There’s a fresh face on season two of Insecure and he’s creating some waves on the show. Sarunas J. Jackson plays Alejandro ‘Dro’ Peña, a childhood friend of Molly’s (Yvonne Orji) who becomes a love interest. Sweet? Except for the fact that he’s married and claims that he’s in an open relationship. While we’re slowly learning more about Dro (and his backstroke), we also wanted to know more about Sarunas.
1. He’s Panamanian
Sarunas is proud of his rich heritage and loves the heck out of his family. He has two brothers and his immediate family lives in Southern California.
2. Obviously… he played basketball
The 6’8″ actor played basketball at Roosevelt High School in Corona, California and then for Portland State in college. His position was forward and he averaged 9.9 points per game. No word on if we’ll get any basketball scenes between him and Lionel (Sterling K. Brown), but we have a feeling he’d win.
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3. He’s been in an open relationship
When he got the role, Sarunas says he had just decided to explore being in an open relationship with his real-life ex-girlfriend. “People automatically think you’re in an open relationships, ‘Oh you want to mess with other people,'” he shared on Insecure’s Wine Down. “Yea, that’s an option but it’s just about being completely open and honest about everything and vulnerable to one another. Letting each other in and there wasn’t some much pressure on one another… I do believe open relationships can work.”
4. The sex scene with Yvonne Orji was a bit scary
Sarunas lost his on-scene sex virginity with Orji in the super steamy scene in episode five. While he wasn’t nervous the day before, he got a little nervous once on set. “I’m remember going to my trailer and just seeing a robe and a c–k sock,” he said on Insecure’s Wine Down. “And I was like, ‘Oh this sh-t is happening today for real.’ Me and Jay [Ellis] talked about this. There’s a moment when you take your robe off and a breeze kind of hits your cheeks and you’re kind of like, ‘Oh! Hold on, it’s kind of cold in here.'”
5. Yes, he also thinks Molly is passing up a great guy in Lionel
In Insecure‘s Facebook live discussion with Natasha Rothwell, Sarunas admits that Lionel is a catch but also thinks there’s a strong chemistry between his character and Molly. “She has this great guy… Shoutout to Sterling,” he said. “She’s [Molly] spoiled. Since she’s trying to be strong you would think now maybe it could be good. But it’s hard to shake how you’ve been for a long time. And her parents were her foundation.. so we gotta see.”
