Exclusive: Jazmyn Simon Talks Ballers Season 2, Now On Digital HDPosted by Wilson Morales
November 8, 2016
Currently on Digital HD is Season 2 of HBO’s comedy series Ballers, which stars Dwayne Johnson, Rob Corddry, Troy Garity, Omar Benson Miller, John David Washington, Donovan Carter, Jazmyn Simon, and London Brown.
Ballers Season 2 stars Dwayne Johnson as ex-superstar Spencer Strasmore, who has reinvented himself as a financial manager for today’s players in sun-soaked Miami. In this second season of *Ballers*, thinks are getting more competitive and complicated for Spencer. As the lines between professional and personal blur in his pursuit of lasting success and glory, he must face demons from the past when he goes head-to-head with the biggest business manager on the scene.
Blackfilm.com recently caught up with Jazmyn Simon, who plays Julie Greane, wife of NFL player Charles Greane (played by Omar Benson Miller).
How was filming Season 2?
Jazmyn Simon: Season 2 was great. The writing was elevated. We had Andy Garcia and anytime you have him, it’s a Master’s Class. We all brought our A game in season 2.
For anyone who hasn’t watch the show, can you talk about your character and what’s changed from Season 1?
Jazmyn Simon: I play Dr. Julie Greane, who was married at the time of the series to a retired football player. At the end of season 1, he decided to go back and play. It’s sort of an evolution because towards the end of season 1, he was a used car dealer and then we decided to get pregnant. At the end of season 1, we get pregnant and he wants to play again. So, we’re having a baby and he’s back in the NFL.
Season 2 starts with us having a little girl and seeing where his career is going. Ballers is set in between the season so it’s during their off time and we see what’s happening during the two seasons. Does he go back and play or does he go back to the car dealership and if he doesn’t, what does he do for the rest of his life. Of course, Julia is there to pick up whatever pieces fall.
What’s it like to play a wife to a football player and a mom on screen?
Jazmyn Simon: It’s funny. The wife of a football player is the hardest part. The mom and the doctor seem to be the easy part. The character Charles always needs a cheerleader, so Julie is a mom, a wife, a doctor and a cheerleader. It’s a lot of fun. Stephen Levinson created this character and he created her multifaceted so that’s good. She doesn’t have to be one thing. She gets to be many things. It’s always easy to have a fake baby on TV than it is to have a real baby in real life.
Did you talk to any real life football wives to see if any of the drama that happens in the series come from real life experiences?
Jazmyn Simon: It’s funny that when people think of a football player’s wife, they automatically have a stereotype in their minds of what this lady is and what she’s all about. I feel that I have tried to beak the mold because it’s usually a negative connotation when you hear about a football player’s wife. She’s with him for the money. She’s a gold digger. Maybe she’s not educated. Good, bad or ugly, Julia loves her husband. She loved him when he was playing football. She loved him when she was in college and she loved him when he was a car salesman. I think that is a very accurate representation of what a football player’s wife is. It’s not cookie cutter. People are people. If they fall in love with a football player than they fall in love with them. They carry on with life but I hope that in the last two seasons that they are moving forward but often times a football player’s wife gets a bad rap.
How was working opposite Omar Benson Miller, who plays your husband Charles?
Jazmyn Simon: Omar is a phenomenal actor. He’s so strong and so natural. I hit the scene partner jackpot with Omar. From day one, we did a chemistry read almost three years ago when I auditioned for Ballers. I booked it over three years ago actually. We did a chemistry read and from the beginning, it was a match made in TV history. It was love at first sight for Charles and Julie. Omar’s so easy to work with. He makes it comfortable.
How hard was the audition process?
Jazmyn Simon: I tell anyone who is willing to listen that auditioning is the hardest part. Once you get the job, you have the job. You can go to work. You learn your lines. You learn your character. With auditioning, you can have five in a week with different people. I had three in a day where I had to be three different people.
Was there a point where everyone was together to know each other?
Jazmyn Simon: We all live independent lives on the show but in season 2, there was a scene where everyone was together. I believe it was episode 8 and it was amazing. We shoot our stuff in a bubble. Charles and I and then you have Rob Corddry’s and Dwayne’s character, but in that one episode, we’re all together and it was a lot of fun. We shoot in Miami, so when we’re not working, we’re always together. None of us live there besides Dwayne, so we’re always together like a family. We eat together. We go to church together and watch TV together. It’s actually very boring. Donovan Carter is always partying but the rest of us are home bound.
You mentioned that you booked the show over three years, so what the process like waiting until you finally went into production?
Jazmyn Simon: It was an amazing experience anytime you get the opportunity to work with HBO. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was called and told that HBO had offered me the role. I screamed and prayed in every room in my house. It was a very magical moment and since then I have booked other things but nothing has compared to that moment in my life. Someone told me that nothing is like the first time and it’s the honest to God truth.
That was a magical moment, but you’re right. I was cast three years ago, but Dwayne, being the movie star that he is, was off shooting movies and is a busy, busy man. We had a wait a couple of months to shoot the pilot, and the pilot got picked up quick but we had to wait 10 months before we could go and shoot season 1. Dwayne was filming Hercules at the time. We had to wait until our boss, Dwayne finished being a movie star and then we shot season 1 and we’ve been off to the races since then. We’re now gearing up to shoot season 3.
What are you doing on your downtime?
Jazmyn Simon: When we’re not shooting Ballers, we’re always on the hunt for other work. As actors, we’ve never satisfied with just one thing. This year, I shot another TV show with Rob Corddry, who play Joe on Ballers. Before Christmas break is when I will actually have some downtime. I will keep hustling hard until then.
What’s a good reason to catch Ballers now on Digital HD?
Jazmyn Simon: I like to tell people that Ballers has something for everyone. If you are a football fan, then obviously, Ballers is the way to go. The series are using real team names so that’s a plus. If you have no interest in football, it’s still a show about life and there’s something for everybody on that show. Omar’s character is a football player but he’s also a husband and father, and I’m a doctor and a wife and a mother. We tell a story from different aspects and so there’s definitely something for everybody. Everyone deserves to laugh for at least 30 minutes and Ballers gives you that.
