Isaiah Russell-Bailey is undoubtedly one of the up-and-coming young performers you should be keeping an eye on. When he appears on the screen, his charisma and presence are apparent. He entertained us with his portrayal as Shaka McKellan in the popular Netflix series Family Reunion. His credits already include such popular shows like Raven’s Home, S.W.A.T., and Criminal Minds, demonstrating his acting versatility. I got to talk to him about his most recent project, Crater by Disney+ and 21 Laps. He talked about how he got his start in acting, how he landed his recent roles, and why he felt Crater was a project he had to be a part of. 

Cox: Isaiah, you are such a young and talented actor. Before we get into your latest project and role, I want to know where you got your start in acting. 
Russell-Bailey: I actually got my start from my mom. She’s the one who inspired me to become an actor. She’s an actress as well, and because of that, I grew up around a lot of people in the entertainment industry. All of this really instilled in me the love that I have for the arts. 

Cox: Since you grew up around it, what was the route you took to enter acting? 
Russell-Bailey: I took acting classes while also starting off modeling and doing commercial work. Modeling and commercial work were my steppingstones to getting me where I wanted to be. But I have to thank my mom again because she gave me the proper advice on what I should do to pursue it as a career. 

Cox: What is it about entertaining that you love the most? 
Russell-Bailey: I love being able to portray different characters. It’s so much fun pretending to be different people. And it’s like playing dress-up like a kid every day. When I was younger, I would dress up like a Power Ranger all the time because that’s something I wanted to be. So now I get to inspire others as I play other characters. When people see you on the screen, you are basically inspiring them. 

Cox: Speaking of roles, you have played a variety of them already at such an early stage in your career. What’s Isiah’s method when he is getting into character? 
Russell-Bailey: My process really depends on the character. I usually read the script multiple times and take notes. I’m looking to find the motivation behind a lot of the things the character is doing. I look closely at their background, so I can also find things that I can relate to in some way. Like with Caleb, the character I play in Crater. He was raised by a single parent, and I was also raised by a single parent. So, finding things about the characters like this that I can relate to kind of gives me the outlet to make the character my own in some way. 

Cox: Before we talk about your role as Caleb in Crater, I want to talk about your role as Shaka in Family Reunion. You did such a great job of it, and I would love to learn more about the opportunity and experience you had. 
Russell-Bailey: The audition process was pretty straightforward. I sent in my self-tape and had three callbacks. Afterwards, I was called in for a producer session, where I got to act out my scenes in front of producers. Then there was a chemistry test a few days later. This is when all the kids are being considered for the different roles. We were mixed and matched into different groups so that the producers and the director of the first episode could see the chemistry between each person. 

I’m not going to say I felt like I had it in the bag, but Shaka is a lot like me. And during the process, I was able to easily show my personality through his character. They could really see me too, because I’m definitely a big prankster like Shaka. I just felt really good going into the audition and the process overall. 

And eight minutes after the chemistry read, I got the news that I had booked a family reunion. 

Cox: Now let’s get into the Crater! This is a fun and futuristic project. What about this project drew you in? 
Russell-Bailey: Like I always say, if there is anything with Disney and 21 Laps, I’m going to be immediately drawn to it. 21 Laps produced Stranger Things, and that was an amazing show. 

Cox: What drew you to the character of Caleb? I know you mentioned you both are similar, but what else? 
Russell-Bailey: He is very smart and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is also a natural-born leader, which is something I try to live my life as. He likes to make people around him feel important and heard, and that’s because he values friendship to the highest degree. This is something I know I do as well. 

I also like the fact that they wanted this character to be black. I think representation matters, and for other young black kids to see this smart black character, it is important. It’s important for young black kids to see, even if they aren’t trying to be actors. 

Plus, Kid Cudi is Caleb’s father, and he is like one of the greatest musicians to me. So being able to connect with him was a great opportunity. 

Cox: Was the audition process for Caleb the same as for Shaka? 
Russell-Bailey: The audition process was actually a lot quicker than Family Reunions’ was, to be honest. What was crazy was that I was filming Family Reunion when I auditioned for this role. I did the self-tape in the middle of the night. After sending it in, I got a call a few days later from my agent letting me know that they wanted me in for a producer session, which you know is where they want you to read for the character. And this was all during the pandemic, so the session was all on Zoom. 

I was pretty nervous, but my mom was even more nervous because they had her read the ad lips on the side of the camera. I honestly thought after the producer session I would have to do a few more callbacks. A week and a half later, I got the call from the director, Kyle Alvarez, that I had booked Caleb. 

Cox: What was it like filming with CGI and all the digital aspects that the film required? 
Russell-Bailey: CGI was something new for me since I had never gotten to experience shooting something fully on green screen. There was a lot of harness stunt work that we had to train for two weeks. We had an amazing stunt team, and our stunt coordinator, David McCumber, really helped us through all the stunts for the moon scenes. This is where you see us doing the moonwalk, and we’re slowly moving up and down the moon. The funny thing is, when you watch it, we are all on harnesses the whole time. It was such a fun experience. 

Cox: This meant you all had to use your imagination even more than normal when you have a fully built out set with props. 
Russell-Bailey: Yes, we had to really use our imagination. When you are filming projects like this, you must use your imagination to really put yourself in the mindset of the character. It takes a lot more work and is challenging when you must include CGI and VFX. Like when you see us looking at something crazy, nothing is really there. We are just looking at a green screen. We had to really create something in our minds so that it could be portrayed that something was really there for us through our performances. I mean, it’s really cool, but it’s also pretty difficult. 

Cox: Nice!   When it comes to Crater, why do you think kids and those around your age will enjoy this film? 
Russell-Bailey: I think what people will love about seeing this film is the aspect of friendship. Caleb has a very tightly knit group of friends that he’ll ride or die for. He sees them as family. People will also love to see the bond between a black father and son. What’s different is that we usually see the single parent as a mother raising the kid, and here you get to see a father doing it. It will be something refreshing for them to see, and I’m happy Disney is kind of rewriting the narrative. 

Cox: What’s a big takeaway from the film? 
Russell-Bailey: The big takeaway is to take risks, explore the unknown, and face your fears. 

Credits
Photo: Timothy Fernandez
Styling: Lisa Cameron