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'Independence Day' Star Gets LeBron James-Approved

'Independence Day' Star Gets LeBron James-Approved

8:22·By Gemma G
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The talented Jessie T. Usher drops by the YH Studio to scoop us on his role in the much-anticipated 'Independence Day' sequel, 'Resurgence', as the stepson of Will Smith's character! He tells us what it was like to work with ID4 veterans like Jeff Goldblum and fellow newbies like Liam Hemsworth, plus he talks about getting the LeBron James seal of approval for his role in Starz's basketball drama "Survivor's Remorse" and he takes a quiz to test his Independence Day (the holiday) knowledge!

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Young Hollywood

I didn't know Dora the Explorer grew up, but apparently she did.

Guest

And we watched the new Dora the Explorer series. It wasn't bad. Like for the record, it's not that bad. And that's where I kind of learned all my Spanish from.

Young Hollywood

He shoots hoops on Survivor's Remorse, and he'll be shooting aliens in Independence Day Resurgence. Jessie T. Usher hanging out with me on the couch. Hello. Welcome.

Guest

Hi. Hello. Thank you.

Young Hollywood

Uh, can I just say, I love that you brought your mom. Mom, get over here. She's She's like she's She's showing people some love. They want to see your face. Oh. She's showing people some love. Yeah. I seriously thought it was your sister by the way. She's gorgeous. Now we know where where you get it from.

Guest

Thanks. Thanks.

Young Hollywood

Do you bring her a lot to to your events and stuff?

Guest

Yeah, she like follows me everywhere. I try to get rid of her for the last like ten years and she just will not go. I don't know what to tell you. She just

Young Hollywood

Just the last ten years?

Guest

She just Just the last, well, up until then I was like I kind of needed her a little bit, but now I'm like, Ma, just. On dates. On dates and stuff. Usually I keep her on dates cuz you need like a a second person to, you know, really fill out the, you know what I'm saying?

Young Hollywood

Exactly. Yeah, like and you need someone to talk to. Totally. Well, let's talk about, uh, Independence Day Resurgence. Today you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. Um, you know, you've said that there you didn't feel the pressure of doing this movie. It's a sequel coming, you know, decades after the first one. Right. Um, so what what made you not feel the pressure?

Guest

Um, it's everyone in the production made me feel really comfortable. Yeah. You know. And that helped a lot. Um, they kind of showed interest before I even really knew what I was getting myself into. Sure. I wanted to do the movie and they were like, we want you to do the movie. So it was just like, oh, okay. It just took all the pressure off.

Young Hollywood

And you play, um, well, Will Smith's character's stepson. Right. And, uh, and then the fabulous Vivica A. Fox. You're also hanging out with her on there. And some really cool people too. Well, Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum. Uh, what was it like? Bill Pullman. Everybody. What was it like hanging out with them on set? Working with them?

Guest

Uh, they're an interesting group. They're very interes- They're, you know, Jeff is like an actor's actor, if you know what that means. Like he's he he knows every actor. He knows like all their work. He knows every film, every producer. You know what I mean? So just conversations are different with Jeff. And then like Liam's the complete opposite. He's like me, like I personally, I mean, I should be ashamed of the amount of television series and like movies that I haven't seen. No. Oh. It's really really bad. You know what I mean? Just

Young Hollywood

So bad. Just the last ten years?

Guest

Just the last, well up until then, I was like I kind of needed her a little bit, but now I'm like, Ma, just. Yeah. What? I haven't watched. I've never gone to the theaters and like, you know, stuff like that. I just.

Young Hollywood

What?

Guest

I've never seen Game of Thrones. Like, I've I know. I know. And I say that and people everybody's faces drops and I'm just like. Oh no. They do that face, right? Oh, you better get on that. I watch Walking Dead, but I'm like four months behind.

Young Hollywood

That's not the worst. Okay. That's what Netflix is for. Right. I guess. So then what do you watch when you get the chance to?

Guest

Um, I mean, I got the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air box set at the house. I watch that. You know what I mean? On top.

Young Hollywood

Yeah. I like that. I like that it's a box set.

Guest

Yeah, like I got all six seasons.

Young Hollywood

Like you're in it to win it. If you've got the box set. Then you, you know, you're like you're like you are like a real fan.

Guest

Exactly. Yeah. That's how you know it's for real. I love I love that. Exactly. That's what I mean, I watched that. I watched old stuff. I watched cartoons every once in a while. I watched sports. Right. Yeah.

Young Hollywood

What cartoon?

Guest

Um, I watched SpongeBob. I watched Family Guy sometimes. Um, it just depends. The other day me and my sister sat down to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. I didn't know Dora the Explorer grew up. But apparently she did. And we watched the new Dora the Explorer series. It wasn't bad. Like for the record, it's not that bad. And that's where I kind of learned all my Spanish from. So like It's cool with me.

Young Hollywood

So, uh, hablas espanol? Can you? I'm gonna ask you a little bit.

Guest

Yeah. Dora she be speaking too fast for me now. I need to go back to the kids. It's an educational show. You know.

Young Hollywood

You have very good taste in television.

Guest

Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. You're the first person to tell me that. I really do appreciate it.

Young Hollywood

Speaking of television, so you're on Survivor's Remorse. Uh, you play a pro basketball player. Right. Interestingly, you don't actually play basketball.

Guest

I'm terrible at basketball. And like, I tell people all the time.

Young Hollywood

And you don't have to do it on the show, thankfully, right? Okay. For you. Okay.

Guest

I don't. And actually, I have a really good story about this. I went to the gym the other day. It's been like the first time I played basketball in months. Like all my friends growing up were basketball players. So like I go and I play with them, but like I'm the guy that looks really intimidating, like people, you know, the best person on the court. They want to guard me like, oh, yeah. I got him. And I'm just like, all right, let's do it. Whatever. You know what I mean? I went to the gym and I was like playing around or whatever. It was just me and like some guys that I didn't know. And like these guys on the sideline recognized you from the show. And, uh, I'm down there and I'm just like waiting, you know, by the side line or whatever. And the guy passed me the ball. And they're like, Cam, shoot it. They're like, shoot it, Cam. And I'm like, y'all don't want this. They're like, shoot it. I'm like, nah, trust me. You don't want me to shoot it. And they're like, shoot it, Cam. And I'm just like, oh. And I shot it. And they're like, Cam, yeah. And it was just like, airball. It was terrible. And they were like, yo. Oh no. And like I just told them, I was like, this is a life lesson for you guys. You know what I mean? Don't believe what you see on TV. Don't believe what you see. It's not what you want it to be. Don't believe that he's actually a basketball. Life is full of disappointments. All right? It's okay. It's fine. I work hard on the look, not so hard on like anything else. You know what I mean? Like I make sure I can deliver the lines and look like, you know, like in a believable.

Young Hollywood

Well, somehow you convince because like LeBron James Right. Is, uh, your boss, essentially.

Guest

Honestly, that's like a a thing that kind of stuck with me for a while. I was like, if LeBron James looked at me and was like, I'll buy it, then I was like, yo. I'm good. That's all I can go to the league. Like LeBron James said like, okay, yeah. This guy looks like a professional basketball player. I can at least ride the bench. Yeah. You know what I mean? At least.

Young Hollywood

You can you can warm it up a little bit. Yeah, for sure. But if Steph Curry came at you and was like,

Guest

I could take Steph. Wow. I know what he's going to do. He's going to shoot. He's going to I'm going to just foul him. I get five of them. You know what I mean?

Young Hollywood

Um, because the movie is Independence Day, I actually wanted to test you on your Independence Day knowledge. All right, let's do it. But actual Independence Day, like July 4th. Okay. All right. So we'll do a little quiz. Okay. So we celebrate Independence Day on July 4th, but Congress actually ruled in favor of Independence from Great Britain on which day? Was it July 1st, July 2nd, or July 3rd? Got a one in three chance.

Guest

I do got a one in three. July 1st, July 2nd, or July 3rd? Uh, my fourth grade Social Studies teacher would kill me for not knowing this right off the bat. I didn't like her anyways. Oh. So, I'm going to say July 2nd?

Young Hollywood

Yes! Oh. Oh my god. Hey, look at me. We got it. No, that's a turkey. It's okay. It's okay. You're good. Okay. Okay. All right. Uh, in the Declaration of Independence, the line the pursuit of happiness was originally supposed to be the pursuit of A, joy, B, puppies, or C, property.

Guest

Puppies is like is really screaming out to me. I know. I know. Right? Uh, the pursuit of Joy. Joy, puppies, or property? Property. Uh, the pursuit of joy. Oh, it's property. Oh, I should have known. Everything was physical back in the day. They didn't care about being happy. They just wanted

Young Hollywood

You wanted. But they changed it. They ended up changing it. So.

Guest

They did. Okay. Okay.

Young Hollywood

So, last one. So, in 2014, Americans ate an estimated how many hot dogs on July 4th? Is it A, 25,000, B, 25 million, or C, 155 million?

Guest

I'm going with the high number. What was it? 100 55 million. Yeah. That's what I'm going with.

Young Hollywood

You got it!

Guest

Yeah.

Guest

Americans love hot dogs, baby. There you go. Oh, wow.

Young Hollywood

All right. Well, since you you're almost fluent in Spanish now, thanks to Dora the Explorer. Say Audios.

Guest

Audios. Audios, Young Hollywood.

Young Hollywood

Audios, Jessie. That was awesome. Thank you so much.

Timestamps are approximate — click one to jump the player.

PEOPLE MENTIONED

  • Jessie T. Usher

    Guest discussing his roles in 'Independence Day: Resurgence' and 'Survivor's Remorse'

  • Will Smith

    Portrayed the character whose stepson Jessie plays in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'

  • Vivica A. Fox

    Co-star in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'

  • Liam Hemsworth

    Co-star in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'

  • Jeff Goldblum

    Veteran co-star in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'

  • Bill Pullman

    Co-star in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'

  • LeBron James

    Executive producer of 'Survivor's Remorse' and approved Jessie's performance

  • Steph Curry

    Mentioned in a hypothetical basketball challenge

  • Dora the Explorer

    Children's character from whom Jessie learned Spanish

FAQ

What role does Jessie T. Usher play in 'Independence Day: Resurgence'?+
Jessie T. Usher plays the stepson of Will Smith's character in the movie 'Independence Day: Resurgence'.
Which actors did Jessie T. Usher work with on 'Independence Day: Resurgence'?+
Jessie T. Usher worked with actors such as Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Vivica A. Fox, and Bill Pullman on 'Independence Day: Resurgence'.
What is 'Survivor's Remorse' about?+
'Survivor's Remorse' is a Starz basketball drama where Jessie T. Usher plays a pro basketball player.
Who approved Jessie T. Usher's role in 'Survivor's Remorse'?+
LeBron James approved Jessie T. Usher's role in 'Survivor's Remorse', a show for which LeBron James is an executive producer.
On what date did Congress rule in favor of Independence from Great Britain?+
Congress actually ruled in favor of Independence from Great Britain on July 2nd, not July 4th.
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