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In what seems like another lifetime, Jeremy Meeks was usually identified as a gangster and a convict. Then, in 2014, when his mugshot went viral, he became the “hot felon”, and after leaving prison, a whole new world opened up to embrace him. Soon, he was gliding on runways as modelling contracts fell into his lap, and later, acting jobs came his way. Meeks’ latest film, Love After Holidays, will have its première this evening at the Carib 5 cinema in Cross Roads, on the same day he celebrates his birthday. On Wednesday, shortly after he arrived on the island, 5 Questions With... had a sit-down with Jeremy Meeks, who is as humble as he is handsome.
1 Your life is a testament to the saying, ‘God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform’. Would you say this journey has been a blessing for you?
I don’t even know if blessing is the correct word ... something beyond that ... [It’s] the way that God strategically put people in my life at certain moments in time. And, now that I am in the situation that I am [in], I realise that even in some of my darkest moments were some of my most incredible. So, yeah ... it’s beyond a blessing, and every single day I wake up with full gratitude.
2 Did you ever dream that this would be your life in 2025?
No. I never really dreamt about being an actor, a model, a singer, an entertainer. It was never a thought. Did I really think that I could do those things? Yes. But the wanting was never there. I was just in survival mode and living with a lot of anger in my childhood and in my teenage years; so trying to become a movie star didn’t even register in my head as a possibility.
3 (a). Modelling or acting. Which do you prefer?
I prefer acting. Modelling is different for men. We are very limited on masculine poses that we have. Female models have thousands of feminine poses they can just pose for hours. So, for me, modelling is not challenging, and I love to challenge myself. For me, taking on a project like a movie and breaking down the script, breaking down the character, and creating a back story; learning my dialogue and just like really pouring into a project is definitely challenging.
(b) Do you see yourself going beyond being in front of the camera and getting involved as a director or producer?
They kinda messed up when they cracked the door open for me. I’m in and I ain’t going nowhere. I like to have a foot in almost every aspect of [being an] entertainer. I would love to write and direct and shoot a short film. To be honest I never saw myself as a creative. I was just a gang member. But, now that I am in this light, it’s time to start creating.
4 How different is your life now from what it was pre-mugshot, and do you ever pinch yourself?
[My life] was scary … lots of violence. Before that mugshot, I had already done eight and a half years in state prison. Not straight … but even that aspect is much worse because I was so institutionalised that I would get out, and within 72 hours or a week, I would be right back in prison – and that was normal to me. That’s where I felt comfortable. Being in society, I felt out of place because I didn’t know how to ‘adult’. I had been locked up from a juvenile into young adulthood. It’s scary when you have a lot of people doing adult things, and you don’t know where to start. (Smiles) How are things now? It almost feels like a movie that I watched or a book that I read. My old life feels like a movie that I’d seen a couple years ago. Like I really didn’t live it … the shootings and stabbings and riots . And now I’m just travelling and raising my kids with my family. I just came back from Germany. My life is so different now. I pinch myself every day.
5 Did you grow up hearing ‘you’re so cute’, and what impact did that have on you? In hindsight, would you have gotten all tattooed?
Definitely, my mom has beautiful kids. Growing up hearing that had some kind of impact. I got so used to hearing it that I said “Oh thanks.” But once I got older and especially after I had my son and seeing how strong DNA is, it’s scary. On one of my last stretches in prison I was in the hall and I was able to look at myself in the mirror ‘– cause most of the prison mirrors are scratched. I was looking at myself and I had already been in solitary confinement for five months and it hit me that I had covered myself in tattoos because I was afraid to fail in life. And, if I covered myself in tattoos, that would kill the shot of having the need to go fill out applications and try to get a job. Yeah, it was a cold realisation that I almost tried to self-sabotage from being an adult. It’s easy to be in the streets and make fast money; but it’s hard to abide by the law and go to work and have a structure when you come from the streets.
BRAWTA: Had it not been for your viral mugshot, where would you be today?
I don’t know ... But, what I do know is that my entire life I have been favoured by God, and God had a plan for me. Even in my darkest moments ... sitting in prison. I’ve been addicted to drugs many times. I’ve had some really dark moments but even through them I know that God protected me and held my hand ... so where would I be? I don’t know. But I know that I am supposed to be right here, right now.
The name of my first movie was True to the Game. And when I went to prison at 18, I probably read at a fifth-grade level. So I pretty much taught myself to read because when you are in solitary, all you can do is read books. True to the Game was the first book I read that transformed into a movie and took me out of the cell. And, from that moment I started reading all the Terry Woods trilogy. And, 22 years later, I am in all the movies … the same books that I was sitting in solitary confinement reading … that is God.
(b) Why did you sign on to ‘Love After Holidays’?
The script was just incredible. It was refreshing to read a script where they weren’t trying to put a gun into my hand. This killer gangster type is a box they try to keep me in ... so this was fun ... it was nice. It just all came together. I haven’t even watched the trailer. So at the première will be the first time I’m seeing it.
And, in closing, we at The Gleaner say “ Happy birthday, yeah, mi friend (yeah). One more year pon dem (yeah). Gwaan hold ah vibe, give thanks fi life. Next year, we doing it again (yeah-yeah)!” [Busy Signal– Happy Birthday]
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