Grey Damon: Just Jared Spotlight of the Week (Exclusive!)

Grey Damon is Cali cool in this new pic from the latest edition of the Just Jared Spotlight of the Week photo series.

The 26-year-old actor stars in the new CW series Star-Crossed, which is set to premiere later this month. You also might recognize him from his roles on the hit series Friday Night Lights and the ABC Family show The Nine Lives of Chloe King.

In our interview with Grey, he told us all about his character on Star-Crossed, how he got into acting, and even how his parents came up with his name!

Make sure to catch the series premiere of Star-Crossed on Monday, February 17 at 8/7c on The CW.

Click inside for our complete exclusive interview with Grey Damon…

Grey Damon Interview – JustJared.com Exclusive

Just Jared: What attracted you to Star-Crossed?

Grey Damon: It was just a different show. I enjoy Sci-Fi but this show in particular was dealing with civil rights and prejudices that we don’t seem to touch on a whole lot these days, unless it’s a big studio film. It’s an interesting way to show how there’s still issues in society, with racism or species-ism. Also my character, Grayson, really attracted me to this show. He’s just a layered guy with so much going on.

JJ: Could you describe your character more in depth?

GD: Basically he’s just a kid whose parents are pretty powerful people. He’s like a little rich kid, except the fact that he doesn’t like to involve himself in that world much. It’s interesting because he’s a very down to earth guy, but he has sort of a dark past. Throughout the series, we sort of explore that and see why he is a lot of the ways he is.

JJ: What’s been your favorite scene to shoot so far?

GD: Anything with stunts is always. But, it’s always nice to shoot with Aimee [Teegarden], she’s really easy to get along with. It’s always fun to shoot with any of the Atrians, really, which are the aliens. Just because there’s always sort of an intensity, an undertone of intensity. I can’t think of one specifically.

JJ: What kind of stunt work have you been doing?

GD: Mainly just punches and stuff like that, because we’re in high school. The Atrians are kind of trained fighters, depending on what faction they’re a part of. Grayson just knows how to punch here and there.

JJ: Do you have a favorite prop from set?

GD: I get to mess with an alien, with an Atrian gun. Sort of like, the aliens made it. That was kind of fun.

JJ: What’s your favorite off-screen moment?

GD: We were in New Orleans, it’s a really fun place. It’s really full of life and music. On set, anything that Titus Makin would do, was pretty enjoyable ’cause he’s this ball of energy. He was always making people smile and stuff. If you were having an off day, just go hang out with Titus and you’d pretty much be in good spirits at the end of the day.

JJ: Describe your co-stars in one word. Aimee Teegarden.

GD: Unique.

JJ: Matt Lanter.

GD: Very professional. Professional.

JJ: Malese Jow.

GD: Kind.

JJ: Titus Makin, Jr.

GD: Energized.

JJ: Natalie Hall.

GD: Deep.

JJ: Chelsea Gilligan.

GD: Contradiction.

JJ: Greg Finley.

GD: Confident.

JJ: Brina Palencia.

GD: Adorable.

JJ: Johnathon Schaech.

GD: Powerful.

JJ: Taking things way, way back…. How did your parents name you?

GD: There’s like four or five different stories, I never quite got the one. Some say it’s because there’s like a grey to my eyes, and that when I was a baby, I had really grey eyes. Like, really grey eyes. Others are that my father loved the story of Dorian Gray, for some reason. And another is that my mother loved the artist Alex Grey. But, I don’t know. They’re all really cool stories. I really like the story of Dorian Gray too, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Alex Grey really is an outstanding artist. None of those are really bad.

JJ: How did you get into acting?

GD: My mom threw me in classes a lot when I was a kid. And then I came to Los Angeles to be a cartoonist. That was the plan, and I’d never seen a beach in my whole life, so I wanted to do that too. And go somewhere sort of artistic like Los Angeles.

The first year I just sort of trailed around and slept on couches and slept in my car. Then eventually I left, I went to Indiana, I went to school for a bit, and then I came back out here. It sort of just clicked one day. I was like, “Maybe I should just try this.” I just thought it was a way that I could make some extra money, which is not true, for anyone that wants to become an actor. It takes a lot of work and dedication.

I kind of just fell in love with the process and just doing it anyway. I had forgotten how much I loved acting because I hadn’t done it for so long, and then I realized that it was what I wanted to do. So, sort of like that, I guess.

JJ: What profession would you be doing if you weren’t acting?

GD: I would hope a cartoonist, but I also think that I would end up, if I was still in Indiana and stuff, I’d probably do contracting. Painting houses or something like that, very simple and therapeutic.

JJ: What kind of music are you listening to these days?

GD: For whatever reason, I really love Alt-J, a really great band. It’s alternative, sort of independent rock, I guess. It’s very creative and unique. It’s really beautifully done and intricate, and poetic. Alt-J is what I’ve been jamming to lately the most, I think.

JJ: Do you follow any television shows yourself?

GD: Yeah. Because I was going to be a cartoonist, that means I was going to draw comic books. I used to, well, I still do, I read “The Walking Dead”, the comic book, before it was even a show. So it’s really nice to watch the show and have read the comic books because I can kind of see what they do different, and what they do the same. At what point in the timeline do they do this or that. That’s really cool. I love doing that, and I really like Game of Thrones. I like Boardwalk Empire, but they killed off my favorite character so I was like, “Eh, not my show anymore.” And they do that sometimes, after that, it can kind of kill it for me. Game of Thrones does that too but you kind of expect it.

JJ: Do you have a favorite game? A board game or video game?

GD: My favorite board game would be, let me think… Monopoly, I really like Monopoly. Or Battleship is pretty fun, or Guess Who? But video game, I’m going to have to say is probably Fallout or Bioshock. I really like those post-apocalyptic story games, they’re pretty fun.

JJ: Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter?

GD: Yeah, there’s this dude, Chris Hadfield I think his name is. He’s an astronaut and he always posts all these things about like what he’s doing in space. It’s pretty cool.

JJ: Favorite person to follow on Instagram?

GD: Proably James Jean. He’s probably my favorite artist. He just does such awesome work, with such originality. So yeah, James Jean, ’cause I love seeing his work when he posts it. And if you’re on Instagram, you could see it before everyone else.

PHOTO SHOOT CREDITS (PICTURES BELOW) �”�”

Photos 1 & 4: Dolce&Gabbana silk shirt and Diesel jeans. Jeremy Scott for Adidas shoes in look 4.

Photos 2 & 6: Stylist’s own look.

Photos 3 & 5: Mochino blazer and Topman pants.

Producer: Jared Eng (@JaredEng)
Photographer: Justin Campbell (@JustJustinNYC)
Stylist: Ricky Bennick (@Rickybennick)
Grooming: Melissa DeZarate
Talent: Grey Damon (@DamonGrey)