Kelvin Harrison Jr. Wants to Break Out
This story appears in Justsmile Issue 5,
How Do We Belong?
Photography Adali Schell
Styling Kevin Hunter
Text Nicolas-Tyrell Scott
Kelvin wears jacket and shirt PRADA. Watch CARTIER.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. is neither a sportsman by design nor by experience. The actor was born to two churchbound musicians who thought he might eventually follow in their footsteps, and even in his home state of Louisiana, beloved by some as the true “Sportsman’s Paradise,” he never harbored any secret desire to play basketball, or soccer, or to be a wrestler — unlike his tragic, drug-addled character in Trey Edwards Shultz’s Waves, from 2019. Still, Harrison’s apathy for sports (he always hated them in high school) doesn’t stop him from making sense of his journey as an actor with the language of athleticism. In fact, when he thinks of his own career, easing towards leading man status, Harrison doesn’t see the possibility of Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, or Samuel L. Jackson. Instead, he sees the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Kelvin wears coat, jacket and shirt PRADA. Watch CARTIER.
“I remember reading that Jalen was an early enrollee at the University of Alabama, before he was even 18 yet,” says Harrison, pensive and fervent behind a pair of gold AHLEM frames. “He was so talented, but he ranked 192nd in his class — pretty low, compared to everyone else, but he had focus and drive, and a devotion to the game. That was me when I first entered acting.” In other words, Hurts reminds Harrison, who just celebrated his 30th birthday this past July, of younger Harrison, adrift in Los Angeles aged 17, close but still far away from his dreams in the city that would one day make them all come true. There was a time when he might have resonated with the quarterback’s college career, and the necessity of earning the approval of those who were poised to overlook him. But now, with movies like Elvis, Chevalier, and the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King under his belt, he feels like he’s already won the Super Bowl. Next up is world domination.
Kelvin wears jacket and shirt PRADA. Watch CARTIER.
In the years since being nominated for the 2017 Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor, Harrison has become known in Hollywood for his humanistic portrayals of Black historical and cultural figures. His desire to embody such luminaries — Martin Luther King Jr, Pharrell Williams, Jean-Michel Basquiat — seems informed by a profound sense of personal duty. “We’ve all been called to do something,” says Harrison, the voice of his pastor father speaking through him. So much of who he is, he says, is driven by his relationship to his faith and a sense of personal duty. When he was first approached for the leading role in Genius: MLK/X, he was initially hesitant — not because he didn’t want to play the civil rights sachem, but because he was already preparing to play a different genius. “But God said, ‘Nah you’re not even ready to play Basquiat,’” says Harrison firmly, referring to the delayed Julius Onah biopic he’s set to star in. “Like, ‘I need you to lock and play a young man from the South who had a great calling, coming into his own. I need you portray Martin Luther King’s journey to even understand what yours is supposed to be.’”
Kelvin wears jacket TOM FORD. Shirt AMIRI. Belt BRUNELLO CUCINELLI. Jeans CALVIN KLEIN at Palace Costume. Chain and watch CARTIER.
Discernment then, for Kelvin, is in his discourse with God and loved ones. They usher him towards his professional conclusions, but also in his development as a man, and they help to fortify his worldview. In this instance, he was able to move from fear of a role he wasn't quite ready for into confidence with one that resonated with his own intersectionalities and identity-markers. Initially raised in one of the south’s heartlands, New Orleans, the Harrisons, like many families across America, were deeply embedded in their religion, Kelvin’s relationship with God almost primitive. Setting pastures in Saint Joseph's Baptist Church, his mother sat at the helm of the choir as its honorable director, and his father Kelvin Harrison Sr. worked locally as a music teacher. “After Hurricane Katrina, my dad brought me to school with him,” Kelvin reveals. “The wisdom and discipline I received from him as well as my mother are the foundation for how I live my life now and how I take pride in my work. There are standards to be met when you’ve been called to do something.”
Kelvin wears jacket, shirt and pants AMIRI.
Read the rest of this story in Justsmile Issue 5, coming this December.
Kelvin wears sweater and jacket POLO RALPH LAUREN. T-shirt CALVIN KLEIN and shorts LEVI'S, both at Palace Costume. Belt and hoodie PALACE COSTUME. Watch CARTIER. Shoes LORO PIANA.
