Jay Ellis’s Movie Picks Are Full of Bold Characters
The ‘Insecure’ actor hand-picks four movies now streaming on Tribeca Shortlist
Each month we welcome new Shortlisters to our Tribeca Shortlist family. What’s a Shortlister? A person deeply enmeshed in and passionate about the movie biz — be they writers, actors, directors, producers, cinematographers, musicians — who recommend movies they love now streaming on Tribeca Shortlist.
This month, we’re thrilled to announce actor Jay Ellis as one of our new Shortlisters. Jay currently stars as Lawrence in the hit HBO comedy series Insecure, created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore. His previous credits include Masters of Sex, How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy and the sci-fi thriller Shortwave.
His picks run the gamut from tense dramas to wild comedies, narrative and documentary, but they all focus on one thing: Bold character.
For his first pick, Jay highlights the “phenomenal filmmaking” of In the Heat of the Night, and talks about the command performance of Sidney Poitier in this classic about an African-American police detective from Philadelphia who helps solve a crime in rural, racist 1960s Mississippi.
His second pick, the sports documentary More Than a Game, follows the early high school basketball career of superstar LeBron James. “You will look at LeBron in a completely different way,” Jay explains of the doc.
Jay’s third pick, Glengarry Glen Ross, is a verifiable masterpiece from writer David Mamet. “It’s an assembly of four, five of my favorite actors of all time,” Jay explains. “Every time I watch it I think ‘Oh, that’s acting! That’s what I’m supposed to be doing!’”
Jay’s final pick, They Came Together, starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, is a sly and hilarious satire disguised as a traditional romantic comedy. “It looks like twenty best friends all came together and were like ‘Hey! Let’s do this!’” Jay says of the incredible cast and the incredible energy of the film.
Check out Jay Ellis’s full picks in the playlist of Shortlist videos above, and click on a movie image below to stream her picks now with a FREE trial to Tribeca Shortlist.
Bonus! We asked Jay a round of Quickfire questions, watch the video below to see his favorite scary movie, favorite movie quote, and more!
