00:00Okay, okay, okay. Let me see it. Let me take a look at it. I know a Zoey Johnson quote when I see one.
00:04Yeah.
00:05All right.
00:07Appropriate. Nice. Compensate. Very good.
00:10Preparations. Wait a minute. This brilliant quote is all Aaron Jackson. You stole this from me.
00:14What?
00:15These are my ideas. I told you this the other night over chimichangas. You don't remember?
00:18You said that.
00:19Yes.
00:20Over chimichangas?
00:22Yeah, he said it. Over chimichangas.
00:30Thank you for taking the time today.
00:32No problem.
00:33Just to kick things off, you actually in your acting career have delved into college a lot.
00:40You know, burning fans, grown-ish, things like that.
00:43I'm not sure if you had a college experience of your own. If you didn't, is this like kind of a surrogate experience for you?
00:50Absolutely. It's a surrogate experience. I have not had a personal college experience.
00:54I've been to a few college parties, but yeah, it definitely is kind of like that.
00:58You know, you get a family, a group of people that you're with all the time, and you guys are growing together, learning each other while also learning yourself.
01:05And yeah, it's been beautiful for me, so I definitely cherish it as my kind of surrogate college experience, for sure.
01:12Now, your character, Aaron, I feel like he's kind of polarizing.
01:17Like, he makes a lot of decisions that get people talking and debating.
01:22I know even among my big gauge in my own friend group.
01:25Yeah.
01:26Like, has he done the right thing, or has he not?
01:28Right.
01:29Do you feel like you side with Aaron a lot, with a lot of the things that he does?
01:32Absolutely.
01:33Absolutely, I side with Aaron.
01:36And that might just be biased because I play him, but I definitely think that he just, he's passionate.
01:42You know what I'm saying?
01:43And I do believe when it comes to the relationship stuff, I side with him because even if it's the wrong thing, it's what he thought was right in the moment.
01:50And I don't think there's ever anything wrong with living your life that way, you know, because that's the only way you can learn.
01:55But it's also, you know, you got to stand on something.
01:58And if you passionately believe in that, you know what I'm saying?
02:01At the moment, that's all you can do.
02:02That's the realest you can be with yourself is, you know, you got to choose yourself over, you know, unfortunately, everyone else, because it's your life.
02:09So do what you think is best.
02:12Absolutely.
02:13And through the show with Aaron, also with Doug, I feel like the show is actually kind of delving to a lot of topics that are kind of taboo for black men community.
02:24How do you feel like what of all the things that you've tackled?
02:27I know you guys have talked about interrelational relationships and, you know, colorism, like dealing with like, you know, preferences, dealing with all that sort of thing, toxic masculinity, toxic masculinity.
02:38What of these issues that you guys have tackled on the show have been kind of personal for you and made you examine some things about your own thought processes?
02:48I think definitely cultural expectations, you know, different things like that, you know, what's true to you?
03:01And are you doing because true to you? Are you doing it because true to your culture?
03:04And I think at some point, I don't know me, I'm just very like I'm part of the human race.
03:10You know what I'm saying?
03:11And although I recognize the struggles that I have to face as a black man, I think the only way to heal that is to start making a conversation about all of us.
03:18But, uh, I think, um, I always say this, I've said this in other interviews, one of the biggest things was the, um, the college, you know, the divestment in private prisons, but also like the college players not getting the right amount of funds and things like that.
03:32And how much, you know, we're being used and how much people are gaining off of our work and, you know, talents.
03:38Um, that at the time I wasn't really aware of, but obviously I'm a little more, um, educated now about it.
03:46Absolutely. Now, um, moving more to the romantic aspect of the show, you know, there's been a lot of up and downs between Zoe and Aaron over the years.
03:54Um, but being objectively speaking, I know you do play Aaron and you side with him a lot, but for Zoe, are you more so team Aaron or team Luca for where she is in her life?
04:05Let me think about that team Aaron, that isn't a question for sure.
04:10I think she, uh, I think team Luca is what she thinks that she wants, you know, an idea.
04:16I feel like we all have an idea of a person that we think we're supposed to be with.
04:19And then the person we end up being with is nothing that we thought was like our preference or our tastes.
04:25And typically that's why people live their life in loops.
04:28Cause they're like, I want this and this doesn't make me happy.
04:30And they keep saying, Oh, but you know, sometimes you gotta step out and look from the outside.
04:34Looking in and be like, Oh, maybe it's the formula.
04:37This plus this keeps coming up with this.
04:39So let me switch it up.
04:40Um, and sometimes it takes, you know, falling a few times to get that.
04:44But, uh, yeah, I definitely think Aaron is more her speed.
04:48Thanks.
04:49And finally, I know you can't give spoilers, of course, for the second half of this season, but.
04:54Aaron dies.
04:55He dies.
04:56Oh no.
04:57I'm joking.
04:58Uh, in the most easy way possible.
05:02What are you looking forward to fans seeing from Aaron, um, in the second half of senior year?
05:07I mean, just, ooh, you're becoming a man.
05:11When you become a man, you gotta make some tough decisions.
05:14Not everybody's going to be happy about the decisions you make, but what are you gonna do?
05:19Mason, thank you so much for your time today.
05:24Really appreciate it.
05:26You have a great day.
05:27You too.
05:28Thanks.
05:29Bye.
05:30Bye.
05:31Bye.
05:32Bye.
05:33Bye.
05:34Bye.
05:35Bye.
05:36Bye.
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