'The Society' actor Jacques Colimon spills the beans on what it's like to play a jerk with a heart of gold
Netflix's 'The Society' features an ensemble of actors all talented in their own way. Playing a diverse set of roles, the young actors have filled in the shoes of their characters with ease. One such young actor is Jacques Colimon, an award-winning multidisciplinary Haitian-American performer, poet, and human rights activist based in Los Angeles, who plays the role of Will LeClair on the young adult series.
'The Society' follows a group of rich, young teenagers who are mysteriously transported to a facsimile of their posh town and must now figure out a way to go back home. To do so, they must figure out how to survive by forming alliances.
As Will LeClair, Colimon plays the role of Allie's (Allie Pressman played by Kathryn Newton) best friend who grew up in foster care. He comes from a low-income background and a neighborhood just outside of the posh town. In 'The Society', Will represents those most vulnerable in any society because they have access to only limited resources. He depends on a communist philosophy for survival.
In an exclusive chat with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Colimon explained his character in-depth. "He is one character whose natural disadvantages disappear when he is thrust into this setting. We [the teenagers on 'The Society'] are in this new place, and I don't have to go back to my foster parents, so we build a new form of government and figure out how to live cooperatively like a group," he shared.
As a character though, Will received mixed reactions from the audiences — many weren't appreciative of the fact that Will was oscillating between two girls Allie and Kelly Aldrich (played by Kristine Froseth) till he finally makes a decision. Many from the audiences believed Will was a jerk because of his confused state of mind. "He's still a boy!" Colimon exclaims in defense.
"I think there is a boyish immaturity that he grows out of over the 10 episodes. As a teenager, I tend to fall for an image of a person instead of the person. It is fair to say that that's how a lot of us roll in high school," he said. "In fact, there are so many people who cannot let go of this idea of a person and fall for them."
Similarly, according to Colimon, what Will feels for Kelly is a head-over-heels strong crush, but it isn't anything more than that. "But then, as things start to unfold, he starts to see the real connection he has had with Allie and how beautiful that is."
You can watch the full interview here: