Jordan Aaron Hall Goes Back to School in Netflix’s A Different World
Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir Rodale in the Netflix reboot of A Different World
Image courtesy of Netflix
Just two years after his own undergraduate days at Boston Conservatory, alum Jordan Aaron Hall (BFA '24, musical theater) is heading back to school, this time as in the new Netflix sitcom A Different World, a sequel to the genre-defining NBC series of the same name, taking us back to the prestigious, albeit fictional, Hillman College.
As part of a stacked cast featuring Tony Award winner Maleah Joi Moon and legacy actors Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, and Cree Summer from the original series, Amir is written as the first openly queer character in A Different World’s universe, and is by all means Hall’s breakout role for mainstream audiences.
“I think, for me, I would have loved to see the representation of a young man from Harlem, but also a young queer man from Harlem, and getting to see his journey coming of age,” Hall told us over Zoom. “I think Amir would have been a great inspiration for me, and I would have felt very seen growing up,” he added.
Hall, who was also raised in Harlem, has been performing since age 10, playing lead roles in the national tours of Broadway productions including young Simba in The Lion King; young Michael Jackson in Motown: The Musical; and Tommy in Matilda The Musical. He also appeared in TV shows Pose as young Pray Tell and The Equalizer, and in the Prime Video rom-com The Idea of You. His directorial debut, the 2025 short Graduation Day, won Best Director at the American Black Film Festival and is now available as in-flight entertainment on American Airlines.
We caught up with Hall just hours after A Different World was renewed for a second season to talk about the characters he's drawn to, his experience at Boston Conservatory, and how his training prepared him for the demands of a growing career in TV and film.
In FX’s Pose you played young Pray Tell—an emcee, an activist, and a fierce protector of his chosen family. In A Different World, you play Amir, the first openly queer character within his fictional universe. How do you find your characters, especially those who are, in their own ways, trailblazers?
I think those characters have found me in beautiful ways I wasn't expecting, and also it's intentional because I love to play roles that do push the boundary and that represent something that isn't typically seen on television, and so it is part of the universe blessing me with these things that are super special. But then, also, my intention as an artist is to always inhabit spaces and to provide representation and to provide seen-ness to those that need to be seen.
How much did your being cast in the role of Amir influence the writing and development of his character?
They changed his hometown when I got the role. So, originally, they were going between whether or not he was from Houston or he was from Harlem, and [then] I think they had hired me. Felicia [Pride, the showrunner] sort of went back and forth, and she was trying to find the right place for his origins. And she was like, "I just feel like it's Harlem. I feel like you're Harlem.”
You’re also a musical theater graduate. Did you get to actually sing during the series?
I also got to sing—it’s a bit showcased in episode five. We all do "Can We Talk" by Tevin Campbell. We all sing along while we're in the Pit, and that is where I get to sing a little bit…So, that was the one where I got to sing and use some of my singing ability, which is cool.
Speaking of singing, what brought you to Boston Conservatory?
The versatility that the Conservatory provided me was something that was so beautiful. I got to experience and train in multiple disciplines. As a musical theater major, I was trained vocally, I was trained as a dancer, I was trained as an actor, I was trained as a director, and a playwright.
And so I think that range of experience and training really helped me to be able to step into more than one role and to wear more than one hat well, and so I think that conservatory-style training and the rigorousness of that also helped me to be able to handle a demanding schedule.
You know, as you get bigger in your career, the demand for you is higher, and I think the kind of conservatory training is very demanding at times, and so I think it prepared me to be able to take on a career like this in a big way.
Are there any productions you starred in while at Boston Conservatory that you remember especially fondly?
I directed and played The Wiz. There was the Michael Jackson Ensemble, and I was one of the featured performers in that. That was at Berklee Performance Center and we were sold out both nights. We were also sold out of The Wiz all three performances during that weekend. I was Tom Collins in Rent at Boston Conservatory on the main stage, and we were also sold out that weekend…I did a production of And Then There Were None, where I played William Henry Blore.
What other non-musical theater disciplines did you enjoy?
I'd also say directing came to me a lot at BoCo because I was president of BSA [Black Student Alliance] and so I ended up directing The Wiz there. That was the first year that they had done the Black History Month production of that, and then I directed Soul Jam for Berklee, which was a concert experience, and so it really put me in the chair to be like, oh, I have to lead these things, and sometimes I have to create them from the ground up where it hasn't existed before. And I think BoCo taught me a lot about being able to be a leader and how it is that I show up as a leader and finish the things I started.
Did anyone at Boston Conservatory help prepare you for the roles you’re playing now, specifically for TV?
I will give a special shout-out to this teacher…Marcus [Giamatti], who taught Acting for the Camera. It was a virtual class, but I felt that we really got a great opportunity to dive into character work and show up in a space that was on camera. The class was on camera, so we had to shoot our own stuff at home, and we would watch it on camera. I thought that the experience of immersion in that technique was really beautiful.
And also all the musical theater classes, where we were required to get up in front of people and sing and act and to have full scenes in front of the entirety of our class prepared me for on-screen acting. In TV and film, you have to be able to learn material, get up quickly, do it in front of people watching you all the time. I think that [also] prepared me to be able to withstand something like a TV schedule.
What is that schedule like?
Long. We shot for three and a half months. Most of the days started really early and ended really late, and so I felt like I was back in school because that is how we [worked at] the Conservatory.
You were the student speaker at your commencement, inspiring your fellow grads. What advice do you have for current musical theater students?
I would encourage any musical theater major to continue to find what makes them unique, continue to find what makes them special, continue to find what makes them light up. Follow your passions and be disciplined in getting to where it is that you want to go. I think anybody that has made it in this industry in any regard has had to be incredibly disciplined, and I would say that our training makes us that way inherently. So lean on the discipline, the passion, and the love for the art form, and you will absolutely get to where it is that you need to be.