Get To Know The Stars Of Netflix’s 'First Kill'
Netflix debuted their new series First Kill on June 10 to rave reviews. The series is a queer, teenage, vampire love story that is focused on a vampire named Juliette and a vampire slayer named Calliope. Juliette Fairmont, played by Sarah Catherine Hook, comes from a wealthy vampire family while Calliope “Cal” Burns, played by Imani Lewis, comes from a long line of vampire hunters. The two families’ hatred for one another goes back generations and it all comes to a head when the Burns family moves to Savannah, Georgia and the teenagers attend the same high school. The Netflix series is based on the short story by V.E. Schwab with the same and it is reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet as the main characters fall in love despite their families’ beef with one another.
Imani opened up about the show in an interview with the New York Post. "What makes this story unique is that it’s two queer teenage girls. I don’t think we see enough of that,” she said. “And, their fight isn’t with their sexuality, it’s this lineage that they were both born into. I think it’s interesting that they were both trying to prove themselves in obtaining their first kills, but they end up going on this different journey. I think it’s so awesome how it all plays out."
Get to know the killer cast below:
Imani Lewis aka Calliope “Cal” Burns
Imani’s character Calliope and her family are new to the sleepy town of Savannah, Georgia and while she comes from vampire hunters, she has yet to have her “first kill” (coincidentally, just like Juliette.) The 23-year-old actress, who hails from Queens, NY, explained what drew her to Calliope in the NY Post.
“I resonate with Calliope in so many different ways,” she said. “I tried to perform her from a place of strength, strategy, diligence. Being a young actress in a game where everything is a hustle, I related to her discipline and her hunger to prove that she’s worthy. I resonate with that feeling in the entertainment world. The character goes through these emotional changes. I love her combat, I love her agility, but I enjoyed them both equally when it came for her journey with herself and figuring out who she was.”
Aubin Wise aka Talia Burns
Aubin Wise plays Calliope’s mother, Talia Burns, and she teaches her daughter the ins and outs of being a vampire hunter. In real life, Aubin is a mother to a baby boy named Kai and has acted in several TV shows such as Atlanta. She is also a Broadway actress and has played in the popular Hamilton as two characters Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds.
Aubin recently responded to First Kill fans calling her a MILF. “I’m officially a #MILF love love love this 😌🙌🏾❤️,” she wrote.
Jason Moore aka Jack Burns
Jason Moore plays Jack, who is Talia’s husband and Cal’s father. While Cal and Talia are starting to question who the monsters really are, Jack is old school and believes that it is his mission to take down evil which he believes are the vampires. Just like Aubin, Jason’s background is in theater but he has also acted on TV shows such as the Netflix series The Punisher.
Dominic D. Goodman aka Apollo Burns
Dominic D. Goodman plays Apollo Burns and is one of Cal’s brothers. His character is more of a risk-taker than his brother Theo as he likes to go into battle with the monsters. Dominic revealed in an interview with Elite Daily that he actually performed his stunts. “This was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, and I've done football, basketball, track and field, military training in college,” he said.
Phillip Mullings Jr. aka Theo Burns
Phillip Mullings Jr.'s character Theo Burns is more level-headed in comparison to his brother Apollo, which is also the opposite of his character Mike Alexander on Tyler Perry’s BET+ series Bruh who is a bit of a player. He doesn’t seem to have that issue in his personal life though. He recently got engaged to his Bruh co-star Alyssa Goss. He recently thanked First Kill fans for showing support for the series and his character. “SPOILER ALERT: if you haven’t finished First Kill… do that before you look at this post,” he wrote “The response from you ALL has been overwhelming in the most beautiful way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Here are some moments I’ve cherished.”
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Featured image by Courtesy of Netflix
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TW: some depictions of intrusive thoughts may be disturbing for readers.
Have you ever caught your mind drifting off to entertain the most disturbing scenarios imaginable? Maybe you can’t stop thinking of all the ways a loved one could pass away or worrying that you left every candle lit in your apartment to which you’d return to a home in ruins. If distressing ruminations like these have crossed your mind, you may be experiencing an intrusive thought.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted or distressing thoughts, images, or impulses that pop into your mind without your control or consent. These thoughts can be repetitive, unsettling, or even violent in nature, and can cause anxiety and frustration for those who experience them.
“Generally they're unwanted thoughts that come up in our head that interrupt what we're doing or thinking, and can feel very foreign,” says Adia Gooden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and host of the Unconditionally Worthy podcast. “It’s any thought that intrudes or interrupts what you are doing. They can be distressing and upsetting for us because it feels like we are not in control of them, and they're coming up out of nowhere and aren’t in line with how you normally think.”
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Certain trauma or stress can contribute to the development of intrusive thoughts, so having a challenging experience from the past or current life situations may trigger them to form. “An intrusive thought could come in the form of a flashback, image, or a thought about something that's happened to you,” Dr. Gooden tells xoNecole. “When it gets to the point where you feel like you can't function or make clear decisions, that's when intrusive thoughts become really challenging.”
While some of the 1 billion videos found under the #intrusivethoughts hashtag on TikTok would lead you to believe that these thoughts are nothing more than casual displays of our imagination going untamed. Intrusive thoughts are more than sticking your hand in a soap dispenser, wanting to cut all your hair off at 3 a.m., or having a random impulse to eat fake bread in public.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that approximately six million individuals, equating to roughly two percent of the American population, encounter intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are often linked with obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they can also manifest in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Examples of Common Intrusive Thoughts
Because of the explicit nature of intrusive thoughts, they tend to cause shame and internal conflict in those who experience them. Although these thoughts can differ from person to person, these ideation can consist of:
- Violent or aggressive thoughts towards oneself or others, such as harming or killing someone;
- Sexual thoughts that are unwanted or inappropriate;
- Repetitive thoughts, such as a song or a phrase that keeps repeating in your mind;
- Contamination or germ-related thoughts or the fear of contamination and getting sick;
- Religious or blasphemous thoughts, such as questioning one's faith or having thoughts that go against religious beliefs;
- Doubts or uncertainty about one's own actions or decisions, such as fear of making a mistake or fear of not doing something right.
Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
That’s why Dr. Gooden encourages everyone to understand the difference between our fleeting thoughts and impulses and true, intrusive thoughts. “What level of distress does it cause and is it something you would never consider,” she says. “If you're finding that these thoughts are getting in the way of you living your life and that you're controlled by the thoughts, those are some signs that it would be good to get some support in navigating it.”
She also emphasizes the importance of understanding that while we may not always have control over our thoughts, we can control our behavior. “On TikTok, people are sort of blaming intrusive thoughts on their behavior, and our behavior is always a choice,” she says. “If we are in our right mind and we're not having a psychotic episode, our behavior is our choice — we are not obligated to follow any given thought that we have.”
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
With intrusive thoughts, it’s natural to question whether these thoughts are “normal” to have. However, these thoughts are not meant to define who you are as a person but simply indicate that you have a functioning human mind with automated thoughts that you, or any of us, can’t control. These thoughts may come, but they don’t have to be acted upon, nor do they define who you are.
“I've worked with clients in the past who say, ‘Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?’ But if you're not acting on the thought, then it's probably not a huge issue,” Dr. Gooden says. “If you are thinking a harmful thought towards yourself or someone else and you are making plans to act on that thought, then yes, we need to do something about it.”
How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
If you are struggling with managing unwanted thoughts, Dr. Aida suggests taking these tips to help manage your mindset when they occur:
- "Recognize that it's a thought and thoughts are just thoughts. We often put a little bit too much weight on our thoughts, and that can create a lot of distress. But remember that thoughts are not facts."
- "Having a thought that's disturbing or upsetting doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean that you are suffering from a mental illness."
- "Sometimes the best thing you can do is say, 'Huh, that was an interesting thought. I'm going to let that go. That thought is not helpful for me right now."
- "Ask yourself: is this helpful? Is it helpful for me to buy into this thought and believe this thought? Asking that question can be really helpful because we are not at the mercy of our thoughts. If it's not helpful, you can let it go."
Intrusive thoughts can feel bizarre and foreign when they come up, but they aren't inherently "bad." Our minds can sometimes be filled with random and inappropriate thoughts, but that's what our stream of consciousness does: it thinks. Fortunately, we can release those thoughts at any moment; you don't have to follow through with them.
And ultimately, not every TikTok diagnosis is one that we should label ourselves with.
"It's important for people to acknowledge what they're experiencing but not run too quickly to diagnose themselves with some mental illness or disorder," Dr. Gooden advises. "It ends with confusion, and we miss the opportunity to understand the people who really do have that mental health challenge."
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