“Stay with this series,” chuckled Carmen Ejogo about I’m a Virgo, “because it gets weirder, but also makes more sense as you keep watching.” Indeed it does — on both fronts. All seven episodes of the breathtakingly original new series from Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) drops on Prime Video June 24. Clearly, this is the show to watch this summer. It’s fresh, inventive, trippy, and a welcome addition to the streaming universe.
The coming-of-age dark comedy revolves around Cootie, superbly played by When They See Us Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerome. There’s some set-up on Cootie’s life early on. He’s unique, you see, and by the time things get rolling here, we’re in Cootie’s life when he’s a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old Black man from Oakland. Certainly different from other kids, Cootie has been raised by his strict but loving Aunt LaFrancine (Ejogo) and Uncle Martisse (Mike Epps).
Things shift dramatically — and comedically — when curious Cootie is discovered by neighborhood teens heavy on political activism. And so begins Cootie’s journey of exploring what the world has to offer outside the protective confines of his home. Well, it’s about connection, laughter, parties, plenty of fast food, and… racism. Carmen Ejogo shared more about the series and her role in this exclusive MovieWeb interview.
Full Circle Moments and Embracing Absurdity
Carmen Ejogo immediately credits Boots Riley’s bold vision in I’m A Virgo. The show uses puppetry — a 13-foot puppet, in fact — and practical effects to create many of the scenes featuring Ejogo, Mike Epps, and Jharrel Jerome. This wouldn’t be the first time Ejogo was fascinated with Riley’s daring creative efforts. The two worked together on the masterful Sorry to Bother You, so the show is a reunion of sorts. Even with Epps, with whom Ejogo worked on Sparkle.
She noted that the show, which leans into darkly comedic absurdity with aplomb, is timely in both its artistic vision and the themes that it explores:
It’s a good time for the show to come out, because there have never been more absurd times than we’re living now. Like, it’s just all coming to some weird crescendo for everybody. There’s a sort of collective consciousness that recognizes there is some other level of, like, transcendence that we might all be hopefully reaching. Given so many things we have to grapple with on a daily basis, we might be really primed for this kind of insanity.
It’s great fun watching that “insanity” play out in I’m a Virgo, which also stars Olivia Washington, Brett Gray, Kara Young, Allius Barnes, and Walton Goggins. Watch for how well Mike Epps expands Cootie’s world and perspectives once he meets a posse of friends. “At the core, we deal with some real themes and topics in this show,” said Ejogo, pointing out capitalist angst and racism. “It’s not like it’s completely absurd or entirely surreal. There’s nothing grounded about it. I think once people get past a lot of the stuff that feels a little weird and a little kooky, you do realize that we’re talking about stuff that a lot of people have to really navigate on a daily basis.”
On Playing Cootie’s Aunt
Surely, an Emmy nomination is waiting for Jharrel Jerome — his performance is mesmerizing. But so is Carmen Ejogo’s take here. She brings a level of depth and grace to Aunt LaFrancine. “When I first heard about the project, it was very minimal information, but I just knew I wanted to work with Boots,” shared the actor. “And I knew, overall, the sort of world Boots was creating was going to be one that was highly artistic, super inventive, and that it would be a huge risk on many levels; that it might work, might not.”
Ejogo went on to say that she appreciated the creative vibe Riley brought to the overall project and that it wasn’t so predictable. “I wasn’t entirely clear what I was getting into to be honest, and I didn’t read a script and then go, ‘I’m signing on,’” she added. “It was like, I’ll just go along with whatever you’re doing, because I have faith in you [Boots], as a voice in this film community. I then felt LaFrancine, for me, is an activist. She’s an incredibly strong woman, but she’s also very swift and fearful. That’s authentic as being a parent in America. I know what that feels like to want to raise children, but to also realize that it’s going to be an often terrifying reality for them once they leave home.”
Surprisingly — or not, if you think about it — Ejogo and Jharrel Jerome didn’t really “share” many scenes together. She bonded more with the puppet and the “idea” of Cootie on set. She also noted that the show “plays with extremes.”
“I like the fact that LaFrancine represents old-school activism as well. She references Che Guevara, and clearly there’s some other thing she’s representing that’s about changing the world,” Ejogo said. “But her way of doing it is in contrast with the younger kids in the show. She definitely feels a little bit behind in the times. But yeah, things get weirder as the show goes on.”
You can watch that brilliant weirdness play out when I’m A Virgo debuts on Prime Video Friday, June 24. You can check out our interview with Jharrel Jerome below.
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