For those interested in the supernatural and the recently released movie We Have a Ghost, we are very excited to announce that we have an exclusive interview with Jahi Winston from the movie! We’re ecstatic to talk to Jahi about his role as Kevin, his thoughts and experience with the film and cast members, and more. However, before we can start this interview, here is a refresher on the film.
For those unaware, We Have a Ghost was released on February 24th on Netflix. The film was directed by the same director who had directed Freaky, Christopher Landon. The film stars our interviewee Jahi Winston as Kevin Presley, whose family had recently moved into a new house. The house, however, is inexplicitly haunted by an apparition named Ernest, portrayed by David Harbour. But when Ernest becomes an overnight sensation on social media and starts investigating the mystery of his past with Kevin, the two realize that they’ve become targets of the CIA. The film is a comedic horror with adventure and mystery, with the quote: “Set your spirit free” as its tagline. If you’ve watched the movie and enjoyed the soundtrack, especially “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, the music was written by Michael Bruce and “The Godfather of Shock Rock” himself, Alice Cooper.
As was mentioned before, the film’s based on the short story by Geoff Manaugh titled Ernest. The story is straightforward and similar to the movie; a young family moves into a home and finds an apparition in an unused bedroom. Frank Presley, the father of the house, became viral overnight after posting his reaction to the ghost’s appearance and continued it. Frank would upload videos of the apparition’s actions and ‘tricks’, and it came to the point where he would actively try to be unseen. Frank promptly named him Ernest because he looked like Ernest Borgnine. When Frank encouraged his children to interact with Ernest, Kevin was the only one to speak with Ernest. He seemed to enjoy the ghost’s company. The short story itself is phenomenal, and we suggest reading it yourself! Please understand, however, that you’ll be exposing yourself to possible spoilers in the movie.
Speaking of, here is a small refresher on Jahi Winston! An African-descent American actor born in Atlanta, Georgia, Jahi has appeared in several films and television shows before his appearance in We Have a Ghost. Long-time fans of Jahi will recognize him as Junior from Queen & Slim, Geronimo from The Dead Don’t Die, Anthony from the Upside, Luke from Everything Sucks!, and Andre from Feed the Beast. If you’re a Disney fan, you’ll recognize him as young Simba in the Broadway version of The Lion King.
We start the interview by asking what his experience was like when filming for the movie and what it felt like working with the other co-stars, like Anthony Mackie and David Harbour. We also asked if he felt intimidated by them, what they were like on-set and off-set, and what it was like just hanging around them. Jahi happily explained that it was fun to work with them. He mentions that the two are very different types of actors, saying they’re very dedicated to their craft. To Jahi, it “was cool” to see them in an element you don’t often see them in. In Jahi‘s words, it was great to witness the dynamic from Anthony being gregarious and charismatic on-set, compared to the chill David reading small books with an Ernest combover. Jahi mentions that he had learned a lot from the two actors, and had fun with the other cast members, like Jennifer Coolidge.
We also ask about his interaction with David in the film and how the movie magic worked behind his appearance as Ernest. Jahi explains how David was there the entire time, and there would be times when Jahi had to do the scene by himself for visual effects. There were also moments where the crew needed to have a sense of the lighting, and this was done to ensure David looked more like a ghost. There was a moment when Jahi mentioned that David had to hook up to a crane-like object, and he mentioned that it was amazing to see a 6’3” man floating across the room.
