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“I am so lucky to be on such a successful show with such brilliant writing and brilliant cast and excellent directors. Like wow.”
Showtime’s Yellowjackets is really two shows in one. One is about a group of ’90s teenage plane crash survivors, and the other follows them now. The trick is finding that balance between the actors playing the same characters. “Casting just did an excellent job. They found people with similar essences,” says Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays the younger version of Taissa. “If anyone has a harder job, it’s [Tawny Cypress, who plays Taissa’s older self], because technically, she has to play to who her younger person is, me.” Brown admits it’s “intimidating” to have the modern-day characters played by greats like Cypress, Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis and Melanie Lynskey. “All of them make it so easy. There’s no one that’s snobby or diva or rude.” And Brown, who can also be seen in the upcoming Scream 7—”I’m really honored to be playing the first out queer character in that franchise’s history”—is most aware how special this moment is. “I’m really grateful I get to work with people who’ve been doing this for a long time, and all of them happen to be really kind.”
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Editor’s Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
How thrilled are you at how successful this show is?
Oh, beyond thrilled. You know what? None of us knew what was going to happen when we were shooting the first season, especially the ’90s cast, we were like, “What the f***? They have us out here screaming, howling at the moon, rubbing dirt on our faces. This might be embarrassing.” But then it was edited so beautifully and put together so beautifully, and it ended up being a hit, and here we are. I still pinch myself every day. I am so lucky to be on such a successful show with such brilliant writing and brilliant cast and excellent directors. Like wow.
I know you can’t say a lot, but what can you say about this new season?
Oh, my God, it’s even crazier. I can say that everything that you’ve seen, I feel like every episode already of the show, it just gets more intense, more crazier. The stakes get higher, and that is just as true for this season. Everyone really levels up in a way that I’m just so proud of everybody. And there are scenes that I might not personally be able to watch.
Oh really? Because they’re squeamish?
Because it’s Yellowjackets, that’s why. And it’s even more Yellowjackets than it’s even been.
When you’re doing a show like this, where there are so many twists and turns, how do you stay in the moment knowing what’s to come?
No, we don’t know. That’s the thing. They’re so annoying [laughs]. They don’t give us scripts. The only person, I believe, that absolutely knows everything, is Melanie Lynskey. But the rest of us, we get the scripts one at a time. We don’t know what’s coming. We’re all sleuthing around like detectives, trying to figure it out all season, going to the hair and makeup trailer and being like, “Oh, well, do you know what’s gonna happen?” No one tells us, so it’s very easy to be present in the moment, and it’s also because the writing is so good and all the actors are so good, it’s really easy to drop in and be present. And season one and this season, season three, we were actually shooting on location. Season two, we shot in a soundstage, but we were back to shooting outside in the woods [this season] and that makes it easier, too, because you don’t have to fake anything, like it’s actually cold, there’s actually trees, there’s actually bugs. So it’s really easy to be like, “Oh, I feel gross and dirty.”
When you’re playing a character that’s also played by someone else in the same show, how do you balance how you’re going to play her? Do you study the adult version?
I love that question. I wish I had a more interesting answer. The truth is casting. Casting just did an excellent job. They found people with similar essences. Season one, Tawny and I did a little bit of physical work together, but then we were kind of like, “F*** it, whatever.” Like we were really naturally the same as people. If anyone has a harder job, it’s her, because technically, she has to play to who her younger person is, which is me. So if anyone has a harder job, it’s her, but we’re just very aligned, and I think that’s true for everyone who has an actor playing the same role as them. Casting did an excellent job at finding people with the same essence, and we don’t have to try to make it work well.
Sure, the casting is great, but to match actors who are pretty iconic (like Tawny, Christina Ricci, etc.), that’s special.
It’s so intimidating, but that’s not on their part, that’s just we’re all intimidated because we all love and respect the craft and therefore the actors and actresses that came before us. But all of them make it so easy. There’s no one that’s snobby or diva or rude. We get dinners together. We get together at people’s homes. Play games at Melanie’s. They’re all lovely. Tawny and I, we get together and we have a good time. It’s fun. We’re very connected.
But in the beginning, was it intimidating doing the same roles as such established actors?
God, yeah. I guess it was the pilot before we started filming, we all had dinner, and I barely remember it because I was so nervous. I was so nervous to be in the room with all these people. Especially Melanie. I’ve been a fan of Melanie forever, and immediately they were just so kind and so regular and did not make us feel like we were in the room with who we were in the room with. People like Tawny, Melanie, Christina and Juliette.
You also have to stay young and the same age for every season basically. How do you stay in that headspace?
It’s often about clothing. The second I put the clothes on, something drops in. But I will say this season is the first time that I was like, “Okay, after Taissa, I’m really ready to play my age. Like, what is it like to even play a 24-year-old? Someone cast me as even 24, 25. God forbid, someone with a kid. I am ready to play an adult.” But I think that’s part of why I feel so connected to the youth, I’m constantly playing young people, so I have not forgotten the stakes. Like, of course, in Yellowjackets, the stakes are very high. But when you’re in high school, or you’re in middle school, it’s as simple as that person doesn’t like you back, that is the end of the world. And it’s not hard for me to take that seriously. I think a lot of people, once they become an adult, they don’t take that seriously anymore. I appreciate that piece of it as a person and as an artist, but I’m also ready to play an adult.
But that’s also a compliment in Hollywood, to always be asked to play younger.
That is a compliment. Thank you. Is it believable? I don’t know if it’s still believable. [laughs]
Do you ever find yourself going into an adult headspace when you’re supposed to be in teenager mode?
Yeah, that happened a couple times this season. There’s this specific [moment], I think I can say, well, there’s a couple episodes where, for Taissa, the stakes are especially high, and I did feel myself approaching it as I would now. I had to go, “No, no, Taissa wouldn’t be that confident, or comfortable or like standing in her hips that way.” She’s a teenager. She’s awkward. And so if I feel like I’m doing bad acting, that’s actually a good sign, because she would be doing bad acting.
Yeah, there’s outward confidence adults inherently have, even if it isn’t real.
Absolutely not. It’s very new to me. In fact, this season, I walked on set with a different level of groundedness as a person, as an actor, just not at all caring what people thought of me anymore, not stressed. I’m gonna do my work, I’m gonna go home, and I haven’t felt like that before, and that is not at all how the character feels. So that took me a second to be like, “Okay, really cool that I’m there now in my personal life, but that’s not how she feels.” So when they say “action” that’s got to go away. It was difficult and challenging, but in a really nice way.
The show is a hit with award shows, too. Does that add more pressure?
Yes and no. Yes, because we’re all very honored and grateful for that, and we don’t want to let each other down. But no, because we’re also all—well, at least I can speak for the ’90s timeline—we’re all so aware of the cosmic joke that is being A alive and then B to be recognized. And we’re all like, “Okay, cool. We’re being awarded for acting.” Meanwhile, there’s so much sh** going on in the world, so who cares? Let’s just show up, do our best, and we’re grateful it happened once or happened a few times, if it doesn’t happen the season, it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t matter. That kind of takes the pressure off.
Because social media loves nostalgia and your era on the show is the ’90s, fans must put a lot of that on you. Considering you were born in the ’90s, are you sometimes like, “I don’t follow.”
Yeah, I was born in the ’90s, so I was a kid. I was more a kid in the early 2000s, so some of it hits for me and some of it doesn’t, but I understand that feeling of it hitting in a way that I think Gen Z just won’t. What are they gonna be nostalgic about? F****** memes? To them, it’s nostalgia if it happened four months ago, I’m like, “What? No, that’s just a memory. What are you talking about?” [laughs]
That also speaks to the fan bases that come to this show. For many, like myself, I grew up on Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci, so there’s us, but there’s also the younger generation tuning in too. You must be getting it from all angles.
Yeah, it’s cool. But for us, I think in part because the first season came out when it was still peak COVID times, so we got to see that happening online, but we weren’t feeling it in life. There weren’t that many events happening. We weren’t really getting to go to events. Our first premiere was on the smaller side outside, so there’s still this disconnect of, okay, sure, I know it’s a big deal. I see the memes, I go on TikTok, and I’ll see videos, which is fun, but it’s never felt totally real. I think because we missed that bridge and in a way, that’s good because it keeps it feeling like it’s out of our hands. Like, I’ve thought about that for a huge show, like Stranger Things, when that took off, or for Wednesday, for Jenna [Ortega], like, Oh my God, to go back to a second season when there’s been that much hype, it might not feel like yours anymore, and people are telling you how to do your character. That would be difficult.
There is something refreshingly independent about Yellowjackets. That you are free to do whatever you want.
And I think that’ll keep it around forever. I don’t think it’s gonna be a shooting star that’s really bright for five minutes and then no one cares ever again. I think it’ll be shining bright forever, and something people will keep wanting to rewatch, and you could watch this again in 15 years, and it’ll still hit just as hard.
Well, speaking of nostalgia, you’re also part of the iteration of the Scream franchise. I know you probably can’t say much about the new film, but how does it feel to be part of such an iconic franchise?
I’m really grateful in all areas of my career, I get to work with people who’ve been doing this for a long time, and all of them happen to be really kind. Like speaking of Scream, God, I just love Courteney [Cox]. Courteney and Mason [Gooding] and I are really close. It’s just lovely to have someone who’s been around for a long time, who’s willing to guide us and just have fun with us. And with Scream specifically, I’m really honored to be playing the first out queer character in that franchise’s history. I’ve just been guided and shepherded by such brilliant actors and artists and directors who’ve been around for so long, and I’m grateful that they all see something in me, and thanks to them, it’s given me the courage and the ability to launch my own endeavors. I just launched a podcast that I’m really proud of. I’ve never been more proud of anything. It’s a daily news podcast that’s just focusing on headlines that affect the queer community Monday through Friday. It’s called Today iN Gay. It’s a team of 10. We record every single morning. I am so proud of everyone that’s involved. Our team is entirely queer, and I wouldn’t be able to make this show without the other projects that I’ve done in every capacity.
You’re so right about Courteney. When we last spoke, she emailed me a recipe for banana bread that has literally changed my life. She just seems like a really giving person.
She harasses me because I’m just bad at texting. And she’s like, “You don’t like me or something? You never text me back.” I’m like, “No Courteney, I do like you. That’s why I don’t feel the need to text you back.” [laughs]
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