How Aaron Pierre Went from Sports Dreams to Movie-Star Trajectory: 'Acting Requires Athleticism' (Exclusive)

There was a time when Aaron Pierre was never pictured on the big screen. Those Hollywood dreams came after the star’s first obsession: to become an athlete.

“I was really obsessed with sprinting as a kid and as a young adolescent,” Pierre, now 30, tells PEOPLE. Acting, he adds, was “something that came a little later”.

Born and raised in London, Pierre idolized former American sprinter and four-time Olympic medalist Maurice Greene growing up.

“I actually had the privilege of meeting him once. I remember yelling to my mom saying, ‘Mom, there’s Maurice Greene! Do you have anything for him to sign?’ This was before iPhones and selfies, so she gave me the receipt, I ran to him and he signed it,” he recalls.

Pierre lost the piece of paper with the autograph, which he is still “desperate” about. Although his athletic goals didn’t end up being his path, the actor can still put his fitness to the test in the Rebel Ridgean action thriller about small-town police corruption that also stars Don Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.

“In my subjective opinion, being an actor requires athleticism,” he says. “Is it always physical? Probably not. But it’s definitely mental and emotional athleticism that takes a lot of time.”

Genius Star Aaron Pierre on Malcolm X Transformation: ‘StairMaster Every Day for 6 Months’ (Exclusive)

Aaron Pierre in “Rebel Ridge”.

Allyson Riggs/Netflix

For Rebel Ridgeshot mostly in hot New Orleans, Pierre plays an ex-Marine and had to perform most of his own stunts. “There certainly wasn’t a day that went by on set that I didn’t have at least a bruise or a bump or a scrape or a scratch or a cut, and I loved that,” he says.

Not to mention all those scenes mounted on a bicycle. “We did a lot of cycling, and my thighs were on fire almost every day when we had to do it. Especially in the moments where I’m really explosive on the bike, there was never a scene where I had to act like I was giving it my all or acting if I sprinted — I really did,” says Pierre, who is also passionate about boxing and martial arts.

“I was really tired,” he says. “My legs were really burning. I was really trying to catch a bus or go through holes in the woods or whatever. It was really great.”

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The rising star is already busy with a successful acting career. After first making his screen debut in 2017, he’s since been stranded on M. Night Shyamalan’s Beach That Makes You Old , portrayed Malcolm X in Genius: MLK/X and earned attention at the awards for director Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of the series Subway.

Next, Pierre reunited with Jenkins for the lead voice role in the Disney film Mufasa: The Lion Kingand was marked as one of the newest members of the star cast Morning show season 4

When was the moment you switched to aspirations to become a performer? As he recalls, he was about 15 years old in a school play when he got the bug.

AnnaSophia Robb and Aaron Pierre in “Rebel Ridge.”

Allyson Riggs/Netflix

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“My high school didn’t offer drama as a subject. They did one play every three years. I had the opportunity to be a storyteller in Moby Dickand I jumped at the chance,” Pierre recalls. “I remember going on stage one of the first times in my life that I was on stage by my own choice. That was the beginning of not taking it for me to himself seriously but taking opportunity seriously.”

Reflecting on that seminal memory, he adds: “I thought these wonderful people don’t need to be here. I’m sure they’re all extremely busy people with lots of things to do. So the fact that they’re here is my responsibility to do my best .”

“That was the beginning of me taking my craft seriously and respecting the people who gave us their time, which is very valuable,” says Pierre. “They don’t have to do that.”

Rebel Ridge now streaming on Netflix.

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Source: HIS Education