Jordyn Curet is 17, but she carries the professional poise of a veteran. After years spent in the bright, high-energy world of Disney Channel and network sitcoms like Home Economics, she is deliberately stepping into the shadows. In her new film, The Drama, Curet plays Young Emma, the adolescent version of Zendaya’s lead. It is a performance rooted in the specific, modern misery of being "chronically online," navigating a landscape of isolation and digital toxicity that feels uncomfortably familiar to anyone who came of age behind a screen.
Curet is sharp and remarkably aware of the industry’s tendency to flatten Black characters into tropes of either perfection or trauma. In The Drama, she finds a middle ground of being the awkward, flawed reality of a girl trying to find her footing. Between stories of feeding squirrels with Robert Pattinson and discussing music with Zendaya, Curet makes it clear that she isn’t just another former child star. She's an actress interested in the complicated business of being seen.
The movie explores some very dark territory. How did you get into the headspace of a teenager dealing with such intense isolation?
I was nervous because I’d never played anyone like this. I ended up pulling from the loneliest days of the pandemic, when I was spending way too much time on Reddit and Discord. I learned a lot about what it’s like to exist almost entirely online as a teenager. I tried to lean into that specific brand of awkwardness that feeling of not knowing who you are yet and trying to perform for an audience you can’t see.
You’re playing the younger version of Zendaya’s character. Did the two of you collaborate to make sure the two Emmas felt like the same person?
We talked a lot about music and movies just to get to know each other, but she actually gave me a lot of freedom. Our versions of Emma are very different, and that was a choice. At 15, your morals and your perspective are so far removed from where you’ll be a decade later. It was important that the audience could see that evolution rather than just a carbon copy of the older character.
What was the most challenging part of the production for you?
The physical aspect surprised me. I had some stunt work that involved carrying heavy equipment for days on end, and by the end of it, I was exhausted. But my favorite day was definitely filming in the park with Robert Pattinson. He’s incredibly funny, though he did talk me into feeding a squirrel. I wasn't entirely sure it was legal or safe, but we did it anyway.
You’ve mentioned wanting to see more "complex" roles for Black actresses. What does that look like to you?
I want to see Black characters who are allowed to be flawed and messy without the story being exclusively about their hardships. So often, our narratives are restricted to a very narrow lens. I’m interested in stories where we can just be people sometimes doing the wrong thing, sometimes being awkward, but always having depth beyond our identity or our struggles.
How do you keep from burning out when you've been working in this industry since you were seven?
It comes down to my family and friends. They’re the ones who keep me leveled. All of this still feels surreal to me I still have a poster of Zendaya in my room from eighth grade. Having a support system that reminds me to stay humble and present is the only way to handle the visibility that comes with a project like this. If I ever started acting like I was "too much," my mom would be the first person to tell me to tone it down.