Jussie Smollett Is Rooted in Joy and Finding His Creative Stride Through It All

When the world was introduced to Jussie Smollett in his breakout role as Jamal Lyon on the award-winning TV series Empire, the actor was facing a devastating personal loss. Smollett’s father, Joel Smollett, transitioned on the same day as the show’s premiere, a time that would have otherwise been a celebratory milestone in the artist’s career. However, with a long road ahead sorting through life and grief, Smollett eventually discovered the beauty in that pain, a relationship that might not have otherwise blossomed, and the inspiration for his latest cinematographic creation.

The Lost Holliday is an emotional, nuanced, and humorous look at love, family, loss, and reconciliation. Starring alongside Vivica A. Fox, the feature film is Smollett’s second as a director, and he also wears the hats of co-writer, producer, and lead actor in the production.

In the film, Fox plays Cassandra Marshall, an estranged mother-in-law who meets her son’s husband Jason Holliday, Smollett’s character, under the unfortunate circumstances of Damien Holliday's—played by Jabari Redd—untimely passing. The film’s plot isn’t too distant from Smollett’s real-life loss and grief reconciliation, as it was inspired by the relationship Smollett’s mother and his grandmother formed after his father passed.

“The story was inspired by my mother, [who] in 1975, as a Black woman married into a non-Black family. We grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and it wasn't always easy for her to navigate that. But I saw how she did, with such grace, beauty, and class,” says Smollett. “Then, I lost my dad almost a decade ago—the day that Empire first aired on television, he passed away. After he passed, although my mom and he had been separated for some time, she bonded with his mother, my grandmother, and they had not bonded before. Watching that inspired me with my grief. That helped me want to make amends with him, although he was no longer here in the physical form.”

He continues, “I am an openly gay man, and many of my mentors, in listening to their stories, [were] extracted from their partner's legacy, particularly during the height of the AIDS pandemic in the ‘80s. The way that when they lost their partners—not able to go into the hospital room [or] make the decisions that any partner would make—was [also] really interesting to me.”

Over eight years, Smollet developed the idea of bringing this kindred connection to the screen, eventually landing on the backdrop of the holidays as the ever-entertaining time of year. With the support and backing of Mona Scott-Young and Tressa Azarel Smallwood as producers, Smollett reimagined one relationship into a cinematic love story that resonates across identities.

“The holiday season is one of those times where everybody's supposed to be happy, but honestly, a lot of people just are not,” Smollett reflects. “Grief is its own animal—one minute you're crying, and the next you're laughing at something that happened and then feeling guilty. You may end up resenting the goodness that's happening to you. You may be angry or resent the world for moving on so quickly when you've lost somebody so close to you. All of those things are really what inspired me for this film.”

He adds, “The characters of Jason and Cassandra are my mother and grandmother,” he continues. “My grandmother is nothing like Vivica's character, Cassandra, and my mom is not a gay man who lost her husband. At the same time, it further proves these are universal themes we can all identify with.”

The relationship between the characters Jason (Smollett) and Cassandra (Fox) is a slow yet endearing journey that keeps viewers silently rooting for them throughout the film. The on-screen banter between Smollett and Fox’s characters, even in their disagreements, are the makings of a nearly lifelong relationship between them in real life. The pair, referencing one another as “family,” have known each other since the ‘90s TV series Out All Night, starring Patti LaBelle, Vivica A. Fox, Morris Chestnut, Duane Martin, and his sister, Journey Smollett.

From then on, their relationship grew deeper than something merely of the industry. Smollett recalls fish fry invites from his mom, Janet Smollet, to Fox growing up that sealed his family status with the Soul Food actress.

“This truly is my family. She would come over to the house—growing up—and my mom would make fried fish, spinach, and French fries from scratch. Vivica would come over, and we would have a time,” Smollett shares.

After working together again on Empire, with Smollett directing multiple episodes of the series, he reverently shares the role of Cassandra in this newest project “had to be her.”

“There was no one else that I wanted or asked or even thought of for this because she's just it,” Smollett dotes over Fox. “I didn't care to create a film that Vivica Fox was in. I wanted to create a Vivica Fox film, and I wanted it to be able to sit next to any of the great films in her filmography.”

Shot in only 11 days, Smollet credits Fox with supporting the production by setting a tone that was joyous but rooted in hard work. Working with a tight timeline and budget, Smollett recalls Fox encouraging him to “trust yourself” while filming as the multi-hyphenate juggled on-screen and off-screen roles.

“We all joined together with one mission—to make something special,” he says. “We had a great time. We were constantly laughing on set, but we were there to work. Vivica set the tone as a leader. I proudly lead this, but Vivica set the tone on set as such a well-known actor. It was a beautiful piece to create, and it's a beautiful piece now to be able to present to the world.”

As for Smollet’s hopes for how people will resonate with the film, “understanding, forgiveness, [and] grace” are central to his mission.

“What Cassandra and Jason show is that they're dealing with their own grief, but they're also dealing with their guilt about what they could have done better for this person who is no longer here while they were here,” he says.

Although legal challenges still lie ahead stemming from his alleged hate crime hoax in 2019, the multi-talented artist is spending his days on the projects and people that bring him joy. Smollett leaves no stone unturned in real life, exercising his creative passions across mediums. His second album, My Mind, arrives in December, with his first single, also titled “My Mind,” featured in the film.