‘Soul Food’ Star Brandon Hammond Uses His Own Viral Crying Meme (Exclusive)

Where most people are horrified by some of their childhood photos and videos, Brandon Hammond leans in.

The former child actor, who got his breakthrough role in 1997’s Soul Food at age 13, was diagnosed with Castleman disease not long after the film became a runaway hit. At the time, he was advised to keep his health under wraps, which ultimately led him to retreat from the spotlight.

In the decades following, however, one of the film’s more poignant scenes — in which his character, Ahmad, emotionally breaks down in front of his family — has turned into a viral meme, used in (mostly) unserious internet moments.

“It’s humbling, honestly,” Hammond tells PEOPLE exclusively of the viral meme. “At this point, I mean, I embrace it because it’s out there. You know what I mean?”

“Anytime that meme is used for something and it goes viral, I’m always getting tagged in it,” he continues. “I really like that. I’ll even use it sometimes. When I’m responding to somebody in the comments, yep, I’ll even use it.”

Asked whether there are moments where he feels embarrassed by the crying face, Hammond tells PEOPLE, “I definitely have embraced it, [I don’t find it] cringe at all because to me, when people talk about the legacy, that’s part of the legacy of the film. It’s all really flattering and nothing is ever done maliciously or in bad taste.”

With a star-studded cast that included Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa Williams, Nia Long, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall and more, Soul Food chronicled the Joseph family as they tried to navigate their complicated family dynamics after their matriarch, affectionately called Big Mama, fell into a coma following a procedure to amputate her leg. The story is told from the perspective of 11-year-old Ahmad.

In the 28 years since its release, Soul Food has proven its staying power, continuously sparking much debate online among fans who first watched the film as children and are now analyzing it with new eyes and new language they didn’t have back then. Hammond, of course, is in on all of the conversation and sees it as part of why the film remains relevant.

People’s opinions on Williams’ character, Teri, for example, have shifted over the years, giving her a redemption arc.

“Teri was the villain, right? Or was considered the villain. But now, in the age of therapy and understanding what gaslighting is and stuff like that, [some] people have looked at Teri as the victim,” Hammond explains.

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And while Hammond was barely a teenager when Soul Food premiered, the actor and filmmaker says people still recognize him for the role to this day.

“You’d be surprised, a lot of people do [recognize me]. I went to a football game last month, and the security guard was like, ‘Bro, I know who you are,'” he says. “They always say it’s the eyes. Even though I’ve got the beard going, the salt and pepper there with the beard, [they say] it’s the eyes.”

Hammond is currently working on a reunion documentary titled Sunday Dinner: The Soul Food Reunion, slated for release in 2027. The documentary will catch up with the Soul Food cast, three decades after the film’s release. Fox and director George Tillman Jr. are on board as producers, along with his wife, Marcia Tillman, Jenesis Scott, Victorious De Costa, Bob Teitel and Myiea Coy.

Asked whether making the documentary has made him want to get back to acting again, Hammond tells PEOPLE, “That love is always there. So yes, the short answer to that is yes, I definitely want to, and on my own terms, get back out there and do some stuff in front of the camera again. I’ve been approached with some opportunities, but I just want the right thing to come out and do it. But definitely.”