Exclusive: Aubrey Joseph On His Leading Role In Freeform & Marvel’s Cloak & DaggerPosted by Wilson Morales
June 4, 2018
Premiering on Thursday, June 7 (8:00 – 10:00 p.m. EDT/PDT) on Freeform, Disney’s young adult television network, and Marvel Television is their upcoming series, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, in which the pilot episode was directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights).
Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger is a coming-of-age series based on the beloved Marvel characters. Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson come from starkly different backgrounds, each growing up with a secret they never dared share with another soul. Once a privileged little girl, Tandy Bowen watched as her family was destroyed by a disastrous storm that uprooted her life. Now in her late teens, an unexpected encounter with a boy named Tyrone sparks a life changing event. Young Tyrone Johnson wanted nothing more than to prove he was fearless. But when everything he held close was taken away, life taught Tyrone to be afraid. Now older and more sheltered, Tyrone closes himself off. But when he meets a girl named Tandy his life changes forever.
Aubrey Joseph (The Night Of, Run All Night) and former Disney Channel star Olivia Holt (I Didn’t Do It) have been cast as Cloak & Dagger, playing the title heroes, Tyrone Johnson, a.k.a. Cloak and Tandy Bowen, a.k.a. Dagger.
Also cast in the series are Andrea Roth, Gloria Reuben, Miles Mussenden, Carl Lundstedt, James Saito, and J.D. Evermore.
Blackfilm.com spoke exclusively with Joseph about his role, working with Olivia Holt and Gina Prince-Bythewood and having a lead role.
How does it feel with Cloak and Dagger set to premiere in a few days?
Aubrey Joseph: It feels surreal. Nothing is going to kick in until the day off. I don’t know. I’ve been waiting a long time but it feels surreal now.
How did the role come about for you?
Aubrey Joseph: I auditioned. They were in the latter process in finding the two leads of the show, Tyrone and Tandy, and they just happen to call me. Of course, I auditioned for this. I finally got to dive into the role and read the script. It’s just such a special story. I have to do this audition and work my ass off because I need to be part of this experience. I finally got to meet Gina (Prince-Bythewood) and Joe and Olivia on the day of the chemistry read and I felt all the right signs and it was great. I’m just happy that we’re here and I’m a part of this.
Did you know about the character before or was this something new to you?
Aubrey Joseph: I’ll be honest with you. I really did not know anything about Cloak & Dagger before the audition, but that’s where I find the beauty in it because I’m a fan now. I’m glad I was exposed to such a dominant force, a dominant duo. It was such an ideal that was so out of its time. It’s pretty cool to being a part of this, to say the least.
How would you best describe Tyrone in the initial episodes?
Aubrey Joseph: I think for Tyrone, it’s pretty weird for him just because he’s already going through so much in life and trying to find happiness and find himself in life and just trying to be a kid he was forced to mature so early and boom out of nowhere he meets this girl and now he has powers. The more he starts to find out about these powers the more he wakes up on roofs. He starts to realize that this is a power that has zest and maybe it’s God’s plan for him to save people and maybe avenge his brother’s death. It definitely gets him thinking. Tandy gives him a sense of an answer but he’s still searching for answers. Basically the superpowers adds to the questions that he has.
Is there anything different the comics and the TV version?
Aubrey Joseph: Yeah. There are definitely some differences. Just basically with the background of Tyrone now and Tandy. Tandy is not as well off and Tyrone, after his brother is killed, his family moves into a better neighborhood and Tyrone is in private school. That changes a little bit. It warrants a modernization anyway just because so much is the same, some things are different with social media now. High school in the 80s is definitely different from high school now. I think what was needed to stay the same is definitely still there and the essence of the comic book is still there but there are little nuances and changes we did.
Part of the attraction of the show is the chemistry between Tyrone and Tandy. Can you talk about working with Olivia and developing the rapport for the series?
Aubrey Joseph: It really didn’t a lot of time. We felt this connection as soon as we did our first chemistry read. I’m just so blessed that my first gig is with someone who is just as invested and really felt that I was safe and comfortable and that I belonged and that there was a reason I was there. With this being my first lead role, there were a lot of things on mind and just the pressure of having to prove myself. Olivia was always there to help me. She’s a hard worker and a great person at the same time. We had those moments on the set where we were invested in doing great acting work and we had those silly moments on set. She’s been a joy to work with and this is just the beginning.
Can you talk about working with Gina Prince-Bythewood on the pilot episode. That’s the one that’s going to let audience know if they should stick with the series or not.
Aubrey Joseph: It was undeniable what she did. I think we all know and revere Gina as someone who takes on projects that mean something. Something to push the culture forward and change people’s outlook on certain things. Just seeing that Gina was attached to the project immediately told me what direction this project was going. It was actually an honor to work with a legend every singe day and she really set the tone. The energy and wisdom that she brought to episode one me and Olivia carried throughout the season. Every time I see her I let her know that i owe her a lot because she taught me a lot as an actor as well. It was a great experience.
As a young Black actor who’s the lead of a Marvel series, how does that make you feel?
Aubrey Joseph: I welcome it. We have a responsibility and all I want to do is make sure stories are told. I feel that African Americans in our society and in our media ar often dehumanized. This show is going to bring in humanity to a lot of us. I want young Black kids to see themselves on TV. It’s always been an issue of young black folks not being represented on TV. I feel that this is an amazing opportunity for that. I welcome that responsibility and it fuels me.
Have you seen the rest of the Marvel films or TV shows? Are you a fan of any?
Aubrey Joseph: Of course. We all grew up as Marvel fans. Even if we didn’t see the films or TV shows, we all have that Spider-Man outfit or bedspread in your room. We see Iron Man and Captain America all over the place. I’m definitely a Marvel fan. I’m not much into the comics but when there was a new Marvel movie, my stepdad and I would always go to the movie theater to see it.
Did doing theater like The Lion King on Broadway help prepare you for a role like this?
Aubrey Joseph: I think it helped the most from anything I have done. Just because all the work that I have done in film and TV has been guest-starring roles where I really had to be on set for maybe a couple of weeks or a month. But Cloak & Dagger was a five month experience where I had to be on top of it the whole time. The one experience I can compare that to is The Lion King. I did Lion King for three years of my life. It was show after show and you have to be on top of it every time. To do that at a young age instilled in me forever. Coming from where I come from, I never thought that it would be possible. It’s been a journey and I’m really thankful that I was able to experience that and it prepare me for this.
What’s a good reason to tune into Cloak & Dagger?
Aubrey Joseph: It’s something new on TV. The realness and authenticity of it is what will grab your attention. I think it’s going to be the biggest show this summer.
