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[0:06] Robert Bannon: It's the round table with me, Robert Bannon.

[0:09] Robert Bannon: Everybody, welcome to the round table. My name is Robert Bannon and you're listening to this on Broadway World over here on the Broadway Podcast Network, iHeartSpotify, wherever artists are talking about art. Our next guest, I'm so jealous. I'm such a hater. Our next guest is a superstar, everybody. He has television credits out the wazoo. He is working. He has booked more work than all of us combined. Everyone lists. Anthony's working, everybody. He's incredible. He's got incredible lists of lineup. We're gonna go through the incredible work that he has done. The one and only Anthony B. Jenkins, welcome to the show.

[0:40] Anthony B. Jenkins: Thank you for having me here. It's such an honor.

[0:44] Robert Bannon: You're a star, buddy. You are.

[0:53] Anthony B. Jenkins: I mean, it all started when I was four, because like I was always like the class clown playing around, and like I always like expressed, I had a big like um like a big creativity. I was very creative. And uh like my dad, he like he was an actor first, and he wanted uh he wanted me to try it out. And I was four years old. I was just like, I went to the audition. This is one audition for face to face, and I was just talking to this random lady for a while, and then it like came to find out she was the director, and I booked the role, and then after that I booked another commercial and it was like a huggy Disney commercial, and just kept going on, and then when it was like COVID 2020, that's when I think I got like one of my first roles, like the like my first movies, The Deliverance, and then we just kept going.

[1:43] Robert Bannon: Is it you're you're from uh you split your time, it says between Orlando and Atlanta. So uh do you travel a lot for work? If you have a shoot in LA, if you have a shoot in Atlanta, if you have to go to New York, if you have to the shy, wherever you're doing, do you you travel for this? So how is that part of the life for you?

[1:59] Anthony B. Jenkins: Uh for me, I like it a lot because I'm able to like go to new environments, places I've never been. Like my goal is to like like search the whole world because going to Chicago was really cool because I love snow, and we were filming The Shy in like January, and I was like, let's get it. And I really like that.

[2:19] Robert Bannon: I I love that as well. So now with school and all of that, do you do you are you at school at home? Do you go to school? What do people in your life, your friends, your other people your age? I know you're very active in church and your community. What do they think about all this?

[2:32] Anthony B. Jenkins: I mean, for me, uh, I'm actually I'm virtual school, so I'm able to do it on my computer, and I tell like most of my friends, like some of them, they're like, bro, you're so lucky because you get to finish school early, because I usually like because like virtual school, I can go at my own pace. That's why I like it, and it helps me with my acting.

[2:49] Robert Bannon: Absolutely. I I get it. I still get it. So you talked about The Deliverance. So The Deliverance, which if people didn't see is a Netflix film by Lee Daniels directed it, and it's Andrea Day and Glenn Close and Monique and all of that. So, what's it like when you're on walk on a movie set for your first movie and you get called in for the scene? Is it scary? Do you get nervous? Do the people help you? Does the directors and the ADs help you? What what gets you through that?

[3:18] Anthony B. Jenkins: I mean, for me, I was like, I was like 10 years old, turning 11 when we filmed that. So, like, really, I was just like excited to be there. There was a lot of people. Uh Miss Glenn, she had a dog. I loved like playing with her dog. And like for me, like I was just like there for like just how I was having fun. I was able to like expand my creativity at at the max. So, and like, and if I ever was scared, I had my dad to comfort me, Mr. Lee, and like everybody. They were also helpful.

[3:49] Robert Bannon: I'm obsessed that it's Mr. Lee and Miss Glenn and their dog. And that this is for you, it's just people on set that you get to work with for a lot of for a lot of it. And I'm sure that they're so excited to work for you. So some of the famous people you've gotten to work with, like if you talk about Fight Night, which was on Peacock, you get to be Kevin Hart's son. What or what was it like to be on that set? What was it like to film that?

[4:12] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say it was it was very fun because I had two little sisters. I was playing with them, they were very fun. Mr. Kevin was funny. He's also like very, he's very professional, and he's a he's a big leader. Like he's always getting set on time. He knows his lines, and he's just like he he leads. He's a professional.

[4:31] Robert Bannon: So what happens? How about you and your lines? What do you do to get your lines down and make sure that you show up professional and ready?

[4:38] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say uh my dad, like before, usually like days before I'm going over the script, getting ready, and like I always know it's life and not line. So I put myself into the character, and like my dad, he helps me with that. He helps me with different ways that I can express that character's emotions.

[4:56] Robert Bannon: Has there been a character that's been the hardest for you that has had a tough story to tell that's been hard for you to play that part and what they're going through?

[5:05] Anthony B. Jenkins: I say like every character is like difficult because it's like different every time. Like you won't always have the same character unless it's like a sequel. But like your character, like every different, like every single character has like different storylines, different background. And I'd say, like, they're all like difficult to like get into the character, but like after going through the script and like seeing how the character acts, that's that's how it really helps for me.

[5:33] Robert Bannon: Yeah, I get absolutely. The set is not really scary, even if the circumstance is kind of scary. So you what was it like to work with her and to be in a film that was like that?

[5:53] Anthony B. Jenkins: It was an honor to work with Miss Halle because I consider her like a legend. And like, like I said about Mr. Kevin, she is very, very professional too. And she treated me and uh my brother Percy. Uh she treated us like her real sons, and she was so kind and nice. And she told me that I need to like, she said that my superpower in acting is my eyes. She said, like, keep using them and keep like expressing them a lot in your acting.

[6:19] Robert Bannon: Woo! This is talk about acting school. You're on set with Halle Berry, you're on set with Kevin Hart, you're on set with these people. That is the greatest lessons that you can possibly have. And then that's all film and all of that great stuff, but you've also done a lot of television work as well. I know that you just um you just did RJ Decker and you just did The Pit. What it is it is there a difference between television and film?

[6:41] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say the only di the only difference is that you'll have like the same, the same size of a script. Like they'll all have like maybe like a hundred or more pages. It's just for TV, you have that a hundred or more pages, and then it's like just multiple, multiple times, multiple times.

[6:58] Robert Bannon: Yeah, I gotcha. Do you like doing a lot of takes, or do you like do you like like how many times do you usually run a scene? Um, and and does it get boring, or do you like the challenge of having to keep doing it?

[7:09] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say it's not boring, and it's actually like the best thing because I'm able to like express my character in all the like in different ways in every single take. Like in one take, like if it's a sad scene, I could like make it sad in different kinds, or I could say my line different ways that I would like to do, or I can express my body in different ways, and that's why I like doing like multiple takes.

[7:31] Robert Bannon: I I like that. That sounds good to me. So, do you do you have an idea of how you're gonna act it when you walk on set? Because a lot sometimes television it moves so fast, you don't have a lot of rehearsal with the actors. You you go you show up on set and you have to hit your mark and hit your line and and do this scene. So do you when you go over it with dad or you're running the lines in your head, do you visualize what it's gonna look like? Do you play with different ways you you say it? Like, how do you come up with what's the way you're gonna do it?

[7:59] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say just like what like what environment the character's around, how the character like acts in the scene, and like I'm able to like put myself in it. So sometimes like I'll add a line that I feel like the character would say. Like if it's like instead of saying yes, something, I would say yeah. And like I would like change the line it a bit, or I would just add it, and that's how I'm able to like move it around.

[8:24] Anthony B. Jenkins: You have been in two of the biggest TV shows. We talked about The Shy, and that is uh May 22nd, it premiered the final season of it on Paramount Plus. You're in the eighth and final season, and then you also were on Stranger Things and did a whole bunch of episodes guest starring on Stranger Things.

[8:40] Anthony B. Jenkins: What's it like when you get the call that's like, yes, Stranger Things booked you, you're booked, you're hired. Let's go. I was very excited because I watched that also, and I was like, oh my gosh, because like when I first got the audition, it wasn't the actual name of the show. So like I did it and then I realized it was Stranger Things, and then I was like, oh my gosh, I was so excited. And the even better part is that there was like a lot of kids that I was able to build chemistry with, talk with, have conversations with, and I was like very comfortable on the set.

[9:11] Robert Bannon: Do you watch yourself when they come out or do you not? Like will you watch? Did you stream it and check you out or is it too much to watch yourself in a scene?

[9:20] Anthony B. Jenkins: I do like watching myself because after watching myself, I'm able to like find out the little details that I might have done wrong, and like on my next TV show or movie, I'll like fix that.

[9:32] Robert Bannon: So incredible. You're brave. I love that so much. That means you're good. That's what it means. He knows he's good. He's got it.

[9:39] Anthony B. Jenkins: So They Fight. We were just at Tribeca Film Festival. They Fight premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. It's gonna be on Hulu this July, July 17th. Wendell Pierce has been here on the show. Andre Holland has been here on the show. I think they're the most incredible. You talk about great actors. Tell us a little bit about this. What is this show about?

[9:55] Anthony B. Jenkins: I'd say it's really just like it's a very it's a movie that it's like about second chances. Like my character Peanut, he's a bit of an underdog, he's like new to this school, there's new kids, he's trying to find his way around it. And Walt, who is played by, I'm sorry, Walt is also like it's him. He just got out of jail, he was doing bad things, and he's just trying to find his way, and he finds himself like teaching these kids boxing, and it's just for him, it's about second chances.

[10:32] Robert Bannon: Did you have to learn how to box? Do you box in the film?

[10:35] Anthony B. Jenkins: Yes, I did learn how to box, and that was it was very fun because I was able to like I also taught my sister, I taught her like a month ago. I was like, all right, Sky, you gotta go one, two, three. And I was teaching her that. And yeah, it was a very fun process because of the other kids that I was working with too.

[10:53] Robert Bannon: Is the boxing scenes hard to shoot? Like were they extra exhausting?

[10:58] Anthony B. Jenkins: I wouldn't say they were exhausting. They were actually pretty fun because I was able to, like me and my co-star, we was just boom, boom, boom. And like sometimes I'll be like, Did I get you good? Be like, nah, man, you weak. And like we'll just like go back and forth. Oh, so I'm really excited for people to check it out. They can check it out on July 17th, and it'll be exciting.

[11:20] Robert Bannon: So for you, you got this going on. So you're doing They Fight. The Shy is out where people could watch that. The Stranger Things, I'm sure everybody's already seen it from 2025. People have seen you and all of the other stuff that you've done. So now if you get some free time, what do you do? What do you like to do? How and what do you do when you're not on set and you're not working?

[11:41] Anthony B. Jenkins: Usually like if I have like an off day, or if I'm just not working, I'm just playing games with my friends. So I usually play like 2K, Madden, Roblox, with all of them. And like for my acting career with my friends, they don't really care about that. They're usually like, bro, when are you gonna get on the game, bro? And like sometimes I told my friend, I was like, bro, I'm filming right now. And then like 30 minutes later, he's like, Are you done filming? I'm like, so that's really how it is with them.

[12:09] Robert Bannon: So you get the balance. You get to be a kid and play games and have friends, and then you get to go to work.

[12:15] Anthony B. Jenkins: So your support system, you talk about your dad. I know in your bio, it talks about your parents and your sister and your dog and all of that. So what is it like for your family to be a part of this journey for you? How do they support you?

[12:28] Anthony B. Jenkins: They all support me just like because they've always been there for me. Cause like my mom, she's always telling me that like she's like, AJ, you got this, you can do this. And like before, like some difficult, sad scenes, my dad, he's there comforting me, he'll help me, like listen to some music, and like even after it, he'll be like, Are you okay? Do you need a break? And like my sister, she's always like, she's like my biggest cheerleader. She's always like, You got this, AJ? Oh yeah, and then my dog, she's just like my comfort.

[12:58] Robert Bannon: You know, you made the Power 100 next list for Ebony. Like they think that you're one of the hundred people to watch for a future in your career because they see the incredible work that you do. What's it like for you to be recognized by people? Or people see you and they've seen you in work before and they know your work or a magazine that's so legendary thinks you're doing a great job. It must be very exciting.

[13:22] Anthony B. Jenkins: Yes, because I would like when I heard about it, I was just very, very honored because it all like it really all started when I was just four years old, and I never like knew because like I was just a class clown in school, playing around people like and like in school, I was called a clown. But then when I started doing acting, that's when like people still like they called me great, and then that's when I'm like, I want to pursue acting because this is where I can express the kid in myself. And that's what I love that.

[13:55] Robert Bannon: What do you think about kids who want to do this? What do you think they don't understand? How hard it is? It's long hours, it's a job. You have to be prepared that you take time from being, you know, playing video games and being with your friends to go to work. So do you think people understand the amount of work it is? Or it's not all fun and games. There's a time where you gotta go to work.

[14:14] Anthony B. Jenkins: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I feel like it really is like that. Because like some people think that it's really just like the scenes, but like you have to like prepare for it. Because like some people I've seen some people say that acting is easy, you just have to say the lines, but you really have to express that character in different ways, especially if the character doesn't relate to you. But you can always like find a piece of yourself in that character, and that's just how it is like preparing for it, being there on time, knowing your lines and just all of it.

[14:44] Robert Bannon: Absolutely. So now that you work with all these superstars and all these legends in this business, and all these incredible people who have awards and fame and notoriety, what's the goal? What's the future? What do you hope to continue to do as you get older in the business?

[15:00] Anthony B. Jenkins: See, I want to be a good actor, but an even better person outside of it. Like, I want to be, I want to be like a very good actor. I want to be known for being a good actor, but I also want people to know me as a very kind and respectful person.

[15:16] Robert Bannon: Your parents have done such a good job. Your parents have raised such an incredible youngster here. This is insane. How incredible. What a beautiful family, and what an incredibly special story. This story is. And I'm looking forward to more work. So you have auditions, you do a lot of self-tapes.

[15:31] Anthony B. Jenkins: Yeah.

[15:33] Robert Bannon: Did your dad is your reader? Who's your reader? Who helps you with them?

[15:36] Anthony B. Jenkins: It's usually my dad. He had because my dad is actually a photographer, so he already has like a nice setup for me to like he'll record it through my camera, he'll read it from the background, and he's very helpful.

[15:48] Robert Bannon: Is it hard to spend time on a self-tape and learn lines and get into it? And then if you don't get the part, is it hard to get over something like that sometimes?

[15:56] Anthony B. Jenkins: I mean, it's difficult at first, but then I always have to know if I don't get it, then that role is just not meant for me. And if I do, then I'm going on the right path, and that role was meant for me. And that's my thinking.

[16:11] Robert Bannon: Look, he's booked everybody. He can't get all the roles because he's got too much work. He's working. He's out here, he's out here working. He's got too many projects lined up coming up. We could follow you. We can go to Anthony B. Jenkins on Instagram and we could follow your story and we can see all the work that's coming up, and we can definitely check you out as your brand new show comes out on Hulu, which I'm really excited to check it out called They Fight, which comes out on July 17th. And I'm sure you got more stuff, more jobs, more television film work coming up in the future, and we'll be looking forward to it. I wish you nothing but the best. You're very inspiring, and I don't even know you, and I'm proud of you because the work you're doing is incredible. So thank you for being here and spending some time with me.

[16:50] Anthony B. Jenkins: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. It was an honor.

[16:53] Robert Bannon: My pleasure. Enjoy the summer and keep doing what you're doing. Congrats and much love to your family.

[16:58] Anthony B. Jenkins: Thank you.