Just in time for the Halloween season, Hysteria! is a new Peacock original series that will make you question what scares you. The series, which premiered on October 18, is led by TV veterans, rising stars and experts of the horror genre. Before the series was released, we chatted with Emjay Anthony who plays Dylan Cambell and Kezii Curtis who plays Spud to learn more about playing characters in the 1980s and what actually scared them on set!
Hysteria! follows a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts in the 1980s who use their town’s sudden interest in the “Satanic Panic” by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band. But, a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a witch hunt that leads directly back to them. In addition to Emjay, the show also stars Chiara Aurelia as Jordy, Kezii Curtis as Spud, Pitch Perfect’s Anna Camp as Tracy and Modern Family’s Julie Bowen as Dylan’s mom.
Emjay: “We went to band camp like three weeks before we started filming so we really had a lot of work to put in.”
Emjay has been in the industry for years, making his film debut in 2009 in It’s Complicated which starred Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. He has also portrayed Hector in The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Percy in Chef and has had numerous roles in film and television.
Emjay: “Definitely the clothes and the music is what I would bring back [from the 1980s].”
Kezii is a rising actor who is known for the film Dolemite Is My Name which starred Eddie Murphy, Secret Headquarters, and in a guest role on the Nickelodeon series The Thundermans.
Since we had both Emjay and Kezii together, we asked them what they learned from one another as actors on set of Hysteria!. Emjay hyped Kezii up, calling him an incredible improver while Kezii enjoyed watching Emjay give it his absolute all while playing Dylan.
Kezii: “It was really cool to see [Emjay] take charge of a storyline.”
When actors star in a horror film or show, some act out their fright while others channel their actual fear of the set and props. Emjay and Kezii revealed they were actually creeped out by some things in season one and even revealed the fear factor sets in right from episode 1!
Both Emjay and Kezii’s characters were a part of the band, and Emjay said he is most excited for viewers to see the band on screen and all the work they put in to make it realistic. Kezii said the friendships among the band members are super fun to watch and see how they navigate horrors.
Kezii: “It is really cool throughout the season to see the camaraderie [the band members] have and you also see the trials and tribulations of what a friendship is.”
Thank you, Emjay and Kezii, for chatting with Young Entertainment! Make sure to follow them on their Instagram’s at @emjayanthony and @iamkeziicurtis. Watch the rest of the interview where we ask them more about playing a character in the 1980s and how they would describe each other’s performance. While you’re there, be sure to like and subscribe to our channel for the latest news in young entertainment.
Consider this:
- If you are acting and your character is living in a different time period, be cognizant of that. There are certain phrases or gestures that we use now that may not have been popular long ago and so make sure you do your research to accurately portray someone of that time period.
