [Wash] is someone who’s trying to recreate his own world and let go of a past version of himself. I, as an actor, am trying to pursue all my dreams — not just in acting — realising that I can’t identify with, let’s say, things in the past that may have drawn me back, or caused me pain. I have to revisualise who I am every single day, every single moment, to achieve this dream I have.
Is there a specific dream that you’re thinking of when you say that?
I guess I wanted to write since I was young, and that is definitely a big dream of mine. But what’s more is… I just want a version of my life where I’m a part of things and making things that I’m proud and happy to be in. I’m surrounded by people who are like a wellspring of love for my life. I guess that’s what I meant by it’s not just acting, it’s more so a state of living. I think that’s my dream. It’s not really destinational. It’s more how life feels and looks around me, you know? A characteristic of that is love, in the projects I do, and the people who are around me.
Speaking of people, you played Wash quite differently depending on who you were sharing the scene with. Was that a conscious effort? How did you approach conveying these different dynamics?
For sure, I’m really glad that came across. It’s conscious and unconscious because Wash has so many different relationships, so it was important to make clear distinctions between what’s the relationship with this person or that person. Just by nature, if I’m talking to one of my best friends compared to this person who I think is the love of my life, it’s going to be different, you know? I think it was in the process of defining each relationship, it kind of happened naturally that I’d speak to them differently.
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sunglasses. James Oro
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This being your first major lead, did you feel your approach to acting or your understanding of it kind of shift in any way during filming?
It changed every day. I hadn’t even graduated from drama school when I booked the role — I just got thrown into the deep end in this beautiful way. It was a lot like, “Okay, I’ve got this toolbox I’ve learned for the last three years, let me just apply that and see what happens.” Then I just found that certain things weren’t sticking, and I guess that’s where the team that was surrounding me came into hand. People like Sterling K Brown, a lovely, lovely, lovely man and mentor and beautiful soul, took me under his wing. It was definitely just learning things as I went on.
Congratulations, that’s insane. How do you feel about booking things before graduating?
No, it is, it is. I’m trying to smell the roses, but in the moment, I was really fortunate enough to have a burst of jobs in that time span from doing the play ‘The Royal Court’, then straight to ‘Washington Black’. I guess I didn’t have a lot of time to really take it in and be still, but definitely there were some moments during filming when I had a break, I was like, ‘wow, this is surreal’. I’m so grateful and thankful just to be in this position.
If I’m not wrong, you filmed ‘Washington Black’ three years ago, right?
Yeah, we filmed it in 2022 from like February to September, so it was a while ago.
How do you feel about it now?
I think where I’m at now is, I’m just really excited for people to finally get the chance to see it and experience this story that we made with such love and passion. And I guess I just hope people can receive it as well as we made it. I’m feeling good. I’m feeling excited.
How do you hope the audiences feel after watching it? What’s a takeaway that you hope people get from the series?
I’m sure people will take a varied number of different things for themselves. I think the one through line, I’d say, is this aspect of dreaming. There are so many different characters, especially Wash, of course, who have so many dreams that exceed their current reality. I hope that someone could watch this and be inspired to go after their own dream, and not think that their dream is too big or too silly. Go for that dream, dream it and dream beyond your reality. Dare to do that.
Coming back to Big Kit, Wash has these mother figures, Miss Angie and Big Kit, who we see throughout the series. Do you have figures in your life that inspire you or ground you?
My mom has been the rock of my life. The pillar of my life. I think what’s so beautiful is in the story, ‘Washington Black’, you have all these female figures that hold the emotional weight that Wash has in such a way that it’s so nurturing and that arguably only a mother could do. I feel like that’s what my mom has done for me, all throughout my life. She’s the reason I’m doing acting right now. She pushed me to do this, to take classes when I was younger. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be playing ‘Washington Black’.
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full look. Rhyan & Rhyse
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sunglasses. James Oro
I’m getting chills. You’re also writing your own short film called A Love Story. Tell me a bit about that. What inspired it?
Oh, that’s so kind! I am writing my own short film and producing it. What inspired it? I guess I just had a history of, in my teenage years, having intense crushes and intense feelings of infatuation. I thought, what does that look like when it goes too far? What’s the difference between love and obsession? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen so many stories, so many harrowing stories of, especially young men, who don’t know how to regulate their emotions and deal with feelings of rejection, or unrequited feelings. I wanted to make something that spoke to that, or kind of push the conversation forward. It’s been a labour of love just producing it, the people around me, the people who poured into it. I’m so excited to film it.
Are there any stories within your career in film that you look back at fondly?
I mean, obviously, ‘Washington Black’ has been a highlight of my career so far. What I will say is, I think the best highlights have been ones where the set life and the people around me are just so lovely. I think a year ago, I filmed a short film called ‘Foxhole’, and we shot it in, like, a weekend, but the people that were present – it was just so beautiful. You could just tell that everyone there was passionate about what they were doing; it was great. Likewise with ‘Washington Black’, we filmed for that long span of time, so, it’s so important to have people who are passionate and just have that kind of ‘labour of love’ energy. And it was exactly that.
Do you think the environment on set, the cast on set, heavily affects what happens when filming?
Oh, a hundred percent. One thing I learned is that — I didn’t know about this before — but they have the call sheets and everyone’s numbered. Number one, number two… People kept coming up to me and saying, ‘Ernest, you know, you’re number one, man’. I was like, ‘what do you mean?’ What does that mean? They explained it to me; the number one sets the tone.
I mean, look, I never felt that — in the sense of, I just wanted to curate a space for everyone that was welcoming and warm. But I said all this to say, Sterling, I feel, is the perfect example of someone who sets the tone of a set. When he comes on set, the presence is felt. You feel the joy and the love, and the openness that people suddenly step into. When you have that on set, it shows on camera.
Between film, you’ve also been in theatre and writing, is there a place you’d rather be? Or do they influence each other?
I think they all influence each other. I think also they, for me right now, anyway, feel a bit separate. I don’t think I could compare any of them in that sense. I want to do film, I want to keep on writing, and I want to do theatre. I’m going to do a play later on this year, which is cool, so I think each medium presents its own joys and benefits. I’d just love to do all of them in different sections of my career.
So you’re doing the play this year, what else is next? Any other stories you’re looking to portray or write about, produce, maybe even direct?
Right now, I’ve got about three things on my mind. I’ve got ‘Washington Black’ out July 23rd — celebrating the release of that with friends, cast, family, crew. The short film, and then the play. I think those three things I can handle for now. And whatever else comes, I’ll make space for.
full look. PERTE D’EGO
shoes. Timbalands
‘Washington Black’ is out now.
photography. Sela Shiloni
fashion. Adrián Jose Ramos Diaz
talent. Ernest Kingsley Jr.
casting. Alabama Blonde
grooming. Annette Chaisson @ Exclusive Artists using Le Mieux
production. Clara La Rosa
interview. Rhea Lobo
