After breaking records with his historic Emmy award, Jharrel Jerome could make history once again at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards this January. His lauded performance as Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay’s miniseries When They See Us made him the first Afro-Latino to win an Emmy, a feat he proudly celebrated by hoping his achievement would make those in the DR, where his family is from, proud. And while DuVernay’s four-part drama about the five young men falsely accused and convicted over a Central Park sexual assault in 1989 was blanked by the Golden Globes (an organization that only saw fit to nominate two Latinas across all its categories), Jerome nabbed a coveted nod for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie at the annual SAG Awards, which are voted on by actors across the industry.
Should the 22-year-old actor prevail, he’ll become the youngest winner in the category. He’d be besting a record set forth just last year when then-31-year-old Darren Criss won for his portrayal of Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Moreover, he’d become the first Afro-Latino to win not just that category but any individual SAG award. Indeed, in its 25-year run, for example, only two non-white actors have won this specific category: Raúl Juliá posthumously won the inaugural category in 1994 for The Burning Season while Idris Elba won in 2015 for his work on Luther. Here’s hoping Jerome, who’s unforgettable first as the playful teenage Wise and later still as the resilient older Wise, joins their ranks and gets a chance once again to honor the powerful work DuVernay and her entire team accomplished with When They See Us.
When They See Us is streaming on Netflix.