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It’s a crisp fall evening in Soho, but Jeremy Pope is dressed for summer in a sensual, back-baring halter top and oversized Persol sunglasses. “It’s a backless fall,” says the 31-year-old actor, who shot to fame on hit shows like Pose and Hollywood before breaking out in last year’s A24 drama The Inspection. “That’s where we’re at today.”
Given the summer Pope just had, it’s hard to blame him for wanting to extend the season as long as possible. A dedicated member of the Bey Hive, the Emmy and Tony nominee spent a good chunk of the year going to as many Renaissance World Tour shows as his schedule would allow. “There’s the initial shock viewing,” Pope explains, “and then there’s the second viewing where you can really receive the queen.”
While Pope got to rub elbows with the likes of Jay-Z and Kris Jenner at various tour stops, the most memorable show he attended was the one he went to with his mom. “The last time we saw Beyoncé [together] was when I was 16, and she took me for my birthday,” he says. “I was at the show where she fell on them stairs! It was giving drama… That’s a YouTube staple.”
Watching concerts with your mom? Just one of the many things Jeremy Pope Strongly Endorses these days.
Pope is known for his revealing red carpet looks, from his almost-shirtless moment at last summer’s Loewe show to tonight’s dangerously low-cut Fendi halter. “Me and my stylist, we always have a rule that if I'm not nervous or scared when we're going to an event or a carpet that maybe we didn't challenge ourselves enough,” he says. “And it's not necessarily that we're looking for the gag effect.”
Instead, Pope explains, he dresses to express himself and radiate confidence, after a childhood spent feeling uncomfortable in his own body. “My dad was a pastor and a professional bodybuilder,” he says. “And those spaces really occupy extreme ideas of masculinity. Being a skinny little kid who was into the arts, it was always trying to find where I felt confidence in my boyhood, into manhood. Now, when it comes to fashion, I love using it as a tool to just express different energies—the yin and the yang, the mother and the father, the masculine and the feminine.”
Given his hectic travel schedule—jetting off to Paris Fashion Week one day, flying back to New York for a Broadway performance the next—Pope has developed several methods for creating comfort on the go. One of his go-to moves is spacing out to Apple Music’s Spa playlist. “It's giving me spa as I'm in the air,” he says, laughing. “I don't know what it is about just sleeping with the spa music… I need the massage part, but it gets me in the zone, you know what I mean?”
Another thing Pope loves to do while flying? Rewatching Sidney Lumet’s classic 1978 film The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. “It’s the Black people version of The Wizard of Oz,” he says. “It's now on Netflix. There's something about that movie—give it to Ms. Ross and Mr. Jackson. It's just this iconic, feel-good, nostalgic movie. It has this Afro Harlem, New York feel.”
The night we meet, Pope is the guest of honor at the launch of Persol’s newest collection. Given the Italian eyewear label’s long-held association with iconic leading men—from Paul Newman to Steve McQueen—its alignment with a Black, queer actor like Pope seems like a clear salute to Hollywood’s more diverse future. “That's where we're at right now,” Pope says. “I love that they were down to call me.”
It doesn’t hurt that Pope looks damn good in his Persols, a strikingly wide pair of the brand’s Francis model. “It makes me feel good,” he says. “It brings the outfit to another level. I love that Persol has a variety of moods. It's a vibe.”
Pope has been wearing pieces by the designer Gaurav Gupta—who, coincidentally, made waves this summer designing looks for Beyoncé—for years now. “I started my career in theater,” Pope explains, “and I always love the brands that have supported me in the smaller moments too—not necessarily on a red carpet for a Golden Globe or whatever. Not just with me because I'm hot right now.” Pope describes his relationship with the designer as “super, super special.” “I think my last look, I sent [my pick] to him on a Thursday and by that Saturday, it was in my hands—custom made with diamonds and all these things.”
While Pope loves a body-exposing fit—and has gone full commando in fashion shoots—he prefers to be fully supported in his personal time. “I got to keep my drawers on,” the actor says, laughing. “I mean, I always [love] a good Calvin [Klein]. I feel like every year at Christmas in the stocking, that's what's there. [My mom] re-upped me on my black solid Calvins. So that's usually what's truly holding me down.”
Considering all the worlds that Pope has his hands in—film, TV, theater, music, fashion—he’s learned to carve out moments of peace for himself. “My morning routine recently has been my moment of still,” he says. “I feel like a lot of times we wake up, look at our phone [right away] and see what we missed [on social media]. You didn't miss anything! Allow yourself to wake up, remember to breathe.”
Pope allows himself about 35 minutes of calm in the morning. “I wake up and my body's like, we're here. We're looking outside—what’s the weather giving? Okay, light the Palo Santo, get it going, get in that toilet, make it do what it do,” he says, laughing. “I always want to stay in a place of gratitude and not taking life for granted. Just be with yourself for a minute. Take care of you.”