Meet Jerreal K’hari

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerreal K’hari.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Yes! So, I was born in Iwakuni-Shi, Yamaguchi-Ken, Japan to a single mother, along with two older siblings. Eventually, we ended up moving out to Moreno Valley, CA where I grew up. Being real, Moreno Valley was definitely not the safest place to grow up. We didn’t have a whole bunch of money and we went through some very tough times, but my mom did what she could, and we made it work. To this day, my mother is THE most supportive person in my life, and I really appreciate her for that.

As I progressed through grade and middle school, I was the “loner/quiet kid” that people made fun of. Although I didn’t really know where I belonged, I DID know what I liked. From a young age, I was immediately drawn to anything and everything that was nerdy, action oriented or artistic. If I wasn’t studying TaeKwonDo I was watching Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on Smackdown. And if I wasn’t doing that, you better believe that I was drawing or watching StarWars, Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Bleach, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh! —In fact, I could quote these shows without batting an eye! During middle school, I put my drawing pencils down and developed an interest in music and dance. Shortly thereafter, I went on to join Marching Band and Winter Guard, where I got to really delve into expressing myself artistically, but through movement. I continued doing that well into highschool. During my Sophomore year, I got recommended to audition for the winter musical and following that semester, I was cast as lead for everything performance oriented in my Highschool. At that point, I knew that I was meant to be an Actor. It fulfilled a certain part of me that dance and music couldn’t. Following my final run as Don Quixote in my highschool’s production of Man of La Mancha, I was given a scholarship opportunity to audition for the American Music and Dramatic Arts Academy where I ended up moving out to Hollywood and graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in Musical Theatre.

While I was in college, around 2014, my friend introduced me to this 7 sec video app called Vine and while it was a tad strange, I ended up really falling in love with it. At that time, “Vine Stars” started to emerge and I would run into Andrew Bachelor, Logan Paul, Destorm and everyone just in passing on my way to school. All of their content was so well produced, but the ones who really caught my attention where, Caleb City, Lenarr, and King Vader. I think that it was more because, their content was SO SIMPLISTIC and attainable. I thought, if they can do it, so can I. So, I got together a group of friends and we started making really funny content together. The funniest part is that not too long after we started to gain some traction, Vine died and soon, my group parted ways. I started focusing my attention more to my craft. Soon after graduating AMDA LA, I booked my first international commercial and became the face for the 2016/2017 Winter Olympics in all of Europe, Asia and Australia. Ever since then, I have been taking more classes and acting professionally.

Around two years ago, things started to slow down for me and I figured that maybe, it was time for a rebrand. I knew that I needed an edge because, I would walk into auditions and I looked like every other black guy in the room. I spent weeks trying to figure out what I was going to do to differentiate myself. Then I started to remember my martial arts background. I remembered how I would go on YouTube and watch freerunning tutorials to pass the time before Marching and Color Guard rehearsals. (Since they ended up happening later in the evening.) Eventually I started rewatching those tutorials and relearning the basics. I got back into the swing of training, learned new weapons, along with different combat styles. I briefly trained stunt performance under Mike Chat at the XMA Headquarters in Sun Valley. Slowly, I started returning to my nerdy roots and creating content again that was more focused towards action, anime and martial arts. Around that time, I was doing a lot stunt work on different pilot proof of concepts and while I was on set, one of the sound guys approached me and was like, “I just saw the new Spider-verse movie and you look just like Miles Morales!” When I saw the movie, I was so creeped out. It was really weird, because coincidentally, we were similar in so many ways that are almost too specific. I swore to myself that I had to play him in the live action adaptation, so, I started my campaign for the role. I created a few videos as Miles Morales one of which gained 4000 views in less than 5 hours. Today, that video is at 65,000 views. People started to tag Marvel and Sony Pictures in my comments and soon I got to work with brands such as TheKiguShop for their Spiderverse collections. I get fancast so often as Miles and it’s so nice to know that people support my campaign!

I met my amazing manager Luna Wise and agent Jillian O’leary, who have been game changers in my career. Thank god for both of them. They are the most supportive team that a guy could ask for and they never give up on me. Ever since then, I’ve been in the room for big shows like Euphoria on HBO. I have been growing steadily as a content creator and actor. I even got the chance to work with another content creator named Irving Lambert on his Power Rangers video. I respect that dude and his work ethic so much! Through him, I ended up meeting some of the viners that I really looked up to when I started back in 2014. They created a production team called Wolf Graphic. Hanging out or even briefly speaking with guys like Irving, Writerboy, CalebCity and DJ Rivers has lit this flame in me to make my voice heard even more. Watching them inspires me to keep creating quality content and I can only hope that in time I can do the same for young aspiring artists. Doing what I do is not easy, and I’m not where I want to be just yet, but I am so close and I can feel everything starting to pay off.

Currently, I am in the writing phase for my first season of short films with my partners Nate Stephenson and Jackson Rosenfeld. We are working on concepts for Spiderman and a mental health awareness film. So, stay tuned because, me and my crew have some really sick ideas to share with each and every one of you out there!

Please tell us about your art.
While I am an actor and stunt performer by trade, I also write and produce creative content centered around nostalgic nerd culture elements, relatable moments from my childhood and mental health awareness.
You will see a wide range between, action and drama and If there’s anything that I would want people to take away from watching me or my content, it’s that:

1. It’s completely okay to unapologetically be yourself.

and:

2. No matter where you come from, you can make something of yourself. You can make the choice to be the ultimate creator of your experience and live a fulfilling life, but you have to be brave, step up to the plate and put yourself out there.

There was a point in time, when I lived out of hotels with my mother and sister.–When I knew that acting was what I wanted to do, but people told me that I couldn’t. That I wasn’t funny. That because of my dark complexion, I wouldn’t be good enough. I had no idea how I was going to prove them wrong. Now, I’m in LA pursuing what I love the most…What you should know about my artwork, is that: They’re my own personal reminders of where came from, and that no matter what odds are stacked against me, I will NEVER give up.

As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
For me, success is defined by how far I have come in comparison to where I started. The obstacles that I have dived head first into, overcame and come out the other end alive. I believe that as an artist, the quality that is essential to achieve success is love. I find that, trying to achieve success in any area comes with uncomfortable situations and negative emotions that become associated with them. What really matters to me, is how I can reframe a negative situation into a positive. Without love for the self or the moment, none of that is possible.

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You guys can see all of my content and keep up with me on Instagram! Until I make my move to YouTube, this is where I choose to connect with you all! The best way to show support is by sharing my stuff with your friends! I’d really appreciate it.

www.instagram.com/Jerrealkhari

Contact Info:

• Email: For all bookings contact: Luna Wise at 5J Talent Management.
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerrealkhari/

Image Credit:
Tobi Tiet
Laura Munley
Abigail Gordon

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.