5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Sarunas Jackson

Who is Sarunas Jackson?

He is probably most recognized for playing the character Dro on Issa Rae’s hit HBO series Insecure. But Sarunas Jackson has an impressive on-screen resume that surpasses being just an HBO heartthrob.

Jackson has appeared in various productions, including TV series, shorts and music videos. In addition to Insecure, his other notable TV appearances include Games People Play, Made For Love, and Good Trouble.

On top of acting, Jackson is also an accomplished writer who has contributed to the television series Vital Signs. Additionally, the six-foot-eight-inch actor played professional basketball and competed in international leagues.

Here are five things you probably didn’t know about Sarunas Jackson.

He shares a daughter with his "Insecure" co-star

According to Slate, Jackson is romantically involved with his former Insecure co-star, DomiNique Perry who played Tasha in Insecure from 2016 to 2017.  

The pair had a daughter together, named Zennie, in 2018. When Zennie was born it wasn’t immediately revealed who the father was but after both actors shared Instagram posts about the baby, it didn’t take long for the internet to figure out that Jackson was the father. In an interview with Page Six, Jackson shared how he felt about being revealed online. 

“Being a private person, when the news came out that me and DomiNique had our baby girl Zen … I don’t want to say it affected my personal life. I did have a day where I was a bit aggravated,” Jackson said in the interview. “I didn’t mind the positivity, but there’s a lot of ignorant people out there. So there were comments made, whether it was about the baby or the mother of my child or me.”

Before his daughter was born, Jackson was in a relationship with Kaylen Zahara. There were some infidelity rumors swirling around, alleging that Jackson cheated on his then-girlfriend but those allegations seem to have been squashed.

He’s a former competitive basketball player

Before he was bitten by the acting bug, Jackson’s first love was basketball, sharing with Andscape that he fell in love with basketball when he was a child. Jackson began playing for Post University in Connecticut before moving overseas to pursue a professional basketball career. He spent three years playing basketball in Asia. During that time he played for an AAU team and he also applied for the 2013 NBA Draft but didn’t get drafted.

He began his transition from the basketball courts to television after appearing in TV ads for Jordan shoes and dancing in Pharrell Williams’ 2013 music video for his single “Happy.”

He launched a three-part erotic audio series

Jackson co-produced and voiced a three-part series titled Off The Record with Dipsea, a sexual wellness audio platform. The series follows the budding relationship between a confident fashion designer Malcolm, voiced by Jackson, and a no-nonsense fashion editor, Nina who is tasked with interviewing him. 

Dipsea promotes sex-positive content for women. When asked about why he decided to partner with the platform, Jackson said, “I’m all about what Dipsea is doing; not being shamed or shameful about people being sexual, and being very sex-positive, and it being run by women. It’s another way to express myself in a form of art, and a form of freedom.”

He’s faced challenges in Hollywood as an Afro-Latino actor

Jackson is a proud Afro-Latino. His mother is Panamanian and his father is African American. Jackson is very connected to his Panamanian culture, and at one point he was even working towards dual citizenship in Panama. While he fully embraces his Afro-Panamanian roots, Jackson admits it has sometimes been an obstacle for him when it comes to landing acting roles.

“Auditioning for roles isn’t always easy for me,” Jackson told People en Español. “For instance, there’s a show that’s out right now that my manager was trying to get me to go out for, but they were like, ‘Oh, we want Latinos.’ My manager responded, ‘He is Latino.’ It would just be easier for them to say they want Euro-Latinos or European descent than Afro descent. But they don’t want to say that because they know it sounds ridiculous. It’s mad disrespectful because Latinos come in all shapes, colors and sizes.”

Despite the challenges, Jackson has made strides in Hollywood and has been an advocate for more on-screen Afro-Latino representation. He was even able to convince the producers of Insecure to make his character African American and Panamanian, just like himself.

He’s been in an open relationship

Dro, the character Jackson played in Insecure, is in an open relationship with his wife, Candice. This ultimately caused a lot of tension and confusion for the character Molly who was romantically involved with Dro. While the on-screen drama is fictional, Jackson has had real-life experience being in an open relationship. According to Jackson, this first-hand knowledge helped him relate more to his character and allowed him to play the role more truthfully, without any judgment.

According to Essence, Jacksonbegan exploring an open relationship right after landing the role on Insecure. When asked what that experience was like on an episode of Insecure’s “Wine Down,” said “People automatically think you’re in an open relationships, ‘Oh you want to mess with other people…Yeah, that’s an option but it’s just about being completely open and honest about everything and vulnerable to one another.… I do believe open relationships can work.”