IN CONVERSATION WITH JASMIN SAVOY BROWN
interview by JANA LETONJA
Jasmin Savoy Brown stars as Young Taissa on Showtime’s hit series ‘Yellowjackets’, which will air the third season finale on 13th April. She will next be seen in ‘Dreams in Nightmares’, which premiered at the Berlin 2025 Film Festival, and will be also reprising her role in ‘Scream 7’, coming in early 2026. Besides acting, Jasmin recently launched her podcast ‘Today in Gay’, a short, joyful daily news podcast by and for the queer community.
‘Yellowjackets’ has been a huge success, and Season 3 will soon air its season finale. How has playing Young Taissa evolved for you over the seasons?
Playing Young Taissa has evolved for me in a handful of ways. For one, when I started filming season 1, I was 25 years old, and this was pre-pandemic. I was in a different relationship, I was a different person, just like Taissa was. Now I’ve lived many lifetimes as has she. Exploring her darkness has been interesting in that I’ve been exploring my light. It’s very funny because I am typically cast in darker material, but I am finding more lightness in my life and it’s really interesting approaching her as she delves deeper into darkness with more lightness. But it’s very fun and one of the great joys of my career is getting to play her.
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What has been the most challenging or rewarding aspect of portraying such a complex character in ‘Yellowjackets’?
I think the most rewarding aspect of playing Taissa is actually getting to play her in such brilliant company. Every actor employed in the show is fantastic, and I get to work with a lot of young actors who are all at the top of their game. I mean, name a single person in the 90s cast and I can tell you a thousand brilliant things about them both as an artist and as a person. And that’s both challenging and rewarding, challenging in a good way because no matter who you’re on screen opposite, they are going to make sure you’re bringing you’re A game because they’re bringing their A game. I’ve become such a better actor because of getting to work with all of these people.
What can you tease with us about the ending of this season?
You’re going to scream.
You’ve played such a variety of roles, from historical figures like Emilia Bassano in ‘Will’ to a queer horror expert in ‘Queer for Fear’. How do you choose your projects?
I love the shoutout for Emilia Bassano in ‘Will’. That was a highlight of my career for so many reasons. To be candid, I’m only now getting to a place in my career where I actually can choose my projects. And by that I mean, I was not born into the industry, nor was I born with a bank account, so I have worked my way from nothing and with most young actors and young artists, that means taking any job that will hire you until you have enough money in the bank and enough security to be able to allow yourself to have fun. And I’ve been really fortunate that a lot of projects that have hired me have also been incredible projects that I’ve loved working on. But now I’m at a place where I get to be more choosy, and I’d really love to choose some comedies. I do have a lot of fun in horrors, but I’m ready to do something light.
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Another one of your projects, ‘Dreams in Nightmares’, recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. What can you tell us about your role in that film?
‘Dreams in Nightmares’ is an incredible film with an incredible cast and an incredible director. I am so proud I got to be a part of that project. My role in that film is comedic. Shatara is perhaps the first director I think that actually saw that in me and believed me when I said I’m funny, and let me just run with it. I’m very excited for people to see my work in this film, but beyond that, I’m just excited for people to see this film. We need more projects centring queer black femmes and directed by queer black femmes and thems.
Your podcast ‘Today in Gay’ is such a unique and important project. What inspired you to create a daily queer news podcast?
I was inspired to create a daily queer news podcast because we need one. Queer folks deserve a space to tune into everyday to hear what is happening to and in our community from our community. So often we are forced to get that information from sources that aren’t safe, and we deserve a space for that. And safe, by the way, means joyful. Yes, there are bad things happening to our community right now left and right, but there are also brilliant, beautiful, wonderful, joyful things happening, and no one’s reporting on that, or not as much as they should be. So, that’s where this idea came from.
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You’ve also released your own music as an indie singer-songwriter. How does making music compare to acting for you?
I love that you brought up my music. I’ve been teasing an EP for years, and I’m finally rolling that out now. In fact, I have a song coming out on Friday, 11th April, with a music video following shortly after.
When I’m acting, I am playing a character and when I’m playing music, I am being just me.
You’ve been open about your experience with endometriosis. What changes would you like to see in healthcare for people dealing with this condition?
First of all, fund women’s health. Fund health for people with uteruses. Fund healthcare. Endometriosis, PCOS, which I also just found out I have, these are rampant diagnoses. At least 1 in 10 people with uteruses suffer from these conditions and if there was more funding and research put into our health care, we would see people being believed a lot more often, and given the support that they need.
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Mental health advocacy is also important to you. How do you personally navigate the pressures of the entertainment industry
Well, I left LA. I love LA, I’m here often, but I decided it wasn’t the most healthy for me to live where I work. I want to make sure I don’t lose myself in the allure of it all and that it remains fun. For me, it needs to be fun and special to go to a red carpet premiere, to get dressed up and get in a fancy car and feel important. I never want to think that those events are my life, because they’re not. I think that there are a lot of beautiful, kind, wonderful, and artistic people in this industry. But it’s set up with a specific structure that allows people to lose touch with their humanity. And as an artist, as a person, as a daughter, as a partner, as a friend, I never want to lose touch with my humanity. I never want to forget that acting is what I do and that being an actor is my job, it’s not who I am. Being an artist is who I am, and I can do that from anywhere. It doesn’t require money or acknowledgment or attention. I can be an artist in the privacy of my home, by painting or playing the guitar. And so that’s how I navigate being in the entertainment industry. It’s not my everyday life. I also make sure to stay surrounded by people who will be honest with me and that I’m always in service in some way.
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You’ve accomplished so much already. What’s next for you? Any dream roles or projects on your radar?
I’m adopting a dog, I’m picking her up next week. I am so excited. Her name is Stella and she’s going to be my new buddy. Aside from that, my dream role would be to play Jenna in the movie musical version of ‘Waitress’ because you know that ‘Waitress’ was a movie that got turned into a musical by the one and only goddess Sara Bareilles who penned the songs. And it is my favourite role of all time and if they ever make it a movie musical, I will do anything to play Jenna. Aside from that, I would just love to do some comedies. And I just want to spend more time with my friends and family.
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TEAM CREDITS:
talent JASMIN SAVOY BROWN
photography TORIAN LEWIN
styling BRUCE ESTEVEZ
makeup BILLIEE GENE
hair TAKISHA STURDIVANT
photography assistant ALEXIS TONGE
editor TIMOTEJ LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA