“Theater is the actor’s medium,” Brian Jordan Jr. says. “It’s the place where we have the most control. The only thing separating the actor from the audience is physicality, ability, and the environment we create to suspend disbelief.”

In conversation, Jordan doesn’t sound like someone waiting to have his talents unfurled. He moves with the quiet assurance of an artist who understands exactly where he’s going.

After seven years as a starring role on Tyler Perry’s Sistas, and while deep in the creation of his Broadway-bound musical RILEY, Jordan is navigating what it means to be a Southern Black artist determined to build a future where Southern talent and stories are taken seriously on screen, on stage, and beyond.

A Southern Beginning

Growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jordan was given a crash course in being a chameleon and a cultural custodian. “There is a strong fabric of creativity woven into the DNA of all Louisianians,” Jordan said. “Creating feels like a birthright.” Through food, music, fashion, and Louisiana-centric culture, Jordan absorbed a deep affinity for the South. Though he grew up surrounded by creative culture, Jordan didn’t realize acting would become his defining gift.

While attending Louisiana State University, Jordan found his true passion for acting unconventionally.

“I met a girl in undergrad who was into theater, helped her with an audition, and ended up in the play myself without realizing I’d even auditioned,” Jordan said. “That production went to the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, where I competed with actors from across the region. Hearing them talk about grad school and careers made me realize this could be real. I placed high, went to nationals, and that’s when the fire really started.” It’s after this experience that Jordan changed his major to theater, took dance classes, and met his career inspiration, Debbie Allen.

For decades, Debbie Allen has set the bar of being a true example of showmanship and inspiration for many Black actors and theater creatives. From her directing a Broadway production to her starring in and choreographing culture’s biggest moments like “A Different World” and “Fame,” her uncanny ability to pivot and be a chameleon across the world of dramatic arts is one facet talents like Jordan ultimately study. By meeting and learning from Allen, Jordan was able to understand the moxie and ability it takes to withstand the acting industry, and to not indulge in the thought of whether he belonged, but rather to focus on how impactful this work can be—and Jordan fell headfirst.

After graduating from LSU, Jordan attended NYU’s Tisch School Of The Arts, where the nerves of making it as a star settled in. “​​When I came to New York, Broadway was my dream, but I realized I didn’t fit the narrow ideas of what a Black leading man was supposed to look like,” said Jordan. “I could sing, dance, and act, but the roles weren’t written for someone like me.”

The Role That Changed Everything

Though his journey to having a starring role on a television show was tumultuous, Jordan landed his role as Maurice Webb in Tyler Perry’s Sistas. With the show having freshly debuted its tenth season, it’s safe to say Jordan has figured out the perfect amount of range in portraying a character for so long without losing himself within the material. “After 200-plus episodes, I see how much we share in our histories, our family dynamics, our pain, our love,” said Jordan. “That’s when you understand the responsibility of the role: you’re not just playing a character, you’re helping people feel seen.”

For Jordan, having the honor of playing Webb has been a thrill, due to his ability to hold space for others who rarely see themselves on screen. “I didn’t think I knew anyone like Maurice—until I realized how much of him lived in me,” said Jordan. “Playing him has taught me how many different people you can represent through one role, and how important it is to get that right so people feel seen.” In this unconventional role, Jordan tightens his knack for comedic relief in this production while also tapping into himself. “There has to be joy—even in sorrow, pain, or fear—because without it, there’s no balance,” Jordan said. “The similarity between Maurice and me is that we both believe humor can heal. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is address hurt with a little laugh.”

Jordan’s experience working on a Tyler Perry production and his career goal of becoming a multihyphenate primed him to believe in himself and create his own production.

A Different Kind of Spotlight

“RILEY,” an original HBCU-themed musical crafted as a love letter to Black college life, with themes focusing on Greek life, marching bands, and student politics, is Jordan’s brainchild and baby. While Jordan didn’t attend an HBCU during his educational journey, he strived to create this production as another marker of the cultural importance of the South and why our stories matter. “What people don’t understand about Black colleges is that they weren’t meant to produce excellence—but we turned them into places that produced the first Black everything,” said Jordan. “What I wanted to show in “RILEY” is the beauty of the Black college—not just the struggle, but the beauty inside the struggle: the music, the traditions, the discipline, the culture.”

With Black excellence as the main theme, Jordan wanted to challenge the idea of Broadway being pompous and closed off. “Broadway has become elitist and expensive, and a lot of Black audiences feel like they don’t belong there. I want to build a show to entice them back,” said Jordan. “I’m making a show about Black people that entertains Black audiences—and educates everyone else.”

To kickstart his creative process, Jordan created a mixtape of the music for RILEY and toured HBCUs around the country to showcase what he’s cooking up. This act further delineates his mission to spotlight the South and make sure these stories are told. “That’s why I released the music and toured HBCUs first—I wanted to give the story to the people it belongs to.”

At its core, RILEY is intended as a poignant love letter. “RILEY is everything—fraternities, football, dance teams, student government, music, tradition. It’s the Black college experience in full,” Jordan said.

Dressing the Part

If you take a gander through Jordan’s Instagram feed, you will see he has a penchant for looking fly—full stop. Whether he posts pics of himself decked out in Thom Browne or a debonair shot in Ralph Lauren, Jordan is as fashion-obsessed as the best of them. “My style is clean, classic, and timeless,” said Jordan. “I care about quality fabrics, strong tailoring, and pieces that will still look right ten years from now. Fashion isn’t just about clothes to me—it’s about history. I want to know who made it, where it comes from, and what it means.”

When crafting his distinct sartorial aesthetic, he admits he loves high-quality garments that tells a story. “I’m the guy digging through vintage shops looking for a 1997 Dior piece because I know exactly what this era meant,” said Jordan. “I probably care about fashion as much as I care about art.”

With Jordan’s southern upbringing, he has found it has helped him craft his personal style and understand where it comes from. “I’ve loved clothes my whole life. That started in the South, watching people dress for church—presentation mattered,” said Jordan. “Southern style has a sophistication people underestimate. You can’t recreate it, but you see it imitated everywhere. In the South, getting dressed is part of who you are.”

He strives to secure a fashion partnership at some point, and he’s not afraid to confess he’s reaching for the stars. “Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Chanel, Gucci—they’re all at the top of my list.”

Writing His Own Act Next

And while the world credits New York City for its groundbreaking ability to predict and curate fashion, Brian Jordan Jr. sees it differently. “Urban fashion in New York is heavily influenced by the South, and it’s important we tell and showcase our history.”