LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� is closing out his big year on a literal high note.
After donning Malcolm X鈥檚 distinctive browline glasses in the and getting his modern-day Rambo on in the the 30-year-old English actor showcases his vocal talents in 鈥淢ufasa: The Lion King.鈥�
To deliver as the titular regal lion, Pierre trained under Lin-Manuel Miranda in what he calls a 鈥渨onderful singing boot camp.鈥�
鈥淢y voice was doing things I never imagined it could do. I was hitting notes that I didn鈥檛 think existed for my range,鈥� Pierre said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just really hoping the footage of me singing these songs doesn鈥檛 come out because I鈥檓 using all the techniques. Lin鈥檚 like 鈥楾hrow the baseball!鈥� So I鈥檓 throwing the baseball trying to hit that high note.鈥�
His Hollywood trajectory keeps going up: He's been named one of and HBO announced in October that, opposite Kyle Chandler, Pierre will lead 鈥淟anterns.鈥�
That鈥檒l be the broad-shouldered, hazel-eyed actor鈥檚 second DC Comics-based series, following his 2018-2019 run on SyFy鈥檚 鈥淜rypton,鈥� which explored early days on Superman鈥檚 home planet.
As for Pierre鈥檚 own origin story: He grew up in South London as the oldest of three, with childhood aspirations of being a track star and a criminologist. At 13, he joined a local theater troupe that performed in a warehouse, sometimes with just several people in the audience.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 actually where I learned some of my foundations. And one of those is irrespective of whether there is one person in the audience or 1,500 people ... you give the same performance, you give the same energy,鈥� Pierre said.
Mark down as impressed by that energy. After watching Pierre play Cassio in the Globe Theatre鈥檚 鈥淥thello,鈥� Jenkins cast him as Caesar in The small part grew and grew after Pierre arrived on set in Atlanta.
鈥淚 found myself just creating scenes for him,鈥� Jenkins said. 鈥淵ou know, that character is in the show for much longer, much longer than his character exists in the narrative (Colson Whitehead鈥檚 novel). He just keeps reappearing. And that鈥檚 just because it was just a joy to work with him. And it was so clear that his presence was just immediately a part of the spiritual essence of the show.鈥�
Counting Denzel Washington, and Sidney Poitier as career role models, Pierre has been deliberate with his choices as he moves deeper into stardom. Art is the end goal 鈥� not fame or even fun, really. He hopes new fans go back to watch his 2022 indie 鈥淏rother,鈥� about family bonds in 1990s Toronto.
鈥淚 always want my community to feel seen. I want them to feel respected. I want them to feel heard and understood. And I think the projects that I choose, that鈥檚 my small contribution hopefully to that manifesting itself,鈥� he said.
Pierre, now living mostly in Los Angeles, says he's been reaching out regularly to his mom back in London as he navigates the Hollywood circuit.
鈥淎ny time I speak with her, any time I鈥檓 present with her, I feel safe. I feel reassured, I feel rejuvenated,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 definitely call her phone a lot and she鈥檒l answer even if she鈥檚 at work. Yes, I鈥檓 30 and 6-foot-3 and doing Terry Richmond in 鈥楻ebel Ridge.鈥� But like to me, I鈥檓 still her baby and I鈥檓 still her little boy and she always makes time for me, no matter what the situation.鈥�
Both on and off-set, Pierre carries himself with a sense of purpose and seriousness. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know that there鈥檚 anything frivolous about Aaron Pierre, even in downtime, which is 鈥� I mean that as a compliment,鈥� Jenkins said.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very intellectually engaged. But he also looks like a superhero. And there鈥檚 a version of him that is only viewed that way. He鈥檚 always diligent about protecting against that by doing things that are maybe a bit outside the box,鈥� Jenkins added. 鈥淎nd for me, I just hope that he gets to grow and express himself in all the different ways that I think he鈥檚 capable of.鈥�
Indeed, when asked about his aspirations for future creative collaborators, the first name out of Pierre's mouth might surprise:
鈥淚f you could put a word in for me, please,鈥� he said.
鈥淵eah, just to continue to work with filmmakers who inspired me and whose work I admire and respect and that will inevitably put me in a situation where I鈥檓 forced to evolve and develop and grow and challenge myself as an actor. And I want to be doing that until the day that I decide to stop doing this,鈥� Pierre added. 鈥淚 want to always feel like I鈥檓 growing, like I鈥檓 shifting the needle. You know, I never want to feel stagnant. I never want to feel comfortable.鈥�
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For more on AP鈥檚 2024 class of Breakthrough Entertainers, visit
Ryan Pearson, The Associated Press
