It’s hard to imagine it’s been 32 years since “Lean On Me” was released! You remember the short, chubby kid in this film, right? He was one of the most memorable faces in the movie (as well as in the movie, Juice with Tupac and Omar Epps). His name is Jermaine Hopkins, a.k.a “Sam” in “Lean On Me,” and a few years ago, he was busted with 200 pounds of weed – ouch!

Today, Hopkins is a family man. During a prior radio interview, Jermaine spilled the beans on the harsh realities of succumbing to the pressures of being an actor and taking care of the household, while still having to maintain a certain lifestyle even when said actor may not be in-demand at the moment.

Jermaine Hopkins was arrested for 200 pounds of marijuana, which was reportedly stashed in his car when the cops pulled him over in December 2011. He also said the officers went to his house and found another 100 pounds, as well as $100,000 in cash. According to Hopkins, he was driving a “nice little SUV” to hold the drugs and an undercover cop just pulled him over on the highway, while driving from North Carolina to Phoenix, Arizona. He faced up to five years in jail, but ultimately ended up serving 30 days in jail and three years’ probation.

Unfortunately, Jermaine was arrested again in October 2017 for reportedly having 5.7 pounds of weed in the trunk of his car, while in Apex, North Carolina. The judge over his case suspended his four-month sentence, giving Hopkins a 24-month of supervised probation sentence instead.

When his case was still ongoing, Jermaine spoke out on his then-pending charges. Below are excerpts from his TMZ interview:

“It’s still an on-going case thanks to TMZ,” says [Jermaine] Hopkins. “But I’m a family man and I was taking care of the family. But I’m sure TMZ will let everyone know” (what happens) he added. God is my ace in the hole. I’m glad it wasn’t a shame game. I feel bad because I didn’t know how many fans I really had…but they came out in support. But I keep the faith.” 

Jermaine also said that he “wasn’t out there hurting anyone” and that even in his charges, it says he wasn’t hurting people.

When asked did he ever think about getting caught, Jermaine confessed to being prepared for that moment:

“I always mentally prepared myself for being caught…nothing last forever.” His additional advice for young folks – “be prepared for the outcome”. [When those police lights came on], “I knew oh this is the day. The officers didn’t treat me like crap. The officers knew who I was before the deal went down. When we got to the station, the TV cameras were all there to do interviews.”

So, what else is Jermaine up to nowadays? In more recent years, he’s worked on a film that tackled drug dealing; it was already shot before his situation happened. He had a reality TV show, Here Comes The Hopkins, where he introduced his family to the world.

The “Lean On Me” star knows that fans still think he’s that same little kid stuck on the roof in “Lean On Me,” or as the teenaged character, “Steele,” in “Juice.”  However, he now has a 20-something year old son, a young daughter, a granddaughter; and a wife whom he credited as being his real backbone.

Speaking of “Lean On Me,” Jermaine Hopkins and the his former cast mates [from the bathroom-singing scene in “Lean On Me”] reunited a few years ago for the film’s 25^th anniversary to sing the alma mater again. And they’ve still got it! By the way, who knew Jermaine could actually sing? All these years I thought he was lip-synching in the movie, but…guess I was wrong. Anywho…check them out on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show below…