Before starting in acting, Jordane Christie was first drawn into storytelling.
Born in Upstate New York and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Christie’s parents exposed him to different styles of art when he was younger, including different styles of television, film and theater. When he wasn’t at camp, you could find Christie at home watching shows like “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
“Being young and seeing someone who kind of looked like you gives you the idea that I could see myself in this world,” said Christie. “Film, theater and movies were always something that inspired me. I didn’t immediately see myself as being the center of attention.”
Christie finally mustered up the courage to try theater at his high school and ultimately fell in love with acting. After graduating high school and one year in community college, he made his way back up to New York and enrolled in a BFA Acting program at Brooklyn College.
“New York was honestly a little bit of an easier for me because it’s a part of my story. I was born there, and after doing my research I wanted to do theater. Theater seemed to be the best training for those I admired in the craft,” said Christie. “I just wanted to take in as much information as I possibly could. I knew I loved it and loved the feeling of being on stage. I wanted to learn everything I could about it.”
During his time studying, Christie spent time at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts, where he was able to immerse himself further into acting and perfect his craft.
“There was so much I learned that I didn’t know how to apply,” said Christie. “What I enjoy is going through all kinds of relationships. I think it helps you find those real emotions. The story is what brings us all together and it helps to learn to be a vessel to tell those stories in the most truthful way possible.”
After completing his college education, Christie quickly earned leading roles in off-Broadway theater productions. In 2017, Christie moved out to Los Angeles and started racking up television and film credits, including a role in Netflix’s critically acclaimed series “The Haunting of Hill House.”
Christie can be seen in the new season of Paramount+’s anthology series “Why Women Kill,” opposite Allison Tolman and Lana Parrilla. Created by Marc Cherry, the show is set in 1949 and explores what it means to be beautiful, the hidden truth behind the facades people present to the world, the effects of being ignored and overlooked by society and ultimately the lengths one woman will go to in order to finally belong.
“The cool thing about ‘Why Women Kill’ is that it’s an anthology, we’d be coming on to a completely different story,” said Christie. “I was just really excited to tell a new story with new actors and new stories. We do have a built-in fan base from the first season, but from the pilot, I knew we wouldn’t disappoint.”
Christie plays Vern, a World War II veteran and private detective who is investigating the main character, Alma. Christie says that Vern is based off of characters that helped build the old school film noir films, in a similar vein as Humphrey Bogart.
“Vern is an interesting guy, he’s a World War II vet that has some baggage and wounds of his own,” said Christie. “You’ll get to see some things unravel throughout the season.”
However, the show really follows Alma and her descent into becoming what Christie describes as “somewhat of a serial killer.”
“‘Why Women Kill’ is about beauty but also acceptance, there are a lot of things in there that are self-love,” said Christie. “It’s this woman’s journey of becoming somewhat of a serial killer and how far she’ll go to attain acceptance. My character is a private investigator, we are a pretty small cast of seven whose characters are all related in ways that aren’t obvious. I’m hired to investigate a domestic case and end up involved in the case in more ways than one, romantically as well as trying to solve the case.”
“Why Women Kill” will premiere on Paramount+ on June 3. Stay up to date with Christie by following him on Instagram @jordanechristie.
