Joey Bada$$ Talks His Role on ‘Mr. Robot,’ Missing Out on Obama Biopic

Joey Bada$$ joins the cast of the Golden Globe-winning USA Network drama Mr. Robot this season as Leon, a 21-year-old Brooklyn native who has befriended protagonist Elliot Alderson. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Joey talked about his burgeoning acting career.

Turns out, he landed the role of Leon in pretty conventional fashion.

"There was a casting call. I auditioned for the role of Leon. I got three callbacks, and I was finally casted," Joey explained. "My character is basically speaking to the main character in this diner, so it wasn't hard at all. It's simple, actually. I just went in the audition and I had my lines memorized, like, literally, five minutes before I walked into the room, because I had no time to rehearse because of my business schedule.”

Joey explained that he had only done some acting “briefly in high school” after getting accepted into his school theater at Edward R. Murrow high school. “I decided that, if music works out, acting will be relatively more easy. I could just use music as a leverage to get into acting.”

Bada$$ (born Jo-Vaughn Scott) had a significant role in an upcoming biopic about a young Barack Obama called Barry, but it conflicted with his music commitments.

"The week that they wanted to shoot was the week that I had to play Coachella," Joey reveals. "So I missed out on the Obama movie for Coachella. That's one hell of a story to tell."

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