Ron and Jasmine Cephas Jones sat down for an interview before they both won Emmy Awards, which puts them in the history books for being the first father and daughter to win Emmys in the same year.
Jasmine won Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for Quibi’s “#FreeRayshawn” on Thursday, Sept. 17, and on Saturday her father won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing in NBC’s “This Is Us.” It’s the second time that he’s won the award for playing the father of character Randall Pearson.
“The first time I’m nominated for an Emmy, and I get to share it with my dad, who introduced me to theater at a very, very young age, it’s a very full-circle type of thing,” Jasmine told Entertainment Weekly around the 1:20 mark in an interview originally published on YouTube Thursday, Aug. 27. The clip was then re-shared on the publication’s site on Sept. 19.
“This stuff happens once in a blue moon, once in a lifetime type thing, and it’s just really, really special,” she added. “It’s definitely a very, very special moment in time right now.”
“It’s very hard for me not to get choked up when I see my daughter and I together at this point,” Ron said afterward. “It’s hard to speak from an actor’s point of view. I’m a parent looking at my child most of the time, so it’s very hard to speak from the heart, I can’t find the words. But exactly what Jasmine said. It’s a special, rare, and unique moment that even early on I had visions of.”
The award for “#FreeRayshawn” is Jasmine’s first Emmy. The 31-year-old started her career on Broadway and television, playing in “Hamilton,” as well as TV series like “Blue Bloods.” She’s also a singer and released her debut EP “Blue Bird” in March of this year.
Ron has been in a bevy of well-known films including “Paid In Full” and “He Got Game,” and played a wide array of television shows, most recently in “Luke Cage.”
Jasmine said that she loves seeing her father get so many accolades for playing a likable character these days, which wasn’t the case when she was growing up.
“It’s so funny because I remember off-Broadway and dad being in the theater, he would play these crazy, awesome villains,” she explained. “They were incredible characters to play but it was always the villain, so to see him play this, like, emotional dad and everybody loves him and he’s crying, it’s just awesome to see.”
Jasmine also said that she’s proud of being in “#FreeRayshawn,” which is about a Black Iraq War veteran who’s locked in his apartment while dealing with an intense situation with officers from the New Orleans Police Department. Her dad expressed pride in her being in that series as well.
“We have a history of being conscious,” said Ron. “I’ve always taught my daughter about the diaspora and how she fits into all of this. So she’s grown up with a consciousness and I feel proud that she’s carrying that legacy with her intelligence, and her power as well as her beauty and her talent.”
