Rising Star: Chase Brown From HBO's "Lovecraft Country"

Chase is just starting out but he is already making headway. He can be seen in a number of commercials including Belgard Paves the Way and Breathe of Life. He also joined up and coming rapper NBA YoungBoy in his music video for his single Lonely Child in 2019. Kicking off 2020, Chase joined the latest season of Tyler Perry’s “Ruthless” and “The Underground Railroad” from Amazon studios. Chase, 11 years old, likes to spend his free time fishing, playing basketball, and playing video games. He is a huge sports fan and straight A student in school. He looks up to Michael B. Jordan and hopes to one day get a chance to get behind the camera to direct and produce. His new show “Lovecraft Country” is from Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams and based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff. Chase will take on the role of ‘Young Atticus Black’ in the year 1934. “Lovecraft Country” follows the story of ‘Atticus Black’ (Jonathan Majors) as he travels across the U.S. in the 1950’s in search of his missing father. The story explores the conjunction between the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft and racism in the United States during the era of Jim Crow laws. Chase spoke to us about his career and his new show, take a look.

How did you get into acting? And when did you realized this was something you wanted to pursue? I first got interested in acting when I did my first commercial and It’s when I knew acting was for me. I was always picked to be in plays and programs when I was really little. The commercial was a cool experience and I got to meet a lot of people and after I left I felt like acting was something I wanted to keep doing.

Can you tell us more about your first commercial?

Sure! That was my very ever first professional job. It was a commercial for Belgard and it aired on HGTV.

What’s your favorite thing about playing your hole in such an iconic story? Do you think you and your character have anything in common? My favorite thing about being in this iconic story is that it touches on important issues such as racism. Because Lovecraft Country touches on those issues, before leaving for set, I got to spend a lot more time with my great grandmother that is 84, listening as she talked to me about the Jim Crow era and things she experienced here in Alabama during that time. The thing me and my character have in common is that we are both young kids.

Any special moments on set that you can share with us? One special moment is when I had to get all of my hair cut off. I had been growing my hair in the top for 3 years but had to get it all cut off for Lovecraft Country. I was attached to my hair and was emotional as I saw it all fall to the floor. Michael K. Williams encouraged me and told me not to worry it’ll grow back fast and that sometimes actors have to change their hair. Now I just look at my hair as hair!

How was spending time on set? Did you enjoy it? The time I spent on set was enjoyable. It wasn’t a lot of time but the time I spent helped me learn a lot about how sets are made and set up. It was interesting because it was my first time on a tv show set.

Are you excited to see yourself on tv?

Specially for a show that holds so much meaning and is on such a big network like HBO? Yes it’s exciting when I see myself on tv. It’s always like wow, it’s me.

When you’re not busy working, what are some of the things you like to do for fun?

When I’m not working I do like to go fishing. It’s something that makes me happy and it’s peaceful. I also play video games on my Xbox and shoot basketball!

What do you want to be when your grow up? Do you think you’ll still be acting ?

When I grow up I do want to continue to be an actor but I would also like to be a basketball player in the NBA.

Is there an specific role you’d like to see yourself playing someday? I would like to play a basketball player. I would like for Steph Curry to be my coach and Michael B.Jordan to be in it too.