When Sarunas Jackson first appeared on Insecure, fans were intrigued by his character, Dro. Although Dro claimed that he and his wife were in an open marriage, many viewers began to believe that he lied about the status of his relationship in order to sleep with his friend, Molly. As Insecure gets ready to enter its long awaited 4th season, fans are hoping to finally get some answers. But while there are lots of questions floating around about Dro, there are just as many questions circulating about the actor who plays him. Keep reading for 10 things you didn’t know about Sarunas Jackson.
1. He Persuaded The Writers On Insecure To Make His Character Panamanian
When writers originally created the Dro, the character was meant to be half African American and half Mexican. However, Sarunas, who is half Panamanian, convinced the writers to make the character half Panamanian as well. Y’lan Noel, who plays Daniel on the show, is also Panamanian.
2. He Was On A Basketball Team With Paul George
If you haven’t noticed, Sarunas Jackson is tall – really tall. Although being 6’8″ isn’t really an advantage in the entertainment industry, it definitely it on the basketball court. Jackson played competitive basketball for most of his life. He was even on an AAU team with NBA all-star, Paul George. Other players on the team included Denzel Washington’s son, Malcolm.
3. Will Smith Was His Early Inspiration
Sarunas Jackson was raised on the west coast, but he is originally from Philadelphia. He says growing up seeing Will Smith on TV was a big inspiration for him. Sarunas told The Undefeated that Will “was an early inspiration to me because he was a tall guy with big ears like me. He was goofy. He was from Philadelphia. I had Philadelphia roots as my father was born and raised there. There was somebody I could relate to on the screen and it seemed maybe, possibly attainable.”
4. He Has A Child With An Insecure Cast Mate
Viewers probably expected Saruna and his cast mate, Yvonne Orji (Molly), to be the ones to have a real life fling. However, Sarunas actually hooked up with another cast member off screen. He and Dominique Perry (Tasha) welcomed a child together in May of 2018. Although the two are not in a relationship and the pregnancy wasn’t planned, Sarunas is very grateful for his adorable daughter, Zen.
5. His Theater Teacher Gave Him Confidence
Most people can probably remember the first person who really believed in them. For Sarunas Jackson, that person was his theater teacher, Ms. Mastroianni who told him: “I know you’re going to be an athlete and you’re going to go off and play sports, but just in case, I would hate myself if I didn’t tell you I do think you’re talented. If you wanted to go after it, you could actually do something with it.”
6.He Played Professional Basketball Overseas
After playing basketball at Post University in Connecticut, Sarunas moved overseas to pursue a professional basketball career. He played for three years in countries like Japan, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. He even hopes to one day play for the Panamanian national basketball team once he completed his dual citizenship.
7. His First Acting Job Was A Commercial
When Sarunas began the transition from basketball to acting he probably didn’t expect his first professional gig to involve basketball. That’s how things worked out though. His first acting job was a basketball commercial for a pair of Jordans that Chris Paul had coming out at the time.
8. He Was In Pharrell’s “Happy” Video
Sarunas Jackson is a huge Pharrell fan, so there’s no doubt he was excited when he was given the chance to make an appearance in the video for Pharrell’s hit single, “Happy”. Aside from being a fan, Sarunas also says that Pharrell has been a fashion inspiration to him as well.
9. Tessa Thompson Is One Of His Crushes
Even celebrities can have celebrities crushes. One of Sarunas’ crushes is Tessa Thompson who is best-known for her work in the film Creed and its sequel as well as the show, Westworld. Sarunas’ other crushes include Logan Browning and Ashley Blaine Featherson.
10. He’s Always Dreamed Of Being On HBO
When Sarunas Jackson was growing up, he was a big fan of the popular HBO series, The Sopranos. As a result, he became a big fan of the entire network and says that doing a show on HBO has always been on his to-do list. He describes getting the role on Insecure as one of the happiest moments of his career.
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