Meet The Fresh-Faced Cast Of Netflix's Grim Teen Drama Grand Army

By Lauren Rearick


Grand Army contains every prerequisite needed to be your next wonderful Netflix obsession: There’s many secrets, plenty of unexpected twists, plus an audience of relative Hollywood newcomers willing to capture your attention. Arriving on the streaming platform on October 16, the series, based on Slut: The Play by Katie Cappiello, examines life at high school in Brooklyn, New York. As expected, these teenagers’ stories are filled with drama, growth, explorations in sexuality, and also a couple of surprises.


The series centers on the trials and tribulations of adolescence that ultimately bond five wildly different students. Starting against the backdrop of a females locker room filled with pranks and chatter of an evening party that promises to bring each person with each other, Grand Army High soon finds itself at the center of unexpected tragedy: a nearby bombing. The traumatic event serves as a catalyst for Joey Del Marco (Odessa A’zion), Siddhartha Pakam (Amir Bageria), Dominique Pierre (Odley Jean), Jayson Jackson (Malik Johnson), and Lela Kwan Zimmer (Amalia Yoo) to explore racial injustice, sexual identity, and the power of using your voice to enact change.


Though the show presents viewers with in-depth portraits of its characters, it also marks several of the featured actors’ first major TV roles. MTV News met the stars bringing the delightful drama of Grand Army to the small screen, discovering their journeys have included failed commercial auditions, nationwide theater tours, and, in one instance, a tenure on Degrassi.

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  Odessa A’zion
  
  
  Marni Grossman/Netflix
  
  
  
  How did you start acting?
  
  
  I don’t know exactly If I began acting however, as soon as me and my siblings were younger, we could make up stories and perform them for our family member. Then, As soon as I was in middle school, I went on these camping trips, plus it was mandatory that you had to do skits. I had a lot of fun with it. In school, I went to a performing arts high school, so you had the alternative to do a Drama Academy. I tried it for about a month, and I enjoyed it, however I was like, why would I be in Drama Academy and not get out there and audition? I began auditioning While I was 15 and that was that.
  
  
  What was your first-ever audition like?
  
  
  My first audition was for American Housewife. My manager and my agent had notified me, and I was under the impression, that you’re supposed to wear black, skinny jeans as well as a white shirt to every audition. So, that’s what I did. I walked into the room, and I felt uncomfortable and thus not like myself. My legs began trembling right away and I did not remember all my fucking lines, and then I left the room. It was so embarrassing.
  
  
  What have you been streaming lately?
  
  
  I have two shows now, I May Destroy You, and also you could laugh, nevertheless Adventure Time. It has some really astonishing storylines.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Amir Bageria
  
  
  Jasper Savage/Netflix
  
  
  
  How did you start acting?
  
  
  It all began back in third grade. My teacher put on an annual child-friendly version of Macbeth, and I ended up getting the title role. It was only for a couple of of the acts, not the entire thing, nevertheless I remember rehearsing for so long, and then I had anxiety. However Whenever I stepped out on that stage, I had this feeling of euphoria that I hadn’t ever experienced in life. I never really didn't remember what it looked like to be on that stage, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
  
  
  I kept up with acting intermittently since then, and then in ninth grade, I did my first audition. It was for a television show called Degrassi, and I ended up booking that, and doing that for a couple of years.
  
  
  What was your first-ever audition like?
  
  
  Professionally, it was Degrassi. Shout out to y’all, because I don’t know why they cast me — to this day, I have no idea. My first audition for anything was in high school, and that was nerve-wracking.
  
  
  What have you been streaming lately?
  
  
  Avatar: The Last Airbender is sort of having a resurgence right now, which is cool, and Master of None is one of my preferred shows ever.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Odley Jean
  
  
  Jasper Savage/Netflix
  
  
  
  How did you start acting?
  
  
  I began really young, acting in church plays. Every year for Christmas, the church youth should make a play, and I would perform in it. In middle school, I was serious about taking acting classes, yet I couldn’t afford to, so I waited up until high school and joined a film and theater program that got defunded several weeks soon after I joined.
  
  
  Immediately after that, I joined another nonprofit theater program in my school called Initial Act. I was performing off-broadway, creating plays at the end of every semester, and that’s how I met Katie [Cappiello], through one of The first Act students. Since then, I’ve been acting, doing theater, and touring plays around America for almost eight years. Right now, I’m here.
  
  
  What was your first-ever audition like?
  
  
  My first big audition was for a film, and I was already having a bad day, and I had never auditioned in person prior to that, so I went. I hadn’t even memorized, something had happened before, and I was already running late, and I was mad and crying. As soon as I got there, I didn’t even really hope to audition. They saw that I wasn’t with it. My first self-tape that I did was for 13 Reasons Why, and I didn’t visualize myself on that show.
  
  
  What have you been streaming lately?
  
  
  I May Destroy You, P-Valley, Lovecraft Country, and Sex Education.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Maliq Johnson
  
  
  Jasper Savage/Netflix
  
  
  
  How did you start acting?
  
  
  I went to this sort of open residence and I got blessed. My dad took me to this open residence in the city where a bunch of actors can go get seen by managers and production. People take photos, and it’s about seeing what you’re like in front of the camera. I began off doing modeling and print work — I was in ads for Target and Macey’s. I did my first commercial at age five, and soon after that, I continued in commercials, and then I graduated to TV and film.
  
  
  What was your first-ever audition like?
  
  
  I don’t remember my first audition. I don’t know if I got it or not. I do remember an embarrassing one. It was a screen test, also it was my first one, and I went in there with the lines written on my hands. I didn’t even know you weren’t supposed to have the lines written. I wasn’t as dedicated as I am right now, I’ll be sincere. Whenever I got out, my boss called me, and asked, ‘Did you go in there with the lines on your hand? You may as well chalk it up, and go back residence now.’
  
  
  What have you been streaming lately?
  
  
  Ozark. Now I’m watching Blacklist, although I actually fell asleep. You know how once you’re watching a Netflix show, although you fall asleep, and then it plays for like five episodes? I lost my place, so I had to begin over. Plus, any Marvel shows.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Amalia Yoo
  
  
  Jasper Savage/Netflix
  
  
  
  How did you start acting?< I took my first acting class in elementary school because one of my companions was doing it and I thought it sounded fun. I had so much fun then, that I kept taking classes from that point on. I did have a manager at one point, and I was doing commercial auditions and stuff, although I didn’t like doing that. I didn’t like going into those auditions because I had acne and braces, and I felt all these other people were so primed, genuine, and brilliant. It made me feel horrible about myself.
  
  
  I stopped working with my boss. I wanted to only do theater and act, and I went to a performing arts high school. I went there for drama and studied theater. While in that time, I was also working with Odley [Jean] and Katie [Cappiello]. I was doing shows and plays across America, and then Grand Army happened.
  
  
  What was your first-ever audition like?
  
  
  My first audition was Once I was really little. It was an open call for the ensemble The King and I. You know, that problematic musical. I had never been to an audition before, so I went in with my folder of sheet music, and I don’t think I even had a headshot however. I was shaking, and I went into the room and probably sang a horrible rendition of “On My Own” from Les Miserables, and then I left.
  
  
  What have you been streaming lately?
  
  
  Pose, it’s one of the biggest shows ever, and we got to work with some of the directors.