Snowfall Star Isaiah John Talks Season 5 & What He Learned From John Singleton
#snowfall #fx
Transcript
00:00 (popping)
00:02 You are watching SOHH.com.
00:05 - Hello, my name is Journey Green with SOHH.com
00:08 and today we have a very exciting interview.
00:10 We have Isaiah John who plays Leon
00:13 on one of the biggest shows on television right now,
00:16 Snowfall, how are you?
00:18 - I'm fantastic, how are you?
00:19 - I'm doing great.
00:20 Where are you recording from right now?
00:22 - Right now I'm in Atlanta.
00:24 - Okay. - Home ground.
00:26 - Oh, you really, you're raised from Atlanta, right?
00:29 - Yes, yes, born and raised.
00:31 - Okay, so have you heard about the trend
00:33 that's been going around with Amaretta the Great,
00:35 the sorry not sorry challenge, the not Atlanta.
00:39 ♪ California, it's not Atlanta ♪
00:40 ♪ It's not Atlanta ♪
00:41 ♪ It's not Atlanta ♪
00:42 ♪ Nope, Clay Cole, it's not Atlanta ♪
00:44 ♪ Nope, Decatur ♪
00:45 - So I'm sure you've probably heard of Atlanta
00:47 according to that song.
00:48 (laughing)
00:48 - You're not, so you're not, so where are you actually from?
00:51 - I'm from College Park and I grew up in Fayetteville, yeah.
00:55 - Okay, okay, so you're not from Atlanta
00:59 according to Amaretta,
01:00 but you still are from Atlanta, basically.
01:03 - I think, you know, I think for people
01:05 who don't understand Georgia,
01:07 like if you're talking to somebody who's from somewhere else
01:09 and you just, it's easier to say, oh, I'm from Atlanta.
01:12 They'll understand what you're saying.
01:14 (laughing)
01:15 - Okay, right, yeah.
01:17 So it's more so a tourist thing to say,
01:20 yeah, I'm just from Atlanta.
01:21 But you would tell people from Atlanta,
01:23 I'm from College Park.
01:24 - Exactly, right, right.
01:25 - Okay, okay, so I understand.
01:28 All right, so you're from Atlanta, College Park.
01:31 So Atlanta is a major city for hip hop and rap.
01:36 So do you have any top rappers, your top favorite rappers?
01:41 They don't have to be from Atlanta,
01:43 but y'all do have so many.
01:45 So who's your top favorite rappers right now?
01:47 - Right now, like I typically reach out to,
01:50 like if there's a new artist that I like,
01:52 I'll reach out to them just to like give them they flowers.
01:55 My top favorite rapper from Atlanta right now
01:58 is CEO Trey.
01:59 He runs with the YSL crew and we connect all the time.
02:04 Like that's the homie now, but I rock with his music.
02:08 - Okay, but who's your like top five of all time?
02:11 - Of all time?
02:13 It varies, it really varies.
02:18 'Cause I fluctuate when it comes to like my taste
02:21 in music a lot.
02:22 But I would say, of course, like you have to say Outkast
02:28 because you know, why not?
02:30 Like why not?
02:31 - Okay.
02:31 - Of course I'm gonna say Outkast.
02:34 I know Gucci, man, is not from Atlanta,
02:35 but I'll say Gucci is definitely in the top five.
02:38 Lil Baby, Young Thug.
02:43 How many is that?
02:44 I got one more.
02:45 Anyhow, I'll put CEO Trey on there for sure.
02:47 - Okay, okay.
02:48 And what kind of music does CEO Trey make?
02:50 I'm not really familiar.
02:52 - Oh, it's like the YSL crew,
02:54 it's just trap music basically.
02:58 - Okay.
02:59 - Yeah.
03:00 - Okay, so speaking of rappers,
03:02 Kanye is one of my favorite rappers
03:04 and he's been trending in the media lately
03:07 for the disputes about his daughter being on social media.
03:10 And I saw that recently in September,
03:13 you welcomed a baby boy.
03:15 So tell me, what's your opinions
03:19 on kids being on social media?
03:20 - I think like for me personally,
03:25 I wouldn't allow my son to have his own social media.
03:28 To me, there's just so much,
03:31 there's a lot of negativity that comes with social media
03:35 as far as like the development of a child.
03:37 Like I don't remember how old I was,
03:40 I think MySpace was for sure
03:41 the first form of social media I had.
03:43 And I think because of our generation,
03:46 we're like the first generation to be exposed to that.
03:49 I see now a lot of people are allowing it
03:54 to psychologically affect them.
03:56 So, when he gets of age and he has a better understanding
04:00 of how the world works
04:01 and a better understanding of different things,
04:04 I think I'll be okay monitored.
04:07 But when he gets older,
04:08 he's not gonna be in middle school
04:10 or elementary school with social media.
04:11 - Okay, so not until high school.
04:13 So what do you think is the appropriate age
04:16 for kids to be on social media?
04:18 - I think it solely depends on that person and that child
04:22 because like everyone develops mentally
04:25 at a different rate.
04:26 I think it just depends on the understanding of the world.
04:29 So, high school is a stretch,
04:30 but it's just, I just think that they get exposed
04:34 to a lot too fast through social media
04:37 and it doesn't allow the parent
04:38 to properly introduce them with certain things.
04:42 So, it causes that curiosity to go crazy.
04:45 And I'm not having that.
04:47 - Okay, so speaking of social media,
04:52 I saw on your Instagram and your bio that you do photography.
04:56 So, tell me a little bit about that.
04:58 How did you get into photography?
04:59 It's not every day you see an actor also take pictures.
05:03 - Yeah, so my dad, he's been doing photography
05:05 for over 30 years.
05:07 Always been around me,
05:08 but it wasn't until I was on set of "Snowfall"
05:10 and John Clingleton had took some photos of me.
05:13 And when I saw them, I was like,
05:15 "Yo, that camera quality is crazy.
05:17 Like what kind of camera is that?"
05:18 And so he told me what kind of camera it was.
05:20 And literally the next day I would go by that camera
05:23 and me and John was on set.
05:25 He was showing me different things
05:26 of how that camera worked and everything like that.
05:28 So, I think I've always had interest in it and eye for it,
05:33 but John really pushed it because he was like,
05:36 "Yo, you have an eye for photography that could work
05:38 if you ever decided to direct in the future."
05:41 So, my dad and John Singleton for sure are the ones
05:44 who gave me that photography bug for sure.
05:47 - Okay, that's really cool.
05:49 I had no idea that you were actually taught photography
05:52 by John Singleton, that's really cool.
05:55 - Yeah.
05:56 - So, speaking of John Singleton,
05:58 I saw that you recently did an NFT project
06:01 and it was with your co-star Calvin who plays Bootsy.
06:05 - Yes.
06:05 - And he did a painting of a picture
06:08 that John Singleton actually took of you.
06:10 - Yes.
06:11 - So, what's the history behind that photo?
06:13 Like, when you took that?
06:15 - So, this was outside of Louis and Jerome's house
06:18 from like C11.
06:20 - Okay.
06:20 - This was around a time where I was getting into photography
06:23 and John was showing me different things with the camera.
06:25 And he was like, "Stay right there, stay right there.
06:29 I want you to pose like this."
06:30 And he just took the picture
06:32 and that was one of the first pictures
06:33 that he took solo of me in character on set.
06:36 So, that picture specifically,
06:38 of course, means a lot to me.
06:40 And Calvin, he's into like the NFTs and things like that,
06:45 but he's also an amazing painter as well.
06:47 So, he's been like collabing or mixing the two,
06:51 the NFTs with his paintings.
06:52 So, he was like, "We should do a collab."
06:55 I'm like, "Yeah, I think this picture in itself
06:56 will be dope because it has a dope story behind it."
07:00 So, that's when we was like, "Yeah, that'd be perfect."
07:02 And he painted that so fast and it looked so great.
07:04 I'm like, "I kind of want it for myself."
07:07 But yeah, like we collabed
07:09 and I think it came out amazing.
07:12 It came out amazing.
07:12 So, that's the history behind that photo.
07:14 - So, you did end up doing a giveaway
07:16 for that painting, right?
07:18 - Yeah, well, yeah, he did all the NFT stuff.
07:20 I didn't understand that world of NFTs
07:23 and how that stuff works, but yeah.
07:25 So, he's definitely handling it.
07:26 I think we're putting it on hold for like a later date
07:30 so we can reach a broader audience, right?
07:35 For people who will really truly appreciate this art
07:40 and the story behind it.
07:42 - Okay. - Yeah.
07:43 - So, now that we're speaking kind of snowfall
07:48 and things of that nature,
07:50 your character right now on the show
07:54 is pretty angry at the police at the moment.
07:57 So, everyone on Twitter has been like,
08:00 "I hope Leon stays alive through this.
08:02 I hope he stays alive through this."
08:04 So, can you give us a hint if he's gonna stay alive
08:08 for the rest of the season or?
08:10 - You just gotta keep watching.
08:11 You never know, 'cause I don't know.
08:12 Leon is on his Malcolm X, Black Panther wave right now.
08:17 But we also have to understand,
08:19 this is the introduction to the crash unit in LA.
08:22 - Okay. - With the creativity
08:24 created for gangs and street violence.
08:26 So, they're like a gang in themself.
08:31 So, he's angry with how they've been operating
08:33 and how they just been cracking down on people
08:35 and just how they do it.
08:37 It's inhumane.
08:38 So, yeah, we just got to keep watching to see.
08:41 (laughing)
08:42 - All right.
08:43 So, speaking of Twitter,
08:45 do you actively watch Twitter when your show is going on?
08:48 'Cause people are always tweeting and putting memes.
08:53 - I do, it's very entertaining.
08:55 - What's some of the funniest things you've seen people say
08:59 when you were watching?
09:00 - Oh, it varies all the time.
09:02 It's really like, people are so creative
09:04 and they really pay attention to every detail of the show.
09:07 So, it's just like, I've seen them make fun of me
09:10 with how short I am.
09:13 I've seen them make fun of Damson,
09:15 especially when he was using the cane last season.
09:21 There's so many different things, it's hard to choose,
09:23 but I'm always seeing it.
09:26 And then myself, Damson, Aiman, Melvin, Greg,
09:32 and D. Ray Davis, we all are in the group chat.
09:34 So, while Snowfall is playing,
09:36 we're all sending each other different tweets
09:37 that we find funny.
09:39 It's hilarious, it's a good time.
09:41 - Do you think sometimes the fans be reaching a little bit
09:44 and overanalyzing what's happening?
09:47 - Oh, for sure.
09:47 But I get it, because Snowfall is not a show
09:51 that you can binge watch because it's week by week.
09:54 Because they don't have the next episode
09:57 to basically answer the questions that they have
10:00 in this week's episode.
10:02 They be saying all kinds of stuff,
10:04 and I be like, just wait until next week
10:05 and you'll be answering.
10:08 - Okay, so currently, do you have any upcoming projects
10:11 that you're working on?
10:13 - Right now, I'm just looking over everything on my team
10:15 and we're really trying to find that next dope project.
10:19 I've been really picky right now.
10:21 I really want something amazing,
10:23 either a nice drama that's telling a true story,
10:27 or a story that's very touching,
10:29 or I really wanna tap into the Marvel universe.
10:32 So we wanna see what comes first.
10:35 - Okay, so what's your method for acting?
10:39 'Cause your character Leon,
10:41 he's kind of a hothead on the show,
10:43 but you don't really seem like that at all.
10:45 (laughs)
10:46 So are you anything like your character Leon?
10:50 - No, I'm not anything like my character Leon.
10:52 I really, we share some similarities,
10:56 but as far as like, be hotheadedness, no.
11:01 But I guess that depends on who you ask.
11:03 (laughs)
11:04 But for me, I think I just, I studied so long
11:07 as far as acting, I'm still studying to this day.
11:10 It just properly prepared me to take on these roles,
11:14 like Lightning McQueen,
11:16 and to really bring the humanity out of this character
11:19 for people to connect with.
11:20 So I really just rely on my training
11:23 and what I've learned over the years
11:25 to put it into my craft.
11:27 - So, well, I guess my question was,
11:33 do y'all have similarities?
11:34 Like what are the similarities y'all share?
11:37 - Definitely the loyalty aspect,
11:38 how Leon has a huge heart,
11:41 and like Leon also doesn't take any mess from nobody.
11:47 - Okay.
11:49 - I feel like I had that a little bit in me.
11:52 So yeah, I would say similarities for sure.
11:55 - Okay, well, I'm not gonna hold you
11:57 'cause I think we only have 15 minutes.
11:59 So thank you so much for joining us
12:01 and I'm so glad to interview you today.
12:04 And thank you guys for tuning in at home.
12:07 I'm Journey Green and you just watch So.com.
12:09 (popping)
12:12 - You are watching sohh.com.