dress. Rey Ortiz
opposite
bodysuit blazer. Y/Project
jewellery. Alexis Bittar
Jurnee Smollett’s career spans lifetimes. Each role, from the beloved Eve in Eve’s Bayou, to the iconic Samantha Booke in the Great Debaters, and the fiery Letita ‘Leti’ Lewis in Lovecraft Country, she has encompassed multitudes across decades. Her prowess, approach, and dedication in Apple TV+’s ‘Smoke’, is no different. Smollett embraces the role of Michelle Calderone with a ferocity and intensity that makes it hard to look away. Utterly captivating and gripping from the moment she enters the frame, Smollett has the audience in a chokehold as Calderone’s story gradually unfolds for us, initially giving us so many more questions than answers.
But despite the intensity and heaviness of the material given, Smollett makes it a priority to shed the persona once the cameras stop rolling. It’s essential to distinguish between the duality of self and character, she explains to us during our Zoom call. Some days are easier than others. Some, require you to stay ‘in it’ longer than anticipated. And while she wouldn’t classify herself as a method actor, there are elements to her process that she prides herself on being able to flex. Including being able to switch ‘it’ off.
In conversation with Schön! Magazine, Jurnee Smollett sits down with us to discuss Apple TV+’s ‘Smoke’, what about Michelle Calderone’s character challenged her, how she juggles the duality of self versus character, the advice Denzel Washington gave her on the set of ‘The Great Debaters’, what being a child actor taught her, and so much more.
You bring Michelle Calderon to life right from the get-go. She’s complex, she’s multifaceted, and she has so many different layers that leave us (the audience) questioning her past. One of my favourite interactions so far in the series is the conversation she has with the therapist at the end or at the beginning of episode three? She says, “You will run out of road one day,” and Michelle responds with, “Not today.” What was it about Calderon’s character that challenged and drove you?
I think that’s one of them. The idea that she is presenting a mask to the world as someone who has it together, who’s very professional, and it is true. She is great at her job; she’s intelligent, has a natural gift, but she gets in her way. There is a pattern of self-destruction, of creation and destruction. When you meet Michelle, she’s destroying her home to rebuild it — that’s no coincidence. One of the earlier conversations I had with Dennis Lehane, our creator, whom I was always such a fan of… ‘Mystic River’, ‘Shutter Island’, ‘Blackbird’. Come on. It’s truly some of our greatest literary works of modern day.
He said to me in an early conversation, “Jurnee, we all say we want to be happy, and yet why are we drawn to the very things that want to destroy us?” It’s true, that’s Michelle in a nutshell. I think we can all relate to that; I know I can. Some of us choose to do the work to overcome that pattern. Some of us fall prey to it, but we all have struggled with it or will struggle with it at some point.
I agree with that. Gudsen, Calderone, and Freddy all have pressure points. Gudsen has his mother, the book being rejected, and Emmett. And then Caldron, she has her mother setting the fire, the Stanton framing, which I think pushes her over the edge. Then, with Freddy, it’s the dead-end job and trying to get that promotion.
And Michelle has a relationship with Burke.
full look. Do Long
heels. Steve Madden
opposite
dress. Do Long
earrings. For Love & Lemons
Can you talk a little about bringing such an intense piece of art to life? And once the cameras stopped rolling, how did you shed all of that and decompress?
I think we all live with a level of duality. I’m drawn to roles and stories that are a bit darker. But in my personal life, I’m able to access my joy. I have an eight-year-old son I come home to or he’s on set trying to get me to play basketball with him [laughs].
I try to saturate myself in Michelle’s world, but the truth is, my process has changed since becoming a mom. I used to stay in it all the time. I didn’t label it “method,” but I thought of myself as “method-adjacent” because I would live with it. I no longer have that luxury. Now I have a little boy saying, “Mommy, you’re off today, let’s go to the arcade.” I’ve become more efficient.
There’s something ritualistic about coming home, dropping my set bag, and taking a shower. It’s cleansing — literally washing the day’s work off. That has become important for me. I need to shed Michelle in order to fully engage with my son. Of course, there are days when you shoot something really intense and have to go back the next morning. In those moments, I treat it like tuning an instrument. Sometimes you have to turn the volume up, sometimes down—but it’s always accessible. I’ve done this long enough to know how to find that balance.
You’ve said in the past that The Great Debaters was a masterclass for you. What lessons did you take away from that experience, and what life lessons have stayed with you since?
Yes, I have said that [laughs]. I don’t think anyone can work with Denzel Washington — one of the greatest actors of all time — and not walk away with real, tangible wisdom. Anytime I’m around him, he’s dropping jewels. One lesson that stuck with me is: Do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do. I even say that to my son. When he doesn’t want to get up for school, I’ll tell him, “You want to have pool dates with your friends this weekend? You’ve got to put in the work first.”
As far as the craft, Denzel really emphasized character development — building a biography for the character, inspecting their inner life. That was one of the most valuable tools I took away from him.
What did Michelle’s biography look like?
Dennis is a novelist, so he had so much of her backstory mapped out. That’s not always the case. Sometimes you go into projects where the showrunner or filmmaker leaves the backstory thin, saying, “Whatever you create will be great.” But Dennis gave me a wealth of material to work with. Michelle had a childhood shaped by trauma, a mother who betrayed her, time in the Marines, and struggles with body dysmorphia. She pushes herself hard, but she’s also running — from relationships, from intimacy. For example, when Steven Burke says, “I’ve left my wife for you,” she shuts down immediately.
I remember thinking, Girl, what are you doing? [laughs]. But that’s her; she desires intimacy, but only on her terms, with distance built in. Because her mother — her primary attachment figure — committed the ultimate betrayal, intimacy is what she fears the most.
You’ve said before that characters come to you when you need them. What was it about Michelle that you needed in that moment?
There are so many things, and I’m deciding how candid to be. I grew up estranged from my dad. My parents separated when I was 12, and for a long time, he and I didn’t speak. We reconnected before he passed, and while we did heal in a very beautiful way, the absence of that connection during my childhood still stays with me. I had a strong foundation with my mother, but not having that same safety with my father left its mark. Playing Michelle forced me to unearth some of that.
I’d say you’re further along in your healing journey than she is, but she’s trying.
I wouldn’t classify her as “healing,” but yes, she’s trying. And that counts.
Looking back on your career, how has being an actor shaped you and your worldview? What films or television shows, whether you’ve been in them or not, have stayed with you?
I started so young. I wasn’t a child star in the sense of being super famous — I could still go to the grocery store. I didn’t face the same pressures some kids in the industry did. My mom worked hard to protect me from a lot of that, and I’m grateful. I fell in love with the craft very early. I remember the first time I felt that high artists talk about — when you’re in the flow, thinking like the character, losing yourself in it. That’s when I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.
Every character is a building block for your instrument, even the bad ones. Because part of knowing what you want is knowing what you don’t want. I’m grateful for all of it. Every role has shaped me into the artist and person I am today.
I’d argue that any experience, good or bad, is still learning.
Amen. My hope is that decades from now, I’ll look back at a museum of work and feel proud that I showed different hues, shapes, and colours of who we are as women.
bodysuit blazer. Y/Project
heels. Dsquared2
jewellery. Alexis Bittar
opposite
dress. Do Long
jewellery. Alexis Bittar
Moving back to ‘Smoke’, not only does Calderone have her demons to contend with, but she’s also a woman in a male-dominated profession—and a woman of colour at that — facing constant microaggressions and outright aggression. How much of her experience parallels your own in the industry, and how have you overcome it?
I think anybody who has been “othered,” whether it’s because of a disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, whatever it is, you step into a workplace and you know that. You feel it. I don’t even have to put much thought into pulling from that pool. Michelle uses it as fuel, and so do I. I love being underestimated because it makes me go, Watch this. If you don’t use it as fuel, you’ll let it discourage you and ultimately destroy you.
If you could give Michelle any advice, if you could sit her down, what would you say?
Girl, the mountain is you [laughter]. There’s actually a book by that title. Misha Green read it and recommended it to me; it’s fantastic. But yes, Michelle, the mountain is you. Get out of your own way.
Is there a character across your filmography you’d like to revisit if given the chance?
I feel like you’re setting me up, Dana.
What? Me? I have no idea what you’re talking about!
Who do you think I’d say?
Well, there are a couple. I’d love it if you could revisit Dinah in ‘Birds of Prey’. You were so good as Black Canary. And if maybe, possibly, you could revisit ‘Lovecraft Country’? That would also be amazing because Leti’s story feels unfinished. But I’d like to hear your answer.
[laughs] I love both of those characters. I felt honoured and privileged to embody them, even though they were such vastly different roles. The truth is, unless you’re a producer or part of the studio, you don’t get to make that decision. If I were asked to return to either of them, the answer would be a “hell yes!” But at the end of the day, that decision is above my pay grade.
That’s fair. I mean, there is a new hierarchy at DC, so we’ll see. Shifting gears, you’ve stepped into more of a producer role recently. What made you want to go behind the camera?
I think it’s a natural progression for someone who loves stories the way I do. I love the art of storytelling, and I want to be part of the solution. I’m not interested in just complaining about the problems we see in the industry. If I don’t take a more active role in expanding the game — who gets to tell stories, who gets access — then what am I doing? I love the collaborative process that goes into storytelling, and producing allows me to help shape that from the ground up.
Pivoting back to Smoke, how would you describe Gudsen and Calderone’s relationship so far?
Just from what we’ve seen? Manipulative. Toxic. Self-serving. They’re each fighting for something that benefits their own goals. But they also need each other, in one way or another, to achieve them.
And finally, without spoiling anything, what can audiences expect in the episodes to come?
Truly unexpected twists and turns. A lot of shockers. No one is safe. Everyone has a secret, everyone has a mask, and no one is being entirely truthful about who they are. Especially the finale — let me just tell you, you’re not prepared. There’s a twist that I don’t think anyone will see coming.
dress. Do Long
heels. Jessica Rich
earrings. For Love & Lemons
Episodes of Smoke are available now on Apple TV+.
photography. Rex Yu + Jones Crow
fashion. Claudia Murphy
talent. Jurnee Smollett
hair. Clay Nielsen @ Tracey Mattingly
make up. Jorge Monroy
lighting assistant. Scott Hutchinson
studio. Sunbeam LA
interview. Dana Reboe
