Outer Banks Dedicated An Episode To The Memory Of Alexander Jennings
After "Outer Banks" Season 3, Episode 9 concludes, an addendum to its credits dedicates it to the memory of Alexander Jennings, who stood in for John B actor Chase Stokes during the show's third season. Jennings died in Charleston, South Carolina, in the midst of working on "Outer Banks." According to a Charleston County sheriff's office report, he suffered fatal injuries from two consecutive hit-and-run collisions while he was walking along a local road.
The North Carolina-based casting company Kimmie Stewart Casting broke the news of Jenning's death on Facebook. "AJ was a beautiful, kind soul & a bright light every day on set," the post reads. "We will miss this amazing human & his infectious smile dearly."
Stokes himself was among those who memorialized Jennings online as well. While his post honoring Jennings' memory was only ever temporarily available as an Instagram Story, a TMZ report includes a screenshot of the Story in full. "My heart is shattered. Your life was just starting," Stokes wrote. "We all love you, you touched all of our lives and made us better people."
Jennings was just 22 at the time of his death, but despite his young age, he was already in the midst of building a sizable body of work as a performer.
Alexander Jennings was an athlete, a model, and an actor
A couple weeks after news of his death became public, The Buffalo News published an obituary for Alexander Jennings. As the piece explains, Jennings was an accomplished athlete in multiple sports as a teenager — in high school, he played football and lacrosse, in addition to competing in track and swimming, culminating in a second-place pentathlon finish. When he started college at SUNY Buffalo State, he joined the university's football team as a defensive back.
Also while in college, Jennings began studying acting while briefly pursuing a modeling career. Soon he landed roles on a number of high-profile productions, including "Stranger Things," "Succession," "Cobra Kai," "tick, tick... BOOM!" and "Trial of The Chicago 7." His mom Dr. LuJean Jennings told The Buffalo News that he was a fan of "Outer Banks" prior to joining its crew. He had even claimed he was would tolerate sleeping in his car if that's what was necessary for him to work on the Netflix series.
"He said that was the happiest that he was in his life," his mom said of his time working on the show. It's entirely fitting, then, that "Outer Banks" dedicated an episode to the late actor's memory.