{"id":2326097,"date":"2026-03-13T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2326097"},"modified":"2026-03-13T08:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T08:00:43","slug":"ajay-friese-talks-about-starring-in-american-classic-on-mgm-and-new-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ajay-friese-talks-about-starring-in-american-classic-on-mgm-and-new-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Ajay Friese talks about starring in &#8216;American Classic&#8217; on MGM+ and new music"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><em><small>Ajay Friese. Photo Credit: Jamie Frith<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Actor Ajay Friese talks about starring in the comedy TV series \u201cAmerican Classic\u201d on MGM+ where he worked alongside Kevin Kline and Laura Linney.<\/p>\n<p>As a musician, he performs under his stage name Bluejay Friese.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican Classic\u201d tells the story of Broadway star Richard Bean who suffers a spectacular public meltdown and returns home to the family theater where he first became aware of his own brilliance. <\/p>\n<p>Once there, his extreme behavior sets off a series of crises among those closest to him: his ex-girlfriend (now the town\u2019s mayor) married to his brother, his brother himself, and his beloved niece who dreams of a life in the theater. <\/p>\n<p>As old loves resurface and buried secrets emerge, Richard must confront the consequences of his past actions and the family and town he left behind for fame and glamour.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>How does it feel to star in \u201cAmerican Classic\u201d?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always been someone who appreciates working with people far more experienced than myself. That\u2019s really where I learn the most. <\/p>\n<p>Acting alongside Laura Linney and Kevin Kline has been an invaluable experience. It\u2019s really helped me to level up and develop as an actor.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"jeg_video_container jeg_video_content\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"American Classic (MGM+ 2026 Series) Official Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xKFYRiNB6Pc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>What did you like most about your character?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Randall is head over heels for his girlfriend, Miranda (Nell Verlaque), and also quite insecure (and doesn\u2019t do a great job hiding it). <\/p>\n<p>In my own life, I try to lead with a lot of heart, so to bring Randall\u2019s love and care alive on screen was a super fulfilling experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>As Bluejay Friese, how did you approach the song selection process for your debut album?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve always been inspired by the simplicity of just a guitar and a voice. As a folk storyteller, the goal for Postcards (my debut album) was to have every song hold its own with just guitar and vocals. <\/p>\n<p>From there, we augmented some tracks with bass, drums, organ, piano, banjo, and violin, but the heart of the songs is full and present within just the guitar, the lyrics, and melody.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I wanted the record to feel human and sonically cohesive. Balancing studio polish with raw, honest performances was essential to me, and I\u2019m so happy with what we ended up making.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What is your personal favorite song on there?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRed Autumn,\u201d \u201cCoughdrops,\u201d \u201cThe Road,\u201d and \u201cDripping Away\u201d all resonate really magically with fans but my personal favorite at the moment is \u201cCoughdrops.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just really soothing and pretty, and I can channel a lot of honest emotion when I perform it. The version that you hear on the record, we recorded in one take. <\/p>\n<p>You can hear me sniffling at the beginning because literally 15 seconds before we recorded, I was sobbing to my producer, telling him the story of the song.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>How does it feel to be an actor and musician in the digital age?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With acting, it\u2019s amazing because the whole audition process has gone online. While I definitely, definitely miss in-the-room auditions, being able to self-tape remotely means I can literally be anywhere in the world and still be working. <\/p>\n<p>I hardly ever film in the same places I\u2019m living, so it doesn\u2019t make much of a difference, you know? I always tell people that if I had Wi-Fi, I could live in the middle of the forest and still be an actor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For music, it\u2019s a complex bag. With social media and independent music distribution, so much potential is at your fingertips, which is a huge blessing, obviously, but also incredibly difficult. <\/p>\n<p>I have to wear a lot of hats. 75 percent of my work isn\u2019t \u201cmusic\u201d, it\u2019s marketing, communicating, planning, and strategizing, and of course, making \u2018content\u2019. So, I try to treat it all as art. <\/p>\n<p>Emails, graphic design, TikToks, they are all mediums for me to connect people with the music and what it stands for.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What do your plans for the future include?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With my debut album Postcards just releasing on March 13, I\u2019ve never felt stronger about anything I\u2019ve worked on. For me, the future is all about continuing to establish myself as a folk storyteller \u2013 that\u2019s my purpose. <\/p>\n<p>Connecting with audiences and going on emotional journeys with listeners is what I\u2019m meant to be doing, I\u2019m sure of that. I hope you get the chance to check out my album!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What is your advice for young and emerging artists?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No opportunity is too small or too big. Experience compounds. Every open mic, every school talent show, sharing your music for family or friends, busking, sharing on social media \u2013it all compounds, and, at least from my experience, that\u2019s how you get closer and closer to your potential. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve got to put yourself out there; that\u2019s how you learn, that\u2019s how you improve. And of course, the learning will never stop! That\u2019s the most exciting part.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Success to me is doing what you love, and loving it. If I can go on a hike, be present, and actually experience the wonder that\u2019s around me\u2026 marvel at my environment, be slow enough to let inspiration occur naturally within me, and then get to experience my body\u2019s energy shift. <\/p>\n<p>Well\u2026 that\u2019s a pretty successful hike, in my books. While presence and intention are things that I love and value, they are also definitely things I struggle with every day!<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about actor and musician Ajay Friese, follow him on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bluejayfriese\/?hl=en\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.digitaljournal.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ajay Friese. Photo Credit: Jamie Frith Actor Ajay Friese talks about starring in the comedy TV series \u201cAmerican Classic\u201d on MGM+ where he worked alongside Kevin Kline and Laura Linney. As a musician, he performs under his stage name Bluejay Friese. \u201cAmerican Classic\u201d tells the story of Broadway star Richard Bean who suffers a spectacular [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2326098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[450765,22847,450766,22339,350451,388107,23614,21913],"class_list":["post-2326097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-ajay-friese","tag-album","tag-american-classic","tag-comedy","tag-digital-age","tag-mgm","tag-series","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ajay-Friese-talks-about-starring-in-American-Classic-on-MGM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2326097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2326101,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2326097\/revisions\/2326101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2326098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2326097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2326097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2326097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}