Kendrick Sampson is bringing the charm his Insecure character #GhostBae is known for to Freeform in the network’s upcoming holiday film, Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas.
In the film, Sampson stars as Ben, the love interest of Jess (The Bold Type‘s Aisha Dee). Jess ends up “ghosting” Ben through no fault of her own. On her way home from their fantastic first date, she dies in a car accident and literally becomes a ghost. After the accident, her soul is stuck on Earth and she enlists the help of the only person who can interact with her, her best friend, in order to help her soul move along. The TV movie premiered Dec. 4 and will re-air Dec. 19 at 12 a.m. ET.
Sampson connected with Shadow And Act to tell us about the film and what fans can expect from his role.
He also gave a little insight into how he’s handled being digitally ghosted in the past.
S&A: This is such an interesting premise for a holiday movie or a movie in general! What can you tell us about it?
KS: I love supernatural elements. There is abundantly more in the universe and here on Mother Earth that is metaphysical and unseen than what we can see and touch. I love to explore that. I also love dark humor. This is a story that explores reality: people die and then what happens? Maybe they are still here and looking for love. Is there a love life in the afterlife?
S&A How is this role different than any previous roles you’ve been in?
KS: Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m used to playing some version of the bad guy or the guy with something up his sleeve (from the audience’s perspective). Ben was not that. He was a pretty chill guy all around. But funny story, his name originally was Nathan if you can believe it. I filmed this while Insecure was airing. I was like ‘Maaaan, Y’all gotta change that s**t,’ there is no way I can do a movie called Ghosting with the same character name as #GhostBae. HELL NAH!
S&A: What about this movie intrigued you when you took the gig?
KS: I loved that it was a feminist’s perspective on a holiday romantic comedy. It challenges a lot of the subtle and blatant misogyny that we see in traditional movies. I also loved the dark humor and supernatural elements and the unexpected ending. They allowed me to give input and made me feel like a collaborator beyond an actor. They were very kind to respect and honor my input. They also let me get some of my favorite pins placed in the movie. Shout out to Radical Dreams Pins! You can see Jazz in one of the scenes has the “Black Identity Extremist” pin on her lapel.
S&A: Have you ever been ghosted or have you ever ghosted someone else?
KS: I have been ghosted a few too many times. I can honestly say I have never ghosted someone else romantically. I will admit that I am not the best at texting in general because I am usually overwhelmed with career work and social justice work. However, I am usually pretty upfront and honest with my communication. If I am never going to speak to someone again, I will not do that without a conversation and a heads up.
Insecure is back in 2020; will we see Nathan?
I hope so!
READ MORE:
Photo: Freeform
From Harlem to Hollywood, get the Black entertainment news you need in your inbox daily.
