Jimmy Jean-Louis talks Claws and being an ambassador for Haiti
Our series of exclusive interviews with the cast of Claws starts with Jimmy Jean-Louis. On the show he plays the love interest to Niecy Nash’s Desna, Dr. Ruval. However, we learned at the end of season 1 that there is more to his character.
We tackled a lot in our interview with Jimmy. From Dr. Ruval’s role expanding in Claws season 2, to the complications his side job will bring to his relationship with Desna. Of course, with Jimmy’s twitter handle being @HaitianHero, we would have been remiss to not talk about Haiti as well.
Hidden Remote: You’re going to have a bigger role this season. How did it feel when you got that news?
Jimmy Jean-Louis: You know it was great. Obviously, when I became involved in Claws it was just for a few episodes playing Niecy’s love interest. Then at the end of the season I was revealed as the drug kingpin. So automatically that lead to bigger involvement this year. Knowing that I am still the love interest, I am in bed with Uncle Daddy and the boys, and also you have the Russians around that I’m sort of supervising. So it sort of puts Dr. Ruval, in a very complicated kind of situation.
More from Drama
- The Serpent Queen season 2 release updates and everything we know
- Is Quantum Leap on tonight? (November 22, 2023)
- Is Magnum P.I. on tonight? (Nov. 22, 2023)
- Miss Scarlet and the Duke returns for season 4 at the top of 2024
- The Way Home season 2 trailer reveals 1800s storyline and release date!
HR: (laugh) Is that a role that you embrace when you take a script? Knowing that you are introduced as that love interest and that’s how people are going to look at you from the start?
JJL: Yes, I mean in the past I have played that love interest so I know exactly what it comes with. And in a show like this that is led by a powerful woman, and in this case by Niecy, you know I knew it was going to be meaningful. All of the ladies would be looking at me (hahaha) and knowing the story line of Desna’s character… You know she’s never had a real love, and having that doctor coming through brought a lot of hope. Both in the life of Desna and maybe hope in the life of a lot of the audience members that also root for a great relationship.
HR: And then with your character being shown to be part of the drug organization, what should we expect from Dr. Ruval and Desna when that comes to the light?
JJL: Well it’s complicated as I say. When the doctor is with Desna he really does show her real love. So it’s a situation where the audience knows what’s going on but the character herself, Desna, doesn’t know yet. So you still see them as a lovely couple, but at the same time he’s still taking care of business with his drug situation. As we move forward, of course, there will be complications because that cannot stay as beautiful as [it is]. I don’t know how much I can reveal, with you…
HR: Haha. Of course.
JJL: I don’t want to say too much, but of course things will go down at one point. How exactly, we don’t know yet. But of course he’s going to have to face the reality of who he is and what he stands for.
HR: That definitely sounds like something that should be a dramatic turning point in the show. How do you think fans are going to react when it does happen? Or do you have any hopes for how they react when that happens?
JJL: Well you know, I hope they have a little bit of… I hope they will connect enough to the character, to my character, and if you have some connection to the character automatically you will have… I don’t want to say a positive reaction, but at least you’ll understand why he does what he does.
And yes, in my case I really try to portray the character [in] as human [a way] as possible. Because we all have flaws in life. You know it doesn’t matter what position we are in. We’re always stuck within a few situations. Now it all depends on how we behave within the situation. That’s what’s going to determine how the audience reacts or not. Will they still enjoy him, will they like him, will they hate him, will they want to kill him? You know, it’s like I don’t know what to expect. All I can do is just do the best possible job. By that I mean, when I’m with Desna I really show her a lot of love, which is something that she needs. And then if things do go down, then you know, hey, I think… I mean I don’t know what to say (long laugh).
HR: (also laughs) I think that’s one of the other things about this show that makes it great. There aren’t good guys and bad guys. All of the characters are complex. You see the flaws in the characters that are supposed to be the good ones, and you also see the reasons behind the actions of the bad guys. Are you a person that pays attention to the way the fans react to your character?
JJL: Yeah a little bit. A little bit, because I’ve been in shows where the fans have a lot of power. I remember when I was on Heroes, the fans had a lot of power. I think the writing room just really paid great attention to whatever requests came from the fans. So you know, from time to time, you know I check to see how they understand the character.
And also just to know who might enjoy the characters that I play or not. Which is good for me as an actor, down the line, to understand my fan base. Who likes me, who doesn’t like me, who likes what I play, who doesn’t like what I play? You know all of those things I think it’s very important because at the end of the day, what we do, we do it for everybody. Especially for the fans, not just for ourselves. So there are indirect relationships between us and the fans because, as you know, without the fans there is no show.
HR: Exactly
JJL: So you can’t cheat yourself and pretend that you don’t care about the fans. No, most of what we do as actors is to please the fans.
HR: Perfectly said. Especially these days it feels like shows are cancelled left and right. If you aren’t catering to your fans it’s going to be hard to keep a show on the air.
JJL: Yeah exactly. In this case I think we definitely have a show that is so different from everything else that we have on the air that we just have to continue doing what we do. Having a group of ladies being the boss ladies, on TV, it’s not something you see every day. The complexity we have with each character, each of these ladies is completely different, and for once the men are just the supporting cast. You know? I think this is beautiful. We just have to keep feeding the fans with the best possible story lines that we can come up with.
HR: What is it that actually drew you to the show?
JJL: Well I think that what I really liked about the show is that I didn’t know what to expect. Every time you think that it’s going one way it just goes the opposite way, and it still works. Even when I get the scripts, you know. The things that they’re asking me to play just don’t make sense when I read them. But then when everybody comes together it make perfect sense. And I like that. I like the unexpected side of the show. It throws me surprises right, left, and center and that, for me, that’s what keeps me going in life. You know to always be surprised, be shocked, you know pretty much be connected somehow.
HR: With that said, behind the scenes, I’ve seen you post some videos. How strong is the bond between you and your castmates? How much fun are you having behind scenes?
JJL: You know most of my scenes are with Niecy, and I have to say we have a lot of fun together. Playing the love interest, a lot of the scenes are very intimate as well so we are sort of forced (laughing) to know each other very quickly. (laugh) Which is fine because you know Niecy is a lovely girl, so professional and so on top of what she’s doing and I like that about her. . . I think you’re going to see a lot of my stuff with the new Russian girl as well, played by Franka Potente. And I get along pretty well with Franka, being actors who sort of grew up in Europe and are now working in America.
HR: You mentioned a little bit about your background, and of course you are of Haitian descent and recently you got the key to North Miami for Haitian Heritage month so how did that feel?
JJL: You know it feels great. Whenever I get recognized for the work that I do as a Haitian because it puts a positive light on Haiti. Lord knows that Haiti has had all of the catastrophe, all the bad media, all the bad politics. Whenever we can put a little bit of a beautiful and positive message on Haiti, for me, I’m all game. Funny enough it’s not the first time I got the key to a city. In 2010 I received the key to Miami, and now I get the key to North Miami. So very soon I’m going to be able to go to Miami and conduct my business because I have all the keys to open all the doors. (laugh)
HR: It’s all about having the keys as DJ Khaled says. (laugh)
JJL: (laugh) Right, right, no but jokes aside it makes me really feel proud to represent Haiti throughout the struggles. I’ve done it for the past 16, maybe 20 years. Ever since Heroes came out. You know, playing The Haitian on Heroes is really what opened the doors for me. Additional note, I was also given the title of Ambassador at large, to Haiti, by the President about 4 years ago. So technically speaking I am an ambassador and that’s why I take it so seriously. Whenever I can do something good to represent Haiti, I definitely do it.
HR: Myself being a history buff, I think that one of the most overlooked stories in our history is the Haitian Revolution.
JJL: Yes indeed! In 2011, shortly after the earthquake, I was able to portray Toussaint Louverture in a mini-series (by the same name). It’s two 90-minute episodes. It’s a French-speaking mini-series but it’s really well done. We’ve done extremely well in France and throughout the world. The only reason we don’t have it available here in America is because it’s French-speaking. It tells you the story of Toussaint Louverture around the Haitian revolution against the French where the Haitians defeated the great army of Napoleon Bonaparte which is a part of the story that the schools don’t tell you about which is a shame.
Up until today, Haiti being the first black republic, to fight and win their independence has changed so much. Even within america, if it wasn’t for Haiti, Louisiana might still be speaking French. It’s really because of the Haitian involvement that America was able to get Louisiana back from France. So Haiti has played a very important part in the history of mankind. It’s just never been recognized for it.
HR: I’ve heard a lot of clamor around the industry for a movie about the Haitian Revolution. Would you be interested in getting involved in a project like that?
JJL: Yeah. I’d definitely come back to that again if it came my way. As I’ve said, the one I did I’m extremely proud of and I hope more people get a chance to see it. But if we had to do an English version of the Haitian Revolution I think it would be worth it. It would become an epic story, an epic movie if you have the right people behind it to give it the right visibility. I think it’s definitely a must-do because by that piece of history we get to understand ourselves a lot better. In America and across the world.
I’ll definitely push that agenda as much as I can. There have been a few people who are interested in doing an English version so I’m pushing. I’m not going to name any names but you never know, within the next few years something might happen.
And talking about Haiti, and Claws, I should mention that we are introducing my mother in the show. Which is played by Sherryl Lee Ralph. She’s a great mother and you’ll get to see her in I think the second episode. She’s coming on board and she’s just an excellent actress.
We’ll look forward to seeing more of Dr. Ruval, and his mother, as Claws returns to TNT Sunday, June 10th at 9/8 Central.