Titus Makin Jr. Previews Tonight's 'Star-Crossed' Premiere! (JJJ Interview)

Check out our brand new interview with talented Star-Crossed actor Titus Makin Jr.!

The 24-year-old Glee alum stars as Lucas, the witty and reliable BFF to Emery (Aimee Teegarden), who finds herself in some hot water after she befriends an Atrian named Roman (Matt Lanter).

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Titus Makin Jr.

Ten years after the Atrians crash-landed on Earth, seven of them enroll in high school in a widely-scrutinized social experiment to see if humans and Atrians can live in peace.

JJJ caught up with Titus to find out more about what we can expect and how he got involved in what is sure-to-be our favorite new show!

Star-Crossed premieres TONIGHT @ 8PM on The CW!

JustJaredJr: Hi Titus! So Lucas is a pretty funny guy. What else can you tell us about your character?

Titus Makin Jr.: He pretty much acts as comedic relief and cushions all the blows to all this drama going on. But he’s also the tech-savvy guy. He’s the guy you go to when there’s no other place to go because he has the answers. He’s able to be that helping hand to both sides.

JJJ: The characters each have their own opinions on the Atrians and integrating them into human society. Where does Lucas stand on the subject?

TMJ: Lucas has an open heart and that’s where we relate. He’s kinda just like, “Hey, let’s just give them a chance. They’re not trying to kill us. Why are we harming them?” He’s just really open to the thought to having alien interactions and seeing if we could coexist.

Click inside to read the rest of our interview with Titus Makin Jr…

JustJaredJr.com Interview – Titus Makin Jr.

JJJ: You have a musical background as well as an acting one. What made you go for this part in particular?

TMJ: Sci-fi is my favorite genre, so that was a hands-down choice, and yeah, it was exciting to see something new that wasn’t involving music too much. I was really focusing on acting and it’s just a fun character. One of my goals was to be in a sci-fi film and also do a comedic character. So I got to knock out comedy and sci-fi all in one.

JJJ: Were you auditioning for a bunch of pilots at the time? What was the process like?

TMJ: Yeah, it was pilot after pilot, and it came down to this one and another CW show called The 100, which has an amazing script as well. They were two of my favorites and I was excited to get on this one, but with Star-Crossed – which at one point was called Oxygen – I went in for the role of Grayson and I went through the whole process as Grayson. They didn’t have a Roman at the time. I literally went from first audition to callbacks to the studio test as Grayson, and right before the network test, they were like, “We like you a lot, but we don’t want to use you as Grayson. Can you look at the role of Lucas?” So I had only a couple hours to go home and look at Lucas’ role, and come back to the network test. It ended up working out.

JJJ: Definitely. There are so many twists and turns just within the first two episodes, so we can imagine what the season entails. How much did you know going into the show and how much did you learn just script-by-script?

TMJ: The writer was really always open with us and allowed us to have sit-downs with her to ask about the directions our characters were going. But it really didn’t matter. The network would change so many things at the last minute. There were so many storylines that were supposed to happen that they canned. So we really didn’t know what to expect until we got the script. We would be at the table read, all being surprised.

JJJ: Because the show is set in the future, they have some really cool technology that we don’t necessarily have or use now. What’s one thing you would have liked to maybe have in high school?

TMJ: It’s really cool that you can see the principal, like he just appears. I like the hologram thing.

JJJ: We agree! So tell us about shooting in Louisiana. We’re guessing it’s quite different than L.A.

TMJ: Yes. Well, first off, the humidity is insane (laughs). It’s kind of like living inside of a plastic bag, but other than that…there’s just a lot of culture, a lot of music. It’s really awesome. It was cool being able to work with some of the actors in Louisiana too. We forget that there are so many talented people everywhere. It was nice being able to be in a different environment and set the tone for the show. It makes it that more believable that everything that we’re shooting on location is in the state it’s supposed to be in.

JJJ: Did you know any of the other actors prior to the show?

TMJ: No. Most of the time it works out to where you’ve at least crossed paths with one or two people. Grey [Damon] and Aimee had worked together on Friday Night Lights, and some people on 90210, but for myself, I didn’t know any of them and hadn’t crossed paths with anyone. Then when we all met, we all got along. It was amazing. It’s been one of my favorite casts to work with. There’s no extra drama. People show up, do their job, we do pranks and joke with each other on set, and go home, and grab dinner, and do it again the next day (laughs).

JJJ: With all these serious, life-and-death situations going on in the show, do you guys make a point to keep it lighthearted and fun when the cameras are off?

TMJ: Yeah, and later on in the season it gets even more intense. Lucas even steps away from the comedy because it’s that serious, but behind the scenes of all that, it’s the hardest thing in the world to do a scene with these people (laughs). It’s amazing and we have so much fun. One of us is probably on the other side of the camera making goofy faces or trying not to laugh. If they were ever to air outtakes, it would take up at least an hour. There are just so many takes when we’re trying keep it together because somebody else is trying to hold a laugh.

JJJ: Awesome. And finally, Glee‘s 100th episode is coming up. Looking back, what did working on that show mean to you?

TMJ: It was an amazing learning experience as a whole. It really compelled me into the industry. It was my first speaking gig. It was my first project that drew a lot of attention. Just a lot of firsts. I learned a lot and it allowed me to hit the ground running because it put me into the biggest show on television. And allowed me to get a dose of everything that may or may not come in the future. It really prepared me and I was able to watch the other actors on the show, and how they handled success and working countless hours. I was really absorbing it like a sponge.

In case you missed it, check out our interview with Titus‘s co-star Matt Lanter too!