Armani Jackson – Haunted

By starrymag | August 1, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for the series “Chad.”

 

A) “Chad” is about a “14-year-old pubescent Persian boy” (Nasim Pedrad) navigating his first year of high school on a mission to become popular, which he stops at nothing to do so resulting in some very cringe worthy scenes in the best way possible.

 

Q) What was your audition like for the show?

 

A) The audition for “Chad” was a lot of fun because I could already tell how loose and flexible the show was going to be. There was a lot of improv, and messing around, which I loved because it allowed me to utilize my own comedic ability instead of being stuck to the script.

 

Q) How was Joey originally described to you?

 

A) Joey was originally described as the cool kid who was nice to CHAD and liked by everyone.

 

Q) Talk about working with Nasim Pedrad.

 

A) Working with Nasim has been a blast and it’s actually not the first time we’ve worked together. Nasim and I both had supporting roles in the 2014 horror/comedy Cooties. When Nasim booked me for Chad she didn’t immediately realize that it was me because I was so much older and looked totally different. At the table read I went up to her to tell her and she freaked out. It’s funny because in Cooties she played the more superior teacher to my character Calvin and in “Chad” she plays a much more inferior school-boy to my character Joey.

 

Q) The episodes just keep getting funnier! What were some of your most memorable moments from filming?

 

A) When filming “Chad,” we never really knew what lines were going to come out of each other’s mouths until they did because most of it was improvised off script, so I’d say the most memorable moments were definitely everyone trying not to laugh during scenes. There were times where it would take so long to get through a scene because at least one person would break and start laughing.

 

Q) You also have some new music coming out! Talk about the inspiration behind “Haunted.”

 

A) I wrote the song “Haunted” primarily about being haunted by the memories of someone you no longer associate with; however, the more hidden underlying meaning that was very prominent in the songwriting process for me is Sleep Paralysis. I’ve suffered from Sleep Paralysis since a young age, and it’s made every room that I’ve had since a kid seem haunted because of the terrifying experiences that come with it. If you don’t know what sleep paralysis is, it’s a temporary inability to move or speak while falling asleep or upon waking that usually results in horrifying hallucinations during an episode.

 

Q) What is your songwriting process like? Do you need lyrics before the music? 

 

A) The songwriting process for me usually starts with music first and then lyrics. I’ve found that the most efficient way for me to write is to find a track online that I like a lot and write to it. I flesh out everything until it’s perfectly structured how I want it. I then go to my producers “The Morgue” and send them the beat. They make a similar beat with the same structure, so I don’t have to change any lyrics and then I can knock out the song pretty quickly once I get to the studio.

 

Q) Who would you love to collab with in the future?

 

A) I think it would be really cool to collab with artists like Kid Cudi and The Kid LAROI in the future. I feel like our voices and songwriting methods go well together.

 

Q) What advice would you give to other young adults looking to acting?

 

A) When it comes to acting it can be frustrating sometimes because with something like music you can do it yourself and choose what steps you want to take next and dictate your career. With acting you’re mostly waiting on someone else to give you a role, so if I were to give advice it would be to read a lot of scripts and watch a lot of movies that you could see yourself in. There’s an art to screenplay and the more you surround yourself in the art the easier it will become. Something small I do that helps is when something like a song starts playing in a script I’ll go to Spotify and play the song and then continue to read the script with the song on in the background until it says that the song stops playing. Stuff like that lets me feel and visualize things more which I think helps me a lot in preparing for roles.

 

Q) What are the other upcoming projects you have been busy working on?

 

A) I’m always making music whether it’s in my bedroom or at the studio. I have a ton of unreleased songs which is helpful because I want to stay ahead of myself and not feel like I have to make a song in order to release one. “Chad” just got picked up for Season 2, so I’m excited to get back to that soon as well. I have another project that’s supposed to be filming this summer based on a New York Times bestselling book, but I can’t say much else about it right now.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

 

A) The main thing that I like to remind my fans and supporters is that I used to be the shyest kid you’d ever meet. I could barely even speak to people in public. I never thought I’d be acting let alone acting and singing, so one thing I can say is that even when you think you can’t do something or you’re too nervous to try. It is still very possible, you just have to make small steps towards your goal. If the only thing holding you back is shyness or fear of failure then you should try to make one small step towards your dream and soon enough you’ll get there.