Video interview with Kamaj Nixon Myers coming soon. Check back shortly to watch this exclusive conversation.
Kamaj Nixon Myers is making waves as one of independent cinema’s most compelling new voices. After his breakout performance in “Once Upon a Time in Philly Pt. 2” showcased his raw intensity and commanding screen presence, the Philadelphia native returns with a completely different energy in “Jonesing: When Love is a Habit.” Directed by Sixx King, this romantic drama finds Myers stepping into the role of Myles Cole, a former high school athlete wrestling with past trauma while searching for redemption and authentic connection.
Known for his emotional authenticity and natural charisma, Myers brings both strength and vulnerability to a character that challenges conventional portrayals of black masculinity. His performance explores the complexities of modern love, healing, and identity while celebrating the beauty of genuine black love stories. As “Jonesing” prepares for its national theatrical release, Myers reflects on his evolution as an actor and the importance of showing different facets of black male experience on screen.
What was your first reaction to the ‘Jonesing’ script and Myles Cole’s journey?
I knew I had to dive deep into a vulnerability because, just seeing a role, I see that it was different from me, as far as a black man, what we face on the day to day, as far as when we approach relationships and we approach encountering women. So I know I had to tap into a different side of life, being more suave and confident, but still flawed at the same time.
How did you prepare emotionally and mentally for such a layered role?
I try to take bits and pieces from my own life, as far as dealing with certain adversities. The city where I come from in Philadelphia, there’s different things that we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. We’re still trying to stay sane and go after your goals or your different accomplishments. So that’s really where I pull a lot from for this character too. I related on certain levels. I took different things in my life that was similar to the character, and I applied that on screen.
Was there a specific scene where you felt that balance of strength and vulnerability come to life?
I don’t wanna give away too much, but definitely when I had the scenes with my coach and with Simone as well. I had to be vulnerable in both ways because it’s like the corporate world, where you have a certain nine-to-five, and that might not be all you want to do in life. That might just be a vehicle to what you want to do as an entrepreneur and in entertainment. He had to deal with a lot coming from his coach, and deal with a lot of troubles because he wanted to get back on the team. So even if he didn’t agree with his coach’s characteristics and the way that he is, he still had to man up and just say like, “Okay, I’m gonna still confront you, and I’m gonna deal with who you are as a person, but I’m gonna just accept this for now because this is what I want.” And then also with Simone, he was very vulnerable as well, and it was a scene in the movie where, the step scene, that was one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie, and that was towards the end because you see the chemistry, that spark all come together, and everything ties in with each other.
What was it like working with director Sixx King?
First I want to thank him. He’s so passionate, and you can see that there’s real, genuine meaning behind his scripts. With me trying to pull from my life, I could tell that he bleeds onto screen what he feels emotionally and where he goes through on a day-to-day basis. So I really appreciate him for being there every step of the way with helping me have a picture of what this character is, bringing it to life, and how to stay focused and stay disciplined throughout the whole journey. So he’s a wonderful coach, wonderful director. He’s a great guy.
What does ‘Jonesing’ mean to you personally?
“Jonesing” to me is black love, that’s just the first thing I think about. When I think about “Jonesing.” I think about black love, and pursuing a female with that suave energy and just being yourself. As a male, where I come from, in society today, it’s very hard to be vulnerable and just be real and be genuine without being seen as soft or flawed. Nobody really want to show that flawed side, and a lot of times pride is in the way of you being vulnerable, especially with so many options on social media that people feel like they have. You could just go on Instagram and see a girl if you could feel like you could get her, and followers, you think you need this amount of followers, and it messes with people’s confidence on a day-to-day basis. So I love this movie “Jonesing” because it goes back to reality of really having conversations and not just being on the phone.
How have you evolved as an actor since ‘Once Upon a Time in Philly Part 2’?
For “Once Upon a Time in Philly,” you ever see how a baby gets thrown in the water to learn how to swim? That’s how I was. Just like, “Hold your breath, throw him in the water. Let’s see what he do.” With that film, it was my beginning, my opening debut film. So it was a lot of stuff I had to learn, as far as preparation and discipline and really diving into a role and not just reading the script and going to do the film. So with “Jonesing,” I had the opportunity to sit back, tap into the character more, look at people around me, who acts like this character? Who’s similar to this character? How can I use my time and be more adamant on really living with this character? It was really living with the character even more than I did in “Once Upon a Time in Philly.”
How did your collaborations with the cast shape your performance?
It was very easy to connect with her, her energy, just her spirit, everything was A1 since the day we locked eyes on set. Off camera, it was just a spark, that connection was just there. That’s a big deal when it comes to love interest roles and rom-coms. The two people playing the role have to have that genuine connection. So me and her just sparked it all, talking and connecting. She helped me a lot with being more vulnerable off screen for that to translate on screen, and just that suave part of it I had to really go there, as far as just being suave, and I learned a lot about being more suave and more intentful in my everyday life when it comes to approaching relationships. Shout out to Lena and Sajda as well. They have been in film longer than me, for me being able to be on set with Sajda, Lena, Aaria, I got to see different tricks and different hacks that they use when it’s time for them to lock in.
What’s one quality you always bring to every role?
Authenticity, I would say. Being unapologetically you. It shows on camera where you just being yourself or you being robotic and not just letting it flow and just being yourself, that’s a great thing. Especially with Simone, it’s different because it’s a love connection, and it’s not just a regular connection with Simone and Myles. It’s more spiritual, intellectual, and very intentful, it’s a very intentful film. Everybody have different motives and different intents. So just being yourself, that’s what I bring, and just charisma, energy, entertainment to the set. Just making everybody feel at home.
What kind of roles are you looking to explore next?
I would do a horror film, but just moving forward, I’d rather be more in rom-com stuff like that, things that deal with things I’m more relative to in my life, as far as just growing up in different cities, sports movies, different stuff like that. But I’m open to just spreading my wings, and maybe I’d be a superhero one day. I don’t know. I’m open to different roles and different films to just broaden my horizons and challenge myself. I just wanna challenge myself with different roles.
What do you hope fans take away from ‘Jonesing’ and your performance?
As an actor, I wanna show my range because “Once Upon a Time in Philly” was more gritty. It was more just that grit and that passion of the streets. It was like you get to see the street life of selling drugs, gun violence, and then you go to “Jonesing,” and then it’s like I’m full love mode. I’m full Michael Ealy love interest mode. So it goes from Tupac/Juice to more of a Michael Ealy type world to me, so I want people to see my range. As Myles, it’s for the black men. We got to be more intentful. We gotta be more romantic and bring chivalry back and be more communicative and show how we really are. Let that guard down sometimes and show yourself and bring love back.
“Jonesing: When Love is a Habit” hits theaters nationwide June 13th. Follow Kamaj Nixon Myers on social media @maj.money1.
