Jay Ellis and Jalen Rose talk about the military and acting

Military service runs in actor Jay Ellis‘ blood. And on this “Renaissance Man” episode, Jay, whose father was in the Air Force, described a childhood where he hopped around to different places because of his dad’s career. So it’s fitting that he landed a role in the hotly anticipated summer blockbuster: “Top Gun: Maverick.”

When Jay learned he’d be playing Lt. Reuben “Payback” Fitch, he called his parents first.

“My mom is in the background. She’s screaming,” he told me. “My dad is real quiet and he’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s cool, that’s cool. But that’s the Navy, right?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Well, I guess you can’t be perfect, but I still love it,’ ” cracked the proud Air Force vet.

Military affiliation and rivalries aside, I’m sure Jay’s dad will be extremely impressed by the heart-pumping, high-octane dog fights and aviation scenes in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie, which hits theatres Friday.

“The stuff that we did in the air on this movie, it’s never been done before … And I think, you know, the dedication of every single one of these actors, the graciousness of Tom [Cruise], the mentorship from Tom. I’ve never been more proud to, like, give something [like that] to an audience.”

During the audition process, Jay first met with director Joe Kosinski and assumed he blew it. But the next day, his agent called with a bit of news.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, your tape is going to Tom Cruise‘ … I was like, Tom Cruise is gonna be watching me … He is gonna be on the couch watching me like a big screen, you know, eating popcorn, watching me do these two scenes. I’m, like, painting the picture in my head.” It’s unclear what Tom’s viewing situation is like, but he saw something he loved.

Jay got the affirmative call very quickly.

The South Carolina native already had a very impressive résumé. He made his bones on BET’s “The Game” and then later on the HBO hit “Insecure,” where he became part of an iconic TV couple with Issa Rae (his favorite fictional black couple is Martin and Gina, btw). His artistic influences, though, go pretty far back.

“One of the things that was very consistent, no matter where we lived, is like, me and
my parents would always sit around the TV and watch movies together. My dad was a huge Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin fan. Like, he loved all the comedians … My mom was a huge Western fan and she also loved Sidney Poitier. So I got, like, the drama from her. I got the comedy from my dad. And I just remember the feeling of sitting with both of them and how film and TV just hit us, like how it shaped you and how stories and characters moved us.”

Before he entered the industry, he played college hoops at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

“I tried to come play with you in the league,” he told me. “But I wasn’t ready for that. And so I graduated college and I was like, ‘Man, I want to pursue acting, like this is what I want to do with my life.’ “

He also pursued modeling. In fact, at one point, he lived in a model house with 16 other “dudes” in Long Island City before moving to LA, when in 2012 he landed a role on “The Game” as a new character to refresh the long-running series.

“I felt like I was showing up every day and was in this boot camp, like I was getting learned from these craftsmen who had amazing comedic timing … And they were all so gracious and just like wrapped their arms around me. And we went into that season, I had no idea what I was doing, but we came out of it and the ratings were so crazy.”

They brought him back and did three more seasons. Soon, he was getting stopped on the street.

“I remember when I started this, I just wanted a job … And then, like, as I, you know, I got into a little bit more and learned a little bit more and grew as a performer, I started to realize, like, I just wanted to play characters that resonated with people.”

Mission accomplished. After his first season of “The Game” when he went to New Orleans for the Essence Festival, he was recognized all over town.

” I just walked out the hotel, walked down the street … I just thought I could literally just go grab some Church’s chicken and … I got mobbed in the streets and I was like, ‘Oh, this dude is reaching people.’ And then, you know, people called me Blue for those three or four years. And I was like, ‘Oh, I’m never going to be able to shake Blue.’ ”

Then when he became Lawrence on “Insecure,” his character’s recognition went global.

“I’ve been called Lawrence in India … in the UK, in the South of France, in Mexico.”

I guarantee he will now just be called Payback, which is a pretty sweet call sign. But first, Jay, who said he’d love to work with Denzel Washington and is obsessed with “Ozark,” wants audiences to be moved by this sonic boom of a movie.

“People are going to go crazy in the theaters. And I want them screaming and high-fiving and fist-pumping and tears falling.”