Eagles Q&A: Jalen Hurts opens up on meeting his idols

Each week during the 2024 season, we’re going through the Eagles media guide to find an interesting nugget.

The Eagles’ PR interns do a great job filling out these little oddities in the media guide and they serve as a good way to meet the players behind the helmets.

This week we chatted Jalen Hurts, who says meeting Denzel Washington is on his bucket list.

Me: What is it about Denzel that makes you want to meet him? Why is he on your list of people?

Hurts: I think the strength, the versatility, the wisdom, the control and the greatness.

Me: Is there a movie or a role that stands out? Or is it about more than him as an actor?

Hurts: I think it’s all-encompassing. He’s been doing it for a long time. He’s found ways to change how he does what he does and he’s able to portray great roles in versatile ways, different ways. I’ve always been a big fan.

Me: What has it been like for you to get a chance to meet some of these people that you’ve looked up to for a lot of your life?

Hurts: It’s surreal when you think about it. But it’s humbling when you actually meet them. Because you see that you’re more similar to these people than you think.

Me: When you go into a meeting like that are you trying to gain something out of it or are you going into it with an open mind?

Hurts: Absolutely. I think fandom is always removed once you get to talk to the person and connect. Obviously, you hear a lot of times people have a lot of respect for people from far away but when you’re in the presence of a person, you get to see who they really are and appreciate where they come from, how they process what they do. I think anyone trying to be great at something, there’s going to be something to connect on. It may not be 100 percent. I’m not one to say that I’m the same as anyone or anything. I’m only myself. I think everyone is only a breed of one. But we all can relate. I think that’s what I value. I’m not going to name drop, but when I talk to certain individuals from that list — I know what list you’re talking about — when I’m having conversations with them, it’s all in an effort to relate so they can encourage me because they’re doing it.

Me: Two of the names in here (the media guide) are Frankie Beverly, which I know you’ve talked about before, and Kobe (Bryant). In here it says ‘moment left starstruck.’ Do you get starstruck? Do you feel that feeling?

Hurts: I think music is a little different because music is the ultimate expression. And I think for [Beverly], someone so old, and rest in Heaven. Someone so old and has been around a long time, for me to be able to connect to him and his music and my family, my mother growing up on it and my father growing up on it, being able to connect those things and actually being able to experience him before he passed and build a great relationship with him before he passed. I actually went to his funeral. Got really close with the family and was able to attend the private funeral not too far away right before the Jaguars game. I appreciate Coach for letting me be able to go.

Me: What did it mean to you just to be there?

Hurts: What I learned was, I didn’t realize how much I meant to him. I didn’t realize how much I meant to his family.

Me: Wow. Pretty wild.

Hurts: Very wild. But it’s just God doing his work. I didn’t realize how important I was to them and how much of Frankie they saw in me.

Me: That’s very cool. Your interactions with some of these people, has it changed the way you interact with people who may look at you in that type of light?

Hurts: I’m just diligent in every moment. I try to go into every situation and be myself. But everybody is prone to a different style of anything. It’s all dependent on that person and what that person needs. But I try to show up for anybody in any way I can.

Me: Thank you, man. I appreciate that.

Hurts: Thank you.

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