Jordan Aaron Hall Says Debbie Allen Made Him Sing on the Spot During His “A Different World” Audition (Exclusive)

Stephanie SengweThu, September 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Jordan Aaron Hall as AmirCredit: Netflix -

Jordan Aaron Hall is part of the new-generation cast starring in A Different World, the sequel

The 23-year-old actor opens up to PEOPLE about the impromptu singing he had to do for director and producer Debbie Allen during his audition

A Different World, which also brings the legacy cast back, premieres on Netflix on Sept. 24

Jordan Aaron Hall got the ultimate surprise during his audition for Netflix’s A Different World sequel.

Though he came in to showcase his acting skills, Hall’s theater background was also put to the test when Debbie Allen — who is credited with helping mold the original show into the cultural juggernaut it became — asked him to sing on the spot.

“I did the self-tape [first] and maybe a week went by and I got an email that said you have a callback and in the room will be Debbie Allen,” he recalls. “I felt like I got called into the principal’s office and ... [it was] one of those emails where you’re like, ‘Okay, I’ve got to show up.’”

The callback went well, Hall says, and Allen didn’t have any additional notes on his acting. She did, however, notice that he had recently graduated from the Boston Conservatory with a degree in musical theater and was intrigued by his musical abilities. “She was like, ‘It says here you have your degree in musical theater so I’m gonna have you sing a little bit.’” Though the request came as a surprise, Hall stepped up and sang. His vocals impressed Allen, and he was told he’d be moving on to a screen test later that same afternoon.

Chibuikem Uche as Kojo, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Cornell Young IV as ShaquilleCredit: Quantrell Colbert/Netflix

And while being in front of someone as revered as Debbie Allen can be intimidating for some, Hall took it as the Hallmark moment it was. “I think for me it felt so inspiring because to see somebody that has had the kind of career that she has had and for it to have lasted for as long as it has and for her to be doing it at such a level of excellence still, I think it’s truly inspiring,” he explains.

He continues, “Especially because I’m a multi-hyphenate person and she is too. I saw a little bit of myself in this woman who has gotten to exist across all these disciplines and is still kicking at 76 years old and decided to pick little ol’ me. It felt so special and so inspiring and it’s a gift to get to work with someone that’s so legendary.”

The original A Different World premiered in 1987 as a spinoff of The Cosby Show. It followed Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable as she navigated life at Hillman College, a fictional, Virginia-based historically Black college. Following Bonet’s exit after season 1, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Dawnn Lewis and Cree Summer took center stage and their careers catapulted as they became staples in America’s living rooms.

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The sequel aims to carry on that legacy, and Hall, who plays Amir, says the camaraderie among the new cast is already key to doing so.

“The six of us are family, absolutely. And I think it was one of those things that was love at first sight,” he says. Echoing his costar Maleah Joi Moon’s sentiments, Hall reveals he felt the magic between himself, Moon, Alijah Kai, Chibuikem Uche, Cornell Young IV and Kennedi Reece, who make up the main cast, instantly.

Kennedi Reece as Hazel, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Cornell Young IV as Shaquille, Alijah Kai as Rashida and Chibuikem Uche as Kojo in Episode 108 of A Different WorldCredit: ELI JOSHUA ADE/Netflix

“[At] the chemistry read, they bring you in and they switch you out, there’s usually another person that’s reading for your role. And every time somebody went out the room, it didn’t feel like the six of us anymore. It felt like there was an energy that wasn’t quite clicking all the way. And it wasn’t because they weren’t brilliant actors that were going against us, but it was because I think we knew that the six of us had something really special. And so when you felt it, when they finally put the six of us together, it was like this click.”

As for what it was like working with Guy, Hardison and the rest of the original cast, Hall reveals they’ve established a deep connection as well. “They’re our big aunties and uncles. They have really allowed us to take up space, which I think is so beautiful because they didn’t have to,” he tells PEOPLE.

“They also stressed to us the importance of staying together, staying together and really holding space and making sure that we’re there for each other because they were like, ‘This show is such a staple of culture that you all have to continue to hold on to each other.’”

A Different World premieres on Netflix on Sept. 24.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”