Actor Jussie Smollett is now a part of two famous families. In real life, Smollett comes from a very talented group of siblings that can sing, dance, and act — including Jurnee Smollett-Bell of Friday Night Lights fame. On Fox's Empire , Jussie Smollett plays Jamal Lyon, the middle son of Cookie (played by Taraji P. Henson) and Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard), who doesn't accept or approve of Jamal's sexuality. And according to TV Guide's synopsis of Wednesday night's two-hour Empire finale, Lucious has a secret that threatens to fracture his already fragile relationship with Jamal. But once the finale has aired and Season 1 comes to an end, what will Smollett do between Empire seasons?
It should come as no surprise that Smollett is hitting it big. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter-actor stole hearts as Jamal and is winning rave reviews for his tracks on the newly released Empire soundtrack, which outsold Madonna's new album this week. Smollett even seems to have fans of all ages — he was recently mobbed by elderly women at a Whole Foods. "They were all in Whole Foods and they said, 'Jamal?' and they could not figure out how to use their camera phones and that was a moment where it was so funny to me and then I sat back and thought about it and I was like, 'Why do they even know who I am,' you know?" he said. "So it's awesome though. It's awesome."
Now that life has gone from zero to famous for Smollett, here's what he'll probably do during Empire's hiatus.
Record An Album
Smollett recently told Entertainment Weekly he signed with Columbia Records and will soon be recording a full album of his own music. And he's totally open to working with his Empire crew to make it.
"The Empire family will still have something to do with it," he told EW. "I would love for Terrence to come and oversee the production of all of the music. And I would love for Timbaland to come on and Jim Beanz. We’ve all talked and they’re all down to work on it."
Spend Time With Family
Smollett told the Associated Press that he hopes to spend the hiatus with his family. He also recently revealed that he takes his mother to the Sound of Music sing-along every year. Aww!
His mother is even a huge fan of the show. "She calls me every single Wednesday and I know that we have to stay on the phone at least for 30 minutes to an hour of just hearing her break down what Cookie did, what the brothers did, which song was her favorite, you know?" Smollett told the AP. "So, yeah, it's fun. It's good fun."
Vacation
Most of all, Smollett is looking forward to a little break after an amazing, star-making winter. He told the Associated Press that he wants to "maybe go somewhere and get a nice tan."
After all of his phenomenal work on Empire, it would be a very well-deserved vacation.
Image: Chuck Hodes/Fox
