Jelani Alladin FAULT Magazine Covershoot And Interview

Jelani Alladin X FAULT Magazine

Fashion Stylist and Creative Director: Mickey Freeman represented by the Only Agency
Photographer: JD Barnes
Groomer: Cheryl Bergamy
BTS: Dean Holmes
Stylist assistant: Carla Martinez

Words/ Editor-In-Chief: Miles Holder

The TV miniseries “Fellow Travelers,” adapted from the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Malllon, swiftly captured attention for its candid exploration of homosexual relationships within the tense backdrop of a 1950s political thriller. Throughout the series, viewers are presented with a diverse range of queer experiences and relationships, spanning from delicate tender embraces to the passionate excited scenes that have captivated audiences worldwide.

In the show, Jelani Alladin delivers a nuanced performance as Marcus Gaines, a multifaceted character who is a black, gay journalist navigating the complexities of 1950s Washington. His encounters with racism, segregation, homophobia, and police brutality are paralleled by an internal struggle with internalized homophobia and toxic masculinity.

While “Fellow Travelers” unfolds as a period drama against the Red Scare tinged sky of McCarthyism and the Cold War, Marcus’s internal and external battles resonate far beyond his era and this story, continuing to reverberate well into the present day.
We caught up with Jelani Alladin to delve into his portrayal of the role, his creative process, and of course, his FAULTs.

FAULT: Looks like you’ve been very busy with red carpets lately, how are you enjoying the success of Fellow Travelers?

Jelani Alladin: It’s been an amazing time of expansion. I feel like this is the version of Jelani Aladdin that I’ve always dreamt of being. I remember when I was like 13 years old, I could close my eyes and imagine myself being 30 years old and what that would look like. At that time, I didn’t want to be an artist or anything. I just wanted to feel powerful in my body. I’m finally at that place, so I’m very excited to do this shoot with FAULT Magazine and to step into the spotlight with you.

What is it about Marcus’s story that drew you towards this project?

When I got the script and read that first episode, I saw the complete arc. You have a character that isn’t necessarily defined by his queerness; it is just a part of his DNA that he’s hiding, trying to understand, trying to unpack.

You understand that he comes to be a man who accepts everything that he is. You get that in the first scene, and then you go back in time and see how that’s made. This is a character that I’ve been waiting for my entire career to see and experience.

The show freshly embraces sex and I consider myself to be a sexual person too. I feel like the show redefines what it means to be sexy. I was curious as to what Marcus’s journey would be. How does he find love for himself? I was drawn in by all these unanswered questions.

Every role on the show must have taken a lot out of each cast member, after filming was complete, was it easy to put Marcus back in his box and move on, or did the character linger?

It lingered with me. All of us felt that we had to go on a self-returning journey because it’s hard to shed these characters. They are locked up, tight, wounded, and not as open-armed as we are today. There’s a stiffness to Marcus that I wanted to find that took me a little bit of time to release out of my day-to-day life.

The toxicity of Marcus is something that I wanted to lean into and show that nobody’s perfect and there’s mess, and flaws within him. So yes when it was over, I had to go to a beach, become one with the water again and really find my heart and soul again. ‘Cause it was draining. It was really, but worth it.

Were you ever worried that the sexual content of the show would distract from the underlying message?

There were times when we weighed in on each episode, and asked “If I do this sexual act, will people actually listen to the conversation that I’m having outside of this?” On Marcus’s side of the story, you see a lot less of the sexual acts and more of the politics and intricacy of actually falling in love poetically with somebody.

I really embraced and celebrated what the show brought to the world. There was no sense of fear in it because it was so woven into the storytelling. Every sex scene had a purpose, drove the story forward, and told us more about the relationship. You weren’t just watching people have sex for the sake of doing that.

For a lot of characters in the show, their struggles are undoubtedly rooted in the past. However, Marcus’ internalized homophobia and toxic masculinity are still very contemporary issues, especially within the black community. As an actor, did you ever feel annoyed that the struggles you were portraying were so close to home?

Totally. It’s interesting you say that, because publications that reviewed the show somehow paint this idea of homophobia being a thing of the past. If you spend time within minority communities, you’d understand that being openly yourself is still foreign and expensive to people of colour. It’s labelled a risk and dangerous. It’s not as accepting and loving, and Marcus faces judgment immediately due to his identity. We still have miles to go in achieving the equilibrium that people think we’ve reached. The dynamic between Frankie and Marcus, dark-skinned versus light-skinned, these conversations are still happening today. It was alarming how easy it felt to fall into the 1950s world.

What’s been the most positive or interesting response you’ve seen to the show that made you recontextualize your character?

For me, it’s the people who have reached out, saying that all their lives, all they needed to hear are the words Marcus provides in episode eight. Whether they are HIV positive or not, just being others in society, you need to hear those words. It impacted how I walk through the world with a sense of empathy for people more than I did before this project.

When you look back on your creative journey, what was the most challenging hurdle you had to overcome to take your craft to the next level?

The hurdle I always have to overcome is myself. Sometimes we fall into the trap of feeling stuck. I’m always asking myself, how am I evolving? How am I learning and growing? What risks am I taking? If we don’t believe it and have true faith, it’s never gonna happen. I’ve been challenging myself to take time every day to encourage myself and instil the words in me that I can do this.

Regarding the success of the show, is it hard to remain in the moment, or has it passed in a blur?
I’m trying to soak in every moment. I want to be present and enjoy every second of it because I’ve waited so long for this. It’s happening fast, but I’m able to enjoy all of it because I’m proud of it. I feel respected, and the work speaks for itself.

Jelani Alladin, what is your FAULT?

My FAULT is that I’m overly direct. I know exactly what I want and often don’t leave space for surprises. I’m learning to accept that and allow space for unexpected things to happen.