Exclusive: Damon J. Gillespie On Exploring The World Of Ballet In Netflix’s ‘Tiny Pretty Things’

Now playing on Netflix is Tiny Pretty Things, which centers on the lives of ballet academy students. Written and executive produced by Michael MacLennan, who will also serve as the series’ showrunner, the 10-episode series stars Lauren Holly, Kylie Jefferson, Casimere Jollette, Daniela Norman, Brennan Clost, Michael Hsu Rosen, Damon J. Gillespie, Bayardo De Murguia, Jess Salgueiro, Barton Cowperthwaite, and Tory Trowbridge.

Based on the book by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, Tiny Pretty Things is set in the world of an elite ballet academy and charts the rise and fall of young adults who live far from their homes, each standing on the verge of greatness or ruin. As Chicago’s only elite dance school, the Archer School of Ballet serves as the company school for the city’s renowned professional company: City Works Ballet. The Archer School is an oasis for an array of dancers: rich and poor, from north and south, and a range of backgrounds. Yet they all share a rare talent and passion for dance, a loyal sense of community… and when it comes to their dreams, no Plan B.

Gillespie, who was last seen on NBC’s Rise, play Caleb, a handsome dancer who uses his ready humor and undeniable talent, in order to mask his struggles with a profound loss — and a secret that could unravel the institution. Having grown up as a professional Hip-Hop dancer and trained in Ballroom, Jazz, and Tap, in addition to Ballet, since he was 3 years old, Gillespie fits right in for a series about dance.

BlackFilmandTV.com recently spoke with the Tennessee native about his role in the series and what his experience was like getting back in the world of dance.

How did this role come about for you?

Damon J. Gillespie: My agent sent it to me, and I actually didn't really pay any attention to it just because it's during pilot season, and there's a lot of auditions coming your way. You can't really get attached too quickly or too deeply, otherwise you just get let down. But then I got a screen test and then I got the roll. I was like, "Okay, well, this is incredible.”

The series is about dance, which is in your background. Was it a stretch for you to do the role?

Damon J. Gillespie: Ballet is not my strongest, and or my forte. I definitely was training a lot. I would have had a hard time had I not had any ballet training at all, so to speak.

How would you best describe your character?

Damon J. Gillespie: Caleb is a smart, wise, calculated individual. A wise calculated Southern boy who holds loyalty to a very high standard. That's how I would describe Caleb.

Everyone seems to be out for themselves. Who should the audience be rooting for?

Damon J. Gillespie: I say every character you are rooting for them and then not rooting for them at the same time, except for probably Oren and Neveah. Those are probably the two that I would go, "No, you're kind of rooting for them the whole time." From from what I remember. But everyone else you're like, "I'm rooting for you. I hate you. I'm rooting for you.”

How much time did you have to go back and train for the role of a ballet dancer?

Damon J. Gillespie: Well, I tried to go to ballet at least three times a week before we got to rehearsal because we had two weeks of rehearsals before we started shooting. When we got to rehearsal, we were in ballet every day, and we were rehearsing every day, laying the groundwork for the season. Once I got to Toronto, we had ballet every day, even when we got to set and when I wasn't filming, I was trying to stay in ballet as much as possible because I wanted to make sure that I was doing a good job. I was being authentic to the character, but I also felt like I had a duty to make the ballet world proud. Because if we're going to put ballet dancers on screen, they should be represented properly. So I tried to put in as much work as possible and tried to make them proud.

Physically did you have to lose a lot of weight for this?

Damon J. Gillespie: No, I actually gained about five pounds because of this. Everyone said I looked really skinny. But I was eating. I was on a meal plan. I was eating seven times a day and I looked so skinny because my skin was just so tight on around my body. I was pretty much just doing cardio and calisthenics for six months. I was in great shape. I was in the best shape of my life. I gained five pounds that everyone thought I'd lost weight.

How was working with the cast?

Damon J. Gillespie: We were all learning from each other. With Michael Rosen, he's been on Broadway a few times. He's been in the game for a little bit. He’s done a couple of TV shows and a couple of movies. Sometimes the cast would look to him for acting advice, because he's such a brilliant actor, too. He's so good. We would look at him for what is he doing, that I'm not doing that's making it so convincing. The same thing would happen with Kylie and her dancing. How does she make it seem so fluid and so effortlessly? We were taking little bits of everything from everybody and learning from each other. I've said this numerous times, I'll continue to say it like, that class is my family, We were a giant family. I miss them every day. I saw a few of them recently. We just went to grab some drinks and just talk and hang out. AIt was it was amazing and like we never even took a break.

If you're into ballet, will they get a sense of their world by watching this series?

Damon J. Gillespie: I think 100%. I think you will be a fly on the wall with some of the elements heightened. You will be a fly on the wall watching what happened and what it takes to be a ballet dancer. These prima ballerinas and these principal dancers, they look so effortless. When they do it looks gorgeous. It looks like they're not even trying. When you see it in the show, you see exactly why it looks so effortless.

Do you need to be a fan of ballet to watch the series?

Damon J. Gillespie: No, not at all. You don't have to like ballet in the slightest because the story alone will keep you hooked. We're all doing our own dances, there's no stunt doubles for dancing. So when you see us telling the story, and then we switch into these incredible, beautiful dancers, you’re immediately hooked. You just are.

What did you learn from this series that you can take to your next project?

Damon J. Gillespie: What I learned in this one is to really do as much character work as possible. What I mean by that is to really, with every episode, learn something new about the character and apply it. But also keep track of what you've learned about the character from the first episode and from what your showrunner has told you and what your writer is giving you, and be a sponge and write it all down, that way you have a Bible for your character. That way when you come into the next episode, or even, crossing your fingers the next season, you have something to go off of and you're like “Okay, I can keep this consistent, even though I hadn’t touch it in over a year." I think that's what I'll take to every character that I that I play from now on. To really keep track of and get every single minute detail about the character that I can.