Jake Allyn on BET’s ‘The Quad’ [Exclusive Interview]

Actor Jake Allyn couldn’t pass up the chance to be a part of BET’s new series, The Quad.

The Quad follows students and administrators at Georgia A&M, a fictitious Historically Black College or University. Allyn plays the role of BoJohn Folsom, the school’s first white starting quarterback.

I had a few questions for Allyn about his role on The Quad and why viewers should be excited about the new series.

Tell-Tale TV: When did you decide that you wanted to get into acting, and what led to that decision?

Jake Allyn: I’ve been an obsessed movie fan since I was a kid, so I’ve always been around acting. I even performed Mel Gibson’s Braveheart speech for my third grade talent show.

However, I never seriously acted until college. One summer, I shadowed my older brother Conor, a film director, around his movie set and I fell in love with it. To see people transform physically, mentally, and emotionally looked so challenging that I had to give it a go. Shortly after I signed up for acting classes and never looked back.

Tell-Tale TV: What was it that drew you to want to be a part of The Quad, initially?

Allyn: Two major things. First was my personal connection to football. I grew up playing in Dallas and I was awarded an offer to Cornell University where I played all four years. I’ve learned more from football than I have from any classroom (no offense to the wonderful Cornell University of course)!

I was able to have the opportunity to embody a collegiate athlete, especially one as multi-layered as my character BoJohn Folsom. This character was something I couldn’t pass up.

The second was my eagerness to learn about HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). I knew they existed but had no idea the history and culture behind all of them. My character BoJohn has no idea what a HBCU is at the beginning of the show. While a little nerve-wrecking, it was a challenge I wanted to take on.

While playing a football player provided me a deep personal connection, playing a HBCU student provided me the challenge of stepping into another world.

Tell-Tale TV: What else can you tell us about your character?

Allyn: The first thing I can say is that nothing comes easy for BoJohn, especially starting as quarterback. While he is a tremendous athlete, so is everyone in college and starting spots are not simply handed out. BoJohn must earn more playing time from the coaches while earning more respect from his teammates who don’t exactly welcome the new white quarterback.

BoJohn also deals with an extremely tough family dynamic. Like many college students, BoJohn’s a kid who is becoming a man, but with that manhood and maturity comes a new set of principles.

These new principles do not sit well with his small town Texas parents. Throughout Season 1, BoJohn must balance the family he loves deeply with his new life he loves more and more every day.

Tell-Tale TV: Just from looking at the sneak peek of The Quad, it’s clear this is a series that’s going to touch upon all kinds of important issues. What are some of the reasons people should be excited about this show?

Allyn: People will love that this show does not shy away from anything. It dives into political, racial, and social issues within the United States. But all the while, it remains a very personal show that always stays centered on its main characters.

No matter the size of the issue, the audience will never lose sight of the character they’ll come to know inside and out. Also, while I can’t dive into specific story lines, I think people will be enthralled because each individual character pioneers a different larger issue within American society ranging from domestic abuse to racism to gang violence.

I think I speak for the cast when I say that each of us felt tremendous pride to carry the torch of whatever our issue was and it really shows in our performances.

Tell-Tale TV: Can you tell us a bit about what it’s like behind the scenes?

Allyn: Well, I find that it’s actually really easy to work hard when you care about everyone around you. You want to do right by them when it comes to your big scene or big day on set.

Also, the producers and BET did such an awesome job assembling our large ensemble cast. We have people from every walk of life, so we all balance each other out. There are actors from right here in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and even the great state of Texas.

I knew Season 1 was going to be fun when the first day we all arrived, the entire cast went to Top Golf and just hit balls, had dinner and drinks, and hung out until closing time.

Tell-Tale TV: What have you learned from working on The Quad that you think you can carry with you into future roles?

Allyn: I love going to watch other actors when I’m not working that day. It’s like auditing an acting class except all these actors are massively talented and obviously successful.

From watching Sean Blakemore, the team’s football coach, I learned stillness and patience. He simply won’t move or talk unless he’s motivated organically. From Anika Noni Rose, the school’s president, I learned physical acting. She can tell a whole story and provide a real sense of character just by the way she walks or sits in a chair. It’s awesome but also humbling to watch.

[From] Peyton Alex Smith, who plays a rapper escaping his past, I learned to trust the unknown. Peyton won’t care if a scene goes in one direction one take and then a completely different direction the next. As long as he knows his character and circumstances, there’s no fear to where the scene may go. I envy it and definitely plan on stealing it for my future roles!

Tell-Tale TV: You’re currently writing and starring in two new thriller films. What can you tell us about those, and do you have any other upcoming projects?

Allyn: I actually didn’t act in them. I don’t like to chew off more than I can swallow, so I’d like to work my way up to writing films that I also star in.

The first is a spy thriller, Ex-Patriot, which stars How to Get Away With Murder’s Charlie Weber and Rogue One’s Valene Kane. Shot in Bogota, Colombia, the blend of exotic locations, gritty gun fights, and intense personal drama makes for a film audiences will be on the edge of their seat for.

The second, Forsaken, is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set in a small Oklahoma town. It’s a dark love story with plenty of blood!

It’s a tremendously personal film as I co-wrote it alongside my brother, Conor Allyn, who also directed. Conor’s been a director since he was thirteen years old and strapping fireworks to my chest to work as gunshot squibs… Now that I think about it, maybe that’s that why I chose to just safely sit at a computer and write a script for him to direct, as I’m finally smart enough to realize that strapping fireworks to my chest is not a good idea!

Tell-Tale TV: When you have the opportunity, what kinds of things do you like to watch on television? Do you have a current favorite show?

Allyn: There’s so much great TV it’s hard to pick just one. I love the Venice Beach, MMA show Kingdom. It stars my favorite actor, Jonathan Tucker, and I love the blend of action/MMA fights, and all the emotionally driven high stake drama between the characters.

I’m also obsessed with the new trend of anthology series so I’m all over shows like True Detective, Fargo, and American Crime. I totally binge-watched Stranger Things, too!

Be sure to catch Jake Allyn on The Quad, premiering Tuesday, January 31st at 10/9c on BET.

Featured image credit: Lorenzo Hodges

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