New Jersey native Tristan Carter-Jones debuts in the relationship drama film “Throuple”

Hailing from Cliffwood, Tristan Carter-Jones makes a striking debut in the leading role of Throuple, her first experience in film. The movie offers an unfiltered exploration of the complexities and emotional tensions within both polygamous and monogamous relationships. Portraying a character caught between love and friendship, Tristan navigates the conflicting emotions with surprising depth, delivering a compelling and confident performance.

Although she had some theater experience in middle and high school, this marks her first time on a professional film set — and she brought genuine heart to the screen. What began as a small indie project has since found unexpected success, leaving her and the rest of the team feeling deeply humbled.

The spark for the film came from her own real-life experience: when she entered her first serious relationship, her best friend Michael began to feel like a third wheel. Around the same time, Michael started exploring intimacy with two men in an open relationship. These overlapping experiences inspired the idea that their emotional journey could be shaped into a powerful story for the screen.

As the script took shape, Tristan was invited to play a character whose experiences closely mirrored her own. With an emotionally gripping performance, she captures the complexities of dating, friendship, and the often unglamorous realities of relationships in a raw and honest portrayal.

With sold-out theater runs, numerous film festival screenings, and the recent announcement of its availability on digital platforms, Throuple has been gaining impressive momentum. I had the pleasure of speaking with Tristan to discuss the many aspects of the film — from portraying authentic romantic relationships on screen, to the filming process, and the film’s unexpected success at an independent movie theater in New York City.

When did you start acting and what made you want to pursue it?

Tristan Carter-Jones: This was actually my first time doing any sort of film. I have been a musician and have been singing since I was younger and was also in a band though so I have been involved in the arts. The band that I am part of actually is featured in the film and we have been together since 2015.

Your character in your new film Throuple is queer. This film does a good job at exploring different kinds of identities and self expression. As an actor how does it feel lately to be seeing such diverse characters of different sexual orientations and unique relationship dynamics being explored in filmed content? 

TCJ: As a queer black woman myself it really is important to not only see representation of myself but of the community I am around. The different identities of my chosen family are so diverse, I know so many different colors of people, sexual orientations and gender expressions, so I love seeing them all represented. It feels so necessary and it also feels like it’s about time. I know myself and the rest of the team all take a lot of pride in how we were able to make a story about our experiences as queer people. Hopefully other queer people will see this film and also feel represented by [it].

I really enjoyed the character of Tristan in Throuple. A lot of the struggles she was going through with managing romantic love and friendship felt really relatable. When you read this script what stood out to you the most about her?

TCJ: Michael who wrote the script is my best friend. When he was writing this story I was with him. I did not help with it but I was his best friend since he started the first draft many years ago. So I have seen many versions of it and was close by throughout the whole process up until the final version that made it to the screen. He was always clear that he wanted to make a dramatized version of what we went through as friends. My character is in some ways based off of who I am in real life but an inflated version of it. It actually was a pretty uncomfortable thing to have a version of me blown up to play. It was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. That was a bit surprising.

The film does a great job at exploring the complex dynamics that can arise between best friends and when one starts a romantic life. Can you talk about what Michael and Tristan are dealing with in the film and the complications that form in their relationship? 

TCJ: As romantic as platonic relationships can be I think a challenging aspect of getting involved with someone romantically is figuring out what you keep for that relationship as opposed to what you would share with your best friend. That can be a tricky thing to navigate. A thought that can arise for people dealing with similar situations is how do I keep these two people happy that are both so important to me. Tristan never had a romantic relationship before so they are trying to remain as close as they were but also allow space for this more intimate love she now has.

The film had a great film festival run recently playing at several iconic ones, congratulations on that! Did you have a chance to see it at one of the festivals and if so what has the reaction been like from movie goers?

TCJ: I was at Outfest in New York and was able to see it there. We also had a theatrical release where it played at a movie theater in Manhattan in March. Seeing the movie on the big screen was such a surreal experience. This is such a small independent film so it has been really crazy to see it come to life on a big screen. Being able to see what audience members are laughing at or connecting to in Throuple has been really amazing to see. I actually also got to do two Q&As with audience members after film screenings and there were really so many thoughtful questions which was amazing. We also had people who just expressed their gratitude for a different form of love presented on screen. People were saying how the platonic, sexual and romantic love types that were shown in the film truly felt authentic to their life experiences.

The film really showed how monogamous relationships take a lot of energy and work and that really lead to Tristan and Abby’s relationship feeling authentic on screen. You really were like a fly on the wall to all the struggles and work that came from their romance. Can you talk about building that relationship for the story on set with your co-star?

TCJ: Jess [Gabor] who plays Abby was a part in helping the film come together behind the scenes for a while. I had gotten to know her for some time but we did not start acting together until shortly before film during our couple of rehearsals. We bonded pretty quickly as people just becoming friends and ending up so comfortable immediately with each other so we had a sense of safety which was great to have for the filming process. Jess too is such a talented actress that just made what I did easier and better getting to play off her. She has a lot more experience than I do so I think given that it made our relationship in the story come out fantastic.

The film really gives such authentic portrayals of both polyamorous and monogamous relationships completely straying away from the traditional fairytale romance that for so long Hollywood has given us. Why is it so important for us to see more authentic romantic stories portrayed on screen?

TCJ: Not to say Throuple has a depressing ending but we see so many happy ending romance and that is just not always real and the truth of how life always goes. Working through relationships takes work. Each one is a journey and it takes time to figure out love and connections with other people we care about. It does not matter how old you are or how many relationships you have had it always will feel like difficult at first when trying to figure out how to make them work but I think that is a good thing. The messiness that comes from relationships is not a bad thing it is a part of being alive. Being able to see the tough aspects of relationships with anyone, friends included on screen is such a great thing. We can all be messy and have our flaws but still be loved.

What’s up next for Throuple? Any other exciting announcements for the film you can share?

TCJ: We did so many USA festivals so there’s a good chance it will be playing at some international ones this year. We also had it extended multiple times during the theater release it had which was really amazing. It was only supposed to play at The Quad for a weekend but got extended to like a month. We were all so grateful for that. The big thing though right now is that we secured digital distribution. It is on video rental services now. Getting to share this story with many more people around the country and world that were not able to see it in the theater is an amazing accomplishment for this little independent film we made.