The distance between the rigor of musical theater training and the intimate vulnerability of film acting represents a chasm many performers struggle to cross. Aaria Charaman, however, navigates this terrain with remarkable dexterity in her breakout role as Simone Love in Jonesing: When Love Is a Habit. The film, directed by Sixx King and positioned as a spiritual successor to the nineties classic Love Jones, showcases not just a compelling narrative about contemporary relationships but also the emergence of a multidimensional artist whose formal training enhances rather than constrains her emotional reach.
“I had to be very disciplined, because I got my BFA musical theater,” Charaman explains, reflecting on how her academic background prepared her for the screen. This formal education, while seemingly at odds with the naturalistic demands of cinema, provided her with foundational techniques that proved invaluable. “Going through that program was very rigorous, while I did a few film classes like acting for film classes, the discipline of studying my craft, throwing myself into characters that I did play previously in the musical theater world. Studying the material, and really just being able to become a character, that’s where that helped me.”
Technical precision meets emotional authenticity
Musical theater demands a particular kind of precision, hitting marks, maintaining vocal control, executing choreography, all while conveying emotion to audiences at considerable distance. Film, by contrast, captures the subtlest microexpressions, requiring a different calibration of performance. Charaman’s ability to recalibrate her expressiveness for the camera while maintaining the disciplined approach of her training represents a significant artistic achievement.
“He pushed me, again, with his writing,” she says of director Sixx King. “There were some things in the film, as an actor, it pushed me to grow. I had some real tears in the film. I had to get into the zone, and work to get to that point.” This description reveals the technical work underlying what appears as spontaneous emotion on screen, the performer’s paradox of manufacturing authenticity through deliberate craft.
Working alongside industry veterans deepened this artistic synthesis. “He tapped in some relationships with seasoned actors that he had such as Khalil Kain, who is in Love Jones,” Charaman notes. “Getting to work with Khalil was amazing, that also pushed me, and allowed me to grow, and I got some encouraging words from him, and advice, and as well as Malik Yoba, who is phenomenal as well.” These collaborations provided masterclasses in screen acting that complemented her formal education.
Personal experience transformed into universal storytelling
The second discipline Charaman brings to her performance involves the alchemy of transmuting personal experience into broadly resonant storytelling. While maintaining a distinction between herself and her character, she draws thoughtfully from her own emotional reservoir.
“As a young Black woman navigating love in this generation, it’s hard, I think for everybody it can be a challenge,” she reflects, finding common ground with Simone Love without collapsing the boundary between performer and role. This selective use of personal experience enriches her portrayal without limiting it to mere autobiography.
Social media’s impact on modern relationships represents one specific area where Charaman found experiential parallels. “I’ve gone through some things in my personal love life where social media has impacted a relationship,” she acknowledges. “It’s just very realistic, there were scenes in the film that I was like, oh, yeah this definitely, I’ve experienced something like this, in my relationship.”
Yet where personal experience ends, imaginative empathy begins. On the film’s central theme of “jonesing” for love, a consuming, almost addictive yearning, Charaman demonstrates the actor’s essential ability to inhabit emotional landscapes beyond direct experience. “I can’t say in real life I’ve had that yearning, that I’ve experienced Jonesing, but I think I’ve been close to it, so I could draw from that,” she explains, illustrating how actors bridge the gap between lived experience and artistic invention.
Movement and physical storytelling
The third discipline informing Charaman’s performance derives from her background as a dancer, evident in her physical precision and embodied storytelling. Even in non-dance scenes, this training manifests in her deliberate use of stillness, particularly during moments of emotional intensity or intimacy.
“We had an intimate scene, and it’s tasteful, it’s classy, because I will say again, Sixx’s writing, there’s a level of class to it, and that’s what I love, because less is more,” she explains. Her approach to this challenging scene reveals the dancer’s understanding of physicality as communication: “I just had to focus in, and be still, be in the moment with that.” This conscious use of stillness, not as absence of movement but as purposeful containment, demonstrates how her dance background informs even the most naturalistic moments.
Detroit roots and authentic representation
Charaman’s hometown of Detroit figures prominently in her artistic identity and in the reception of the film. “We had our most recent premiere in Detroit, which is my hometown,” she recounts. The response from local audiences, particularly women, highlighted the film’s success in depicting authentic female relationships.
“A lot of women were coming back after the film saying, I love the depiction of sisterhood,” she recalls. “Which I feel is something that’s missing in a lot of shows and films right now, you’re not really seeing that.”
This authenticity extends to the friendships formed during production. “I have two best friends in the film, Layla and Mina, and they’re just extremely talented. It was an absolute pleasure working with them,” Charaman says. “I think another theme in this film that is touched on is beautiful sisterhood, and that’s what we have, which is now translated off screen as well.”
The translation of on-screen connection to genuine off-screen friendship speaks to the environment fostered by King and the cast, one where authentic emotion could flourish. “It’s real, we have real conversations, and cry real tears together and laugh, and just there’s authenticity there,” Charaman notes, suggesting that the film’s emotional honesty extended beyond the frame into the production itself.
Character resonance and personal growth
Simone Love’s strength amid vulnerability resonates deeply with Charaman. “I can identify with her in her strength, she’s very strong,” she says. “In Jonesing, Simone definitely goes through a lot in her personal life, as well as in her family life, because her parents, who were the epitome of Black love for her and her example of love, get a divorce.”
This narrative, of disillusionment giving way to self-discovery, carries particular weight for Charaman. “That on top of personal issues, as a young Black woman, and in college, in her senior year of college, she goes through a lot, and she has to be vulnerable, but overall, she’s very strong. So that’s my connection definitely to her.”
The film’s exploration of vulnerability as strength rather than weakness represents its emotional core. “I think that Simone’s journey just overall shows that vulnerability and feeling isn’t weakness and we all go through things,” Charaman observes. “Whatever it may be in that, but I think there’s parts in the film that everybody can identify with. You’re gonna fill an array of emotions watching the film and watching my journey, but overall, it’s okay to fill those.”
Future horizons
Looking beyond “Jonesing,” Charaman envisions a career spanning multiple genres while continuing to deepen her craft. “I’m definitely glad that I’ve experienced this role, again, I’ve grown from initially starting off as an actress,” she reflects. “I love romantic comedies, so I do hope to do more of those as well, but I see myself doing some action films. I wanna do a little bit of that. I know I have that in me. Maybe like a thriller as well. A serious role.”
This appetite for artistic range echoes her triple-threat training, suggesting that her musical theater background will continue informing her approach across genres. For emerging performers, she emphasizes the importance of self-investment and deliberate skill-building. “Invest in yourself first, have a goal, but know what you need to do to get there,” she advises. “And whether that’s some training or trying to secure an agent. First, invest in yourself to get you to where you need to be, and believe in yourself and know that whatever you want to do, you can do it.”
As audiences discover Charaman’s work in Jonesing: When Love Is a Habit, they witness not just a breakout performance but the emergence of an artist whose multidisciplinary background enables a rare combination of technical precision and emotional authenticity. In bridging the worlds of stage and screen, she exemplifies how formal training can enhance rather than inhibit the natural vulnerability that film demands, creating a performance that honors both traditions while forging something distinctly her own.
Fans can follow Charaman’s evolving artistic journey on Instagram and TikTok at @aariasings, and explore her musical endeavors on Apple Music and all major streaming platforms under the name Aaria.
