Damson Idris Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty
Damson Idris is gracing the Complex’s March 2023 digital cover and revealing that Jay-Z helped him secure a green card.
Inside his cover story which also includes details on his Lori Harvey relationship, the actor revealed he had major help securing a permit to work and live in the United States. Idris gave praise to Jay-Z for his role in helping him obtain the permits he needed.
“He didn’t offer that up! I had to ask,” he said. “But he’s done many things for me over the years, he’s always supported me. He supports everyone. He supports so many people that you don’t even know.
“Genuinely, I should tell everyone this right now: if you ever run into Jay-Z, just say thank you and keep it moving. Because he is definitely a pioneer of the culture, but of everything. And I’ve never told him this, but he’s a huge idol of mine. Thank you for that reference.”
“I won’t tell you how it happened ’cause there’s a couple more favors that I’m gonna need in the future,” said Damson, “but yeah, he hooked me up with that. Rich Paul did too. Tommy Schlamme, Eric Schrier — a bunch people hooked me up. They’re people who just believe in me, believe this journey that I’m on and I’m gonna repay the favor to the people coming behind me, too.”
Complex
Complex
Complex
Complex
This development is a complete turnaround from a story he shared last year involving Jay-Z clowning him for joining a zoom shirtless with his nipples out. Damson took a moment during his cover story to praise his Swarm costars Dominique Fishback and Chloe Baily and the opportunity Donald Glover gave him.
“Dominique Fishback is an absolute powerhouse. She’s one of my favorite actresses. More people need to give her her flowers. She’s an extraordinary actress. Chloe Bailey’s in it too. Absolutely killing it. …I wanted to be a part of the project, obviously to work with those three people, but also I wanted to be a part of the project because Donald hit me up and said, I want to give people that I love the opportunity to succeed or fail. And we don’t ever get to do that. You know, there’s always so much pressure because there’s so little opportunities for us. So, you know, stepping on that set and getting to play with people that I admired was amazing.”
Elsewhere in the cover story the actor gave his very candid thoughts on winning awards and had a very unique perspective.
“If they come, they come. It’s out of my power, really. The most important thing is that those platforms make everyone feel welcomed. It’s not really about getting on stage and giving a speech and winning, and being like, look at me. Especially when you’re getting up there and they’re giving it to you because you fit a category or you’re in a community.”
You can check out his interview with Complex below.
