Empire star revels in playing gay character

Jussie Smollett, who plays a gay character in Empire, is seeking to bond with his homophobic dying father. Photo / Supplied

Jussie Smollett is revelling in playing a gay singer-songwriter seeking to bond with his homophobic dying father.

American Hit series Empire is all about music, family and power. Terrence Howard stars as a father who runs a successful music business. Diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, he must choose one of his three sons to take over when he dies. Living talked to Jussie Smollett, 31, who plays son Jamal Lyon.

How do you feel about Jamal's character and did you ever expect such great success?

Jamal is an amazing person and I'd definitely be friends with him. As far as the success of the show, you never know whether it's going to be successful. You just work hard and pray and hope for the best. I knew there was good energy around the show. I didn't necessarily expect it to be such a fan favourite.

Do you like the way your character has developed on the show?
I love the way the character has evolved.

The journey he's on, from when we meet him in the first episode is not where he's at by the end of the season. It's a transition of a young man becoming an adult,. I love his strength, his drive and that same hustle [the father's character] Lucious had when he was younger, that's what Jamal shares. I love Jamal, I love where he's going and I love where he's about to go in season two. The show has great music and so many guest stars. I love Patti LaBelle. She's definitely my favourite. And also I love any time when I get to perform with Terrence or Yazz, who plays Hakeem.

Why is Empire so groundbreaking?

It's truthful. We're doing it in an entertaining way, however. We're not doing it in a preachy way, so people are able to get a certain message and then we're holding up the mirror to them. And then we're giving them the option to make their own decisions: is this you, are you treating someone this way? I keep saying it's easy to say, "We're not homophobic" until your child tells you they're gay. It's easy to say you're not a racist until your daughter brings home a man that's of the race or culture or religion you don't necessarily want her to participate in. We're holding up a mirror but we're not preaching, we're telling stories. This is not the story, it's a story. I feel like it's being handled in a groundbreaking and thought-provoking and envelope-pushing way. So I'm proud of it.

How does being Jamal challenge you?

Jamal is so much like me and that's a very scary place to go, but it's a very welcome place to go as an artist. But that's what gets me off - that's what makes me happy, the roles that I'm scared of.

Do you think today's television and films do enough to represent all cultures, races and religions?

Well, no, of course not, we don't have enough representation. But we keep breaking ground. And it's important to get the work out there. The success of multi-cultural shows like Empire, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder shows that people want to see people who look like themselves on television and in films, and people want to see people who don't look like themselves. We want to see a world through cinema and television that reflects our world and our world is not one colour. We have to embrace that and show that diversity. So we're getting there, not fast enough, but we're getting there.

Jussie Smollett in Empire. Photo / Supplied

Would you describe the Lyon family as dysfunctional? Do they express their stresses through music instead of words?

Absolutely. That's exactly what they are - what they cannot say, they say through music. They are a high-functioning dysfunctional family, as so many families are. They are just the next level. Obviously their dysfunction is magnified by money and glamour and murder, but they are a family, At their core their intentions are good, they just go about it all the wrong way.

You were already an independent artist before you did Empire. Did that help you better relate to your role?

Absolutely. Everything I ever wanted to do in my career is mixed up in this part of playing Jamal. Being an independent artist helped me understand Jamal's journey because I performed in those cafes. I've done Viper Room, I've done House of Blues. I've also done hole-in-the-wall little performances at poetry nights.

Is it taboo to be gay in the hip-hop and rap community? What are you discovering about these issues through Empire?

This is not telling the story of homophobia in the black community. It's telling the story of homophobia in a family that just so happens to be in the black community. This isn't telling the story of homophobia in hip-hop, it's the story of a family going through homophobia and they run hip-hop. This is not an isolated situation that is simply for black people. Some of my best friends are Italian, Jewish, Spanish, Brazilian, Irish, British, and they all deal with homophobia. I think it's important to tackle it in our community, but it's also important to not isolate it in our community. I'm glad we're able to do that with Empire.

Empire debuts on TV2 at 8.45pm on Tuesday.