Nice Boy of the Week: Justin Swain

We had the opportunity to chat with Justin Swain, an actor, writer and producer. He is currently staring along side Mike Colter and Simone Missick in this season of Marvels Luke Cage on Netflix. Check out our interview below and don’t miss Justin on Luke Cage.

-You are part of the Marvel Universe now – and on Netflix. It’s like the two biggest players in one place. Congrats! Were you a comic book fan growing up?
Yeah, it’s fantastic to be a part of the MCU and Marvel’s Luke Cage. I actually wasn’t a big comic book guy growing up. I’ve always been a fan of the movies and shows though. I usually hit the opening night of the films and pretty much binge the shows as soon as they hit Netflix.

Credit: Jason Setiawan

-What can you tell us about your character, Bailey?
Bailey is really fun to play. I had a lot of my scenes in the first season with Misty, played by Simone Missick who is an incredibly talented actor. The second season you’re going to see Bailey branch out and interact with some of the other characters a little more. We have some amazing new additions to the cast. People like Anotique Smith, who is fierce and Mustafa Shakir. In season two, you are going to see some interesting power dynamics. The way people deal with their new found status and still try to maintain a moral center will be a big part of the season and Bailey is one of those characters with some new status that is dealing with his new promotion.

-You are also a playwright – Do you have plans to do more theater work in the future?
I love theater and that is where I cut my teeth and learned the craft. I love writing plays but have moved into writing more for film and television. I have some projects circulating and am excited for the future there.

-Do you have a favorite play – one you would like to act in someday?
I would love to act in The Lieutenant of Inishmore. I love that play and I would jump at the opportunity to be a part of it.

-Is there a project you worked on in the past that you would like to get more eyes on? Something you wish more people would see?
I wrote and produced a play called Bump that played for a couple months in New York City. It’s a great play that incorporated a live DJ on stage with the actors. We had amazing response and turn out. I’d love to produce it again now or turn it into a film. It was set in what I think is a really unique time period. In the early 2000’s, we were in the middle of a tech revolution, there was the dot.com boom and the iPod was invented but the iPhone hadn’t come out yet. So that was the turing point on how people were consuming media and finding connection. The play lives in that short period of time. Just before Facebook took off. The central theme is looking for connection and it’s a reminder of how we found each other before social media. Would be cool to see that again now.

-Favorite charity?
One of my co-stars introduce me to Lonely Whale. It’s a charity geared toward saving our oceans and reducing plastics in our oceans.