The Morning Formation Podcast
Hosted by KP Phillips—a U.S. Army combat veteran, former law enforcement officer, and seasoned instructor in tactics, firearms, and combatives—The Formation Podcast is built on the core pillars of Survivability, Situational Awareness, and the mindset to Adapt & Overcome.
Drawing from over two decades of real-world experience in combat zones and high-risk environments, KP leads authentic conversations with warriors, protectors, and everyday individuals who’ve faced adversity head-on. This podcast is more than content—it's a movement for those who understand that the fight begins before the event.
Through storytelling, lived experience, and expert insight, The Formation Podcast equips its listeners with the mindset, tools, and awareness to remain vigilant and prepared—whether on the battlefield, in the streets, or in everyday life.
The Morning Formation Podcast
Boots, Bullets, and Blockbusters: A Devil Dog Takes on Hollywood with Maurice P. Kerry
Maurice P. Kerry shares his transformative journey from Marine Corps combat veteran to accomplished actor, highlighting how military resilience prepared him for Hollywood's challenges and rejection.
• Combat veteran who served in Iraq in 2004 as a welder, building armor and turrets for military vehicles
• Experienced homelessness after military service before rebuilding his life and career
• Lives by clear priorities: being a man, a father, a Marine, and then an actor
• Values authenticity and refuses to compromise principles for industry success
• Single father for 15 years, using parenthood as his anchor in a fast-paced industry
• Landed first acting role on MacGyver where his military experience with weapons proved valuable
• Now works on CBS's "Beyond the Gates" and will appear in Stranger Things Season 5
• Writing, producing and starring in upcoming action thriller "Labor Day"
• Offers mentorship to veterans looking to enter the entertainment industry
• Applies combat perspective to life challenges: "In Iraq I was shot at and bombed and my enemy couldn't kill me, so what do you think your opinion can do to a man like me?"
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Warriors fall in. It's time for formation. Today, on the Morning Formation podcast, we're connected with a man who embodies resilience, style and the spirit of creative hustle. Maurice P Carey is an accomplished actor, model entrepreneur, whose journey from humble beginnings to the entertainment industry is nothing short of inspiring. Oh, and let's not also forget to mention that this is a combat veteran, a Marine Corps devil dog, now in the industry of acting. So, maurice, I want to tell you that I am highly appreciative of you giving me this opportunity to talk to you today.
Speaker 2:And I am highly appreciative of you actually wanting to speak with me, man, thank you so much. Thank you, that was such a warm welcome, mike. That was amazing. I appreciate, man, thank you so much. Uh, and thank you, that was such a warm welcome, mike. That was amazing. I appreciate that, thank you.
Speaker 1:You know and that's the thing I think a lot of folks out there really don't think about um their overall experiences and who they are. I mean, a guy like you, you're busy, you've got a lot of things going on, you're a combat veteran, um. So for folks like me, man, it's like I'm honestly humbled to to sit with you, and it's nice to meet other guys that are just down to earth and are just in this, in this life, to make a difference, but also share their story at the same time, man, because there's other people out there that really don't ever see themselves on the big screen. So I want to give you an opportunity to just introduce yourself and then we'll get into your career transition and how you got into that.
Speaker 2:Thanks. So you know, first and foremost, maurice P Carey, I am an actor, producer, writer, director. You know, former United States Marine Corps Iraq War combat veteran decorated. So I did fight in Iraq in 2004. After work, I was actually homeless for about a year, living in my friend's car, going from, you know, the Marine Corps and transitioning into civilian life.
Speaker 2:It's a lot of times very difficult for people, but one thing I will say that the military gave me was that resilience and that willingness to fight and fight for myself and fight for the people that I care about. And you know that that served me well in an industry where it's really 95 percent rejection, 95% rejection. And the fact that I grew up on Rocky movies where Rocky wasn't a good fighter but he just kept going until he chopped those trees down that sort of mentality, you know, stuck with me, like just keep going, keep going, keep going until eventually the tree falls. And so if there's anything that anybody wants to do, all you have to do is make the decision to do it and go for it and and push toward that goal, and most of the time you'll make it Just keep going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love hearing about the resiliency, about getting knocked down and brushing yourself and getting back up again. And you're right, Growing up in the 80s that's what most action movies were about was getting your ass kicked and then getting back up again. I don't want to really go over this Karate Kid.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, what's another one? I mean there's so many. But you're absolutely right, the thing with a lot of that was resilience. You know, you get knocked down, you get back up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yep, even the little guy. You know, you, you know, because rocky was the, was the, uh, the small american, and drago was the.
Speaker 2:yeah the big crazy soviet union guy right yep, yep, yep, and and that was the you know the theme of that film, like, um, but uh, that those type of things really stuck with me and I find them to those ideas of just fighting for yourself. You know, I, um, I live by those and you know, I teach them to my daughter.
Speaker 1:So, before anything, you know, I'm a man, I'm a father, I'm a Marine, and then I'm an actor, you know, and so yeah, you know, it's important for men to really know what their priorities are, I think because some people really don't know, like, who am I, what am I? And I live in a big city, in LA, and I find that there's more people here that don't know who they are. And the way you listed that, I like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you don't know who you are, you don't have any idea where you're going, and you also don't have any any moral compass to just say no to things you know, say things that I'm unwilling to do, or or, or, or, um, uh, um, what's the word? I'm looking for? Um, uh, things that you're not willing to compromise. Right, If you don't know definitively who you are, you're more likely to compromise your values and your ideas for the sake of winning or success or what you deem as success. In that order, the things that I will not compromise is I will not compromise being a man. I will not compromise being a father. I will not compromise being a Marine. In order to make it in the industry, Somebody has to stand on something, and I'm going to stand on what I believe.
Speaker 1:Right, I love that because it helps in the decision-making process. Mm-hmm Right, just analyzing everything and decision-making process and in a sense life kind of has an operations order and that part is in there.
Speaker 2:Correct and I do believe when we try to outthink nature or outthink the order of operations of things, I do think we have problems. You know, I think society, as far as society is concerned, as far as how we are internally, if we can all remember our humanity at the base of things, first things, we're human beings. Start there, start the fact that you are a human and understand that you are fallible. You will make mistakes and be willing to look at yourself in the mirror and say I'm human, I'm a man, I'm a woman. I'm going to make mistakes, I'm going to get some of this stuff wrong and it's okay and be okay. Being honest with yourself first.
Speaker 1:Right. I got to remind people sometimes too, like, hey, like it's okay to fail. I had a niece that called me the other day and she was going to meet up with the. She's looking at going into several different branches, so I'm helping her with the process of that. And she was going to take a physical fitness test night before. She's so nervous because the recruiters got her thinking, like all right, you got to, like, do well in this, Otherwise we're not even going to talk to you anymore. And and I told her, I said you're only in competition with yourself. Like as long as you're willing, even if you fail that test, as long as you're willing to get back up again and show up the next day, that's all that matters.
Speaker 1:That's it Like. I felt a lot of things in my life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and. And so, even with the word failure, you only fail when you quit, like there's one thing to be set back, there's one thing to lose. You can lose, you can get set back, but you only fail when you stop trying. So if I get, if I'm in a fight and I get knocked down and I just stay there, the fight's over, I lost. But if I get knocked down and I get back up, the fight's still on. The fight's still on until it's over, I lost. But if I get knocked down and I get back up, fight's still on, yeah, the fight's still on until it's over, until it's absolutely over. And so you don't fail when you get knocked down. So if your friend were to, she were to not pass the test, go get stronger, get better, come back again.
Speaker 1:Exactly A hundred percent Were you in sports in high school.
Speaker 2:I wasn't, I wasn't, I was, I'm actually. Uh, I'm actually a gamer nerd. People don't people don't get that. People don't get that from me, cause I got muscles and I'm six feet two, 20. And they're like you're a gamer, I am a gamer nerd. But if you look back, here With the action figures and the hat.
Speaker 1:I love it. I actually have my.
Speaker 2:PS4 right here. I got my PS5 upstairs. We a Switch gamer.
Speaker 1:Where were you stationed at when you were in the Marines?
Speaker 2:So my first duty station was Iwakuni Japan, CSSD 36. So shout out to them over in Iwakuni Japan. If I knew then what I knew now, now I'd probably still be in the Marines and probably still be in Japan and then I left Japan and I went to Camp Pendleton. I was with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion maintenance platoon, so that was 1st CEB. That was where I did. That's where the good stuff and the bad stuff happened. You know, I was whew loved it. Oh man, I bet you got some stories San Diego, California.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I love San Diego man. I live up in LA, but I would rather be in San Diego if I had my druthers for sure.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely You'd be closer. Yeah, sure you'd be closer. Yeah, you'd be closer to everything, and then people would understand you would be around people who understand.
Speaker 1:You know right, and that's the thing too, like being around it's. It's funny being up here in la like I don't know a whole lot of military veterans that live in my community, in my neighborhood, and it's a little frustrating, uh, sometimes, because I know, living closer to the bases and stuff, you have a tendency to be closer to that culture in general. Is that who you deployed with? Did you deploy out of Pendleton?
Speaker 2:Yes, csis-836. I'm sorry, first Combat Engineer Battalion. So yes, I was with First Mardif Went to Iraq 2004.
Speaker 1:So I was there in 04, or five at the end of oh four. So you were there, uh, during Fallujah.
Speaker 2:So let me ask you this Did you when did? What month did you get there?
Speaker 1:I got there in December.
Speaker 2:I had just left. We left in September. I just left you just missed me Cause. So you, you were probably at uh Al-Asad right.
Speaker 1:No, I was up in Mosul.
Speaker 2:Okay, cool. So we wouldn't even have crossed paths because, yeah, I was like the only welder for about a. It had to be like a 30 or 50 mile radius.
Speaker 2:I was literally welding for the Army, the Navy, the Marines and Air Force, and so they basically had me centrally located in Al-Asad and if something needed to be welded I had to convoy out. And that was really where most of my anxiety came from was convoys, because I didn't mind this Like I can mentally, I can handle this. It's like it's you, it's me, we're doing our thing. But convoys that sneaky guerrilla warfare where anything anywhere could happen at any time, like that, that used to drive me crazy because they would bury ieds under the road or in carcasses next to the side. It's like you can't even drive past a raggedy car without being worried, like you know. And so, um, yeah, yeah. So I did a lot of convoys because I was, I was, was the welder, the you know and I don't.
Speaker 1:I want to make sure that I underline that because we didn't get up armored level three, TARDAC, until I want to say, like it's sometime in December, like we had to send an entire platoon down to Kuwait. And it was. There was an E4 down there during a question and answer session that asked Rumsfeld like why don't we have up-armored, you know, military vehicles? So when you were there, you were the man.
Speaker 2:No, no, I was. I was the one building the, the turrets and the up-armor. But the.
Speaker 2:Thing is we had. So one of the issues that we kept running into was the fact that we had it was aluminum, the joints were aluminum, so they would have me build the up armor out of steel plate, you know, and then we would try to mount it and it just the doors just come right off. So there was that, and then I had to build the, the 240, 240 machine gun turrets that we will mount in the back of the Humvees.
Speaker 2:So I was the guy before they had a whole team 240 machine gun turrets that we would mount in the back of the Humvees. I was the guy before they had a whole team me building turrets and up armor for Humvees that were not built for that level of armor.
Speaker 1:Yeah when you say welder man, some people don't think about that, but your job was to save lives, Because when I was there, I was a transportation platoon leader, so that's all we did was convoys and patrols. Um, the entire time I was there and I remember doing convoys several times wearing what we are having like what we called ghetto metal, where we would weld our own stuff on the side of like we would weld our own, uh, and we we called it ghetto metal and it was like we, we had our, our maintenance shop, like basically put and makeshift these turrets for us and sometimes they were great, sometimes they were raggedy but it's all we had right.
Speaker 2:And it's like guys, y'all listen, y'all are basically sending us out here naked, right? You know, when these guys have rocket propelled grenades, rpgs they got ad's. They have, uh ak's which they couldn't shoot for shit.
Speaker 2:But uh right, you know yeah, yeah but uh, even still, you know, uh, and then when they had again, when they I was, and the thing was is, I was young, I was 23 and I was so excited to be the guy Like I'm building this armor, and every time I would mount it, it would last for about two, three days and it just falling off and it was nothing I could do about it because it was literally steel plate on aluminum joints. It wasn't nothing I could do. I did what I could do, but hey, for this day you guys are good, I got you for this day.
Speaker 1:No, we really appreciated all the work that the maintenance guys did and the welders did for us, because we were all that we had. Fortunately, I did the rest of my deployment with Oshkosh level three armor and I'll tell you like, after my platoon hit several ieds, I ran over one myself. I mean it, it saved it like I think it saved my life. Like I still have a piece of an ied hanging on my wall over here. Um, that I that I ran over it's a, it's a rubber debt cord with like nails through it and they put uh, electric tape to cover it when it was on the hardball. And I ran it over in my Humvee. Like that's crazy to me. Like, and just based off the direction the mortar was facing and the up-armored on the Humvee and all these other factors, like it didn't, the most of the impact was taken by the road and the Humvee, thankfully so I'm still here.
Speaker 2:But it's funny. It's funny. You said it the way you did. You said that that I was saving lives and I never, for all of my time, I never thought about it, I never thought of it that way until, um, maybe a month ago, one of my fellow Marines who was there with me uh, we hadn't talked in 20 years, right. But on Facebook, you know, something came up and he texted me and he said he said, man, thank you, you know, you saved so many lives out there and I said did I?
Speaker 2:I never thought about it like that, you know. So it's funny that he just said it after 20 something years and you just said it and it's kind of like I guess I did. You're welcome.
Speaker 1:You don't even know, man, the guy that I wear on my wrist, he was part of Task Force IED and his job was to clear our routes for us and he died doing that, and you know. So guys like you, man, that were putting in the work, putting in the expertise, I mean I'm extremely grateful for that, for sure. And let's talk about your transition, man. So when I resigned my commission and got out, everyone thought I was crazy. Like I was told by a lieutenant colonel that I would be poor and I'd be eating pizza on the floor and all this stuff. And I mean I can't even imagine, like, if they said that to me, like what they would have said to you if they would have known you were getting out and you were gonna get into entertainment, or did you at that time, let me and so you know where we do honesty here, right, this is what I do.
Speaker 2:Um, they were actually I'm. I think they were relieved when I got out, because I went from. I was one of those marines who went from sugar to shit. I went from sugar to shit. Shit, because you know, you know those stories, sometimes you marry the right one, sometimes you don't. Oh boy, so my story was and I'll just give you the abridged version I came back from Iraq, the wife, you know what I'm saying? Right, and that, just everything. From there I just spiraled right on down. So by the time it was my time to get out, they were cool with me. You know what, you go ahead, we'll be good without you. We're fine, we're fine, yeah, we're good. Plus, don't worry about it, we're good and so. But when I got out, I was, I was homeless, and so I, honestly, at the time I was, I was doing music, you know. So I, even then, I wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but I thought I was going to be a rapper.
Speaker 2:I really did think I was going to be a rapper. And there S-O-U-T-H-U-N-O-Y-Z and keep in mind that was a young me, that was a young me, I was in a rap group for Marines and so at that point I thought I was going to be, you know, a big time rapper. I thought I was going to be, you know, a big time rapper. And now I ended up being homeless after the Marine Corps, living in my friend's car, who I think his last name was Franklin. I lived in his car while he was in that rock and you know, I did that for about a year until he came back and I had to kind of get my get myself together at that point. And so they're so like this. My story is just so vast from there, you know, being homeless to, you know, jumping forward. I actually lived in Kuwait for about six years after that as a, as a yeah, as a civilian contractor. So I could wait for about six years. Then I was a firefighter. That was the EMT. I'm a full time single father for the past 15 years. I tell everybody my story is all over the place. It's all over the place.
Speaker 2:But ultimately, what I realized, and what people have helped me to realize, is that those things that I went through, it gave me multiple stories to tell through acting, which I sort of fell into. I didn't realize that's what I was going to be. I was going to be an actor. I just kind of said, hey, let me try it. And based on those, if I try hard enough, if I push hard enough, based on those ideas, I said, I can make it.
Speaker 2:Because the question becomes for me this is the question that I always ask myself If I'm looking at another person, another human being, just a human. They're not Superman, they're not Batman, they're not no billionaire, just a regular human being that has made it in the industry. Why can't I? What makes you so much better than me? Why can't I have what you have? You know what I'm going to go get what you, what you got, not what you have, but you know, in the same vein and so that, having that mentality of why can't I have it to push me to just go further, go faster and go harder, and also understanding that I was late in the acting game. So I was, I was hitting it hard.
Speaker 1:Right, it sounds to me like you were failing forward and you were trying different things, man. I mean, I'm not going to lie. I have a story too, man. People think that because I was commissioned, I was enlisted before that. So, like Article 15 and those counseling statements I am very familiar with, and NJPs.
Speaker 2:Uh, I was busted down. Granted, I still tell people, you know, I'm still listed as lance corporal press. Plus I got out I wasn't last quarter, plus I went from a3 to e2 because I ended up fighting the guy. That was the guy who was messing with my wife at the time. He was, uh, he was a corporal, he was an e4, so he was a nco and I was a non-NCO and my lieutenant told me don't go over there messing with him. We know who he is, but we can't prove that he was messing with your wife. I'm like bitch, I can, I can prove it, but you know, they told me not to. I did it anyway and so I got, I got a awol, absolute out, leave because I was, I was where I wasn't supposed to be, disobeying the direct order and striking the superior officer. They were like no, we got to bust you down. I'm like do what you got to do. Oh, because that dude is, he was, he was. Who is the story?
Speaker 1:yeah, for me, it was like a whole year. It was just, it was bad when you first got out, did you have problems like identifying being military, like did? When you separated, did you just want to throw away everything and be like I'm out, like I'm done, I don't want anything, don't associate we associate me with being military or anything. Did you go through that phase?
Speaker 2:I never did. I never did. I think the one thing that I did do is I tried to. I tried to, you know, grow my beard out. I was a little bit younger, I couldn't grow it as well, but, um no, I, I I was proud of of that.
Speaker 2:Becoming a Marine, an actual United States Marine, was probably the, at that point, the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life and there was no reason for me to be any less than proud of that just because I had a bad experience with some people while I was in. Like, marine Corps didn't do that to me. You know, I did it to myself. I chose the wrong person and so I was still proud and I understood that. And you know, disrespecting anybody else, but the marine corps is, is highly respected when it comes to the branches, because it's the longest, boot camp is the toughest. Everybody thinks the marines oh god, you know these, these bad mfers. So I was. I was proud. I never was like, nah, I'm not, I even have it marine corps trained. It's tattered in my flesh. And I tell people that's my fair warning and I put, if I put I never was like no, I'm not a Marine, I even have it Marine Corps trained. It's tattered in my flesh.
Speaker 2:And I tell people that's my fair warning If I put my hands up, if you can read, you know what time it is. I love it, man. Yeah and so no, always proud, always faithful, always a Marine, Till the day I die.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we talked before the podcast and that was the one thing when I was in that the Army was trying to mimic or copy was when you walk up to an Army you know NCO or you know lower enlisted or whatever officer when you ask them, like what do you do? A lot of times the Army person will say whatever their MOS is. But when you walk up to a Marine, no matter what their MOS is, they always say I'm a Marine. Exactly, and that's why they started doing that soldier first thing and that's why they started making the officers go through like this little mini infantry course and all this stuff to try to instill like you're a soldier first and foremost because during Iraq and Afghanistan, people were getting placed in different jobs and it wasn't their job. So they're like, well, that's not really my job and it's like, well, you're a soldier first.
Speaker 2:Right, right, absolutely. And it's so funny that you say that, because other branches, when I talk to them, they ask you know what was your? You know your MOS? And I said, well, I was a 13, 16're. Like, oh, so you weren't a grunt, you didn't, you didn't go do anything. I was like, yeah, nah, bro, right, that's not how it works in the marine corps. I don't know, I don't know what y'all do, right, we're going as soon as they say, hey, gear up, let's, let's rock out. You know, I'm saying it's time to go. So, um, just because I was a metal worker, that was that would. Being a metal worker was my side job to being a rifleman. Right, I was a rifleman first, then I was a metal worker, not the other way around yeah, and that's how it is in war, like in war, like we.
Speaker 1:I know the unit that replaced us um a transportation unit was, uh, field artillery, so we had. They were completely like out of their, out of their realm, like it wasn't their thing. But I love how you talk. You had accountability at a very early age, whether you realize it or not, man, because when I got out I didn't have the best leadership, I didn't have the best time in the army. My deployment was okay, but it wasn't. I don't know, man, and some of it was I brought on myself and some of it was just the circumstances.
Speaker 1:But when I got out I was like I'm out, Like just, I don't want to, like, I just want to move on with my life and go on to the next chapter. And it sounds like to me you had a lot of accountability with yourself, where, you know, I chose who I married, I chose to make my decisions, like that, you know. Do you think that really carried you down the stretch to be where you're at today?
Speaker 2:No, that is where I landed now, that ability to look at myself. So part of what got me into the Marine Corps in the first place was the fact that I could see issues with myself that needed to be adjusted and I needed something drastic. So I was like I'm joining the Marines All right, fix me Okay, cause I don't want to end up with a F on my record, a felony. I don't want to end up with a felony on my record. I want to be a better person, to have a, a fruitful and productive life. You know, I want to be. I want to be a good person. I want to be the good guy. You know, the guy, um. Again, going back to those eighties movies, I wanted to be the Superman, the good guy. I want to be the, the, the, the guy who protect her. I wanted to be that and so, um.
Speaker 2:But when I got out, going back to it, um, um, part of what fueled me was spite and anger. Spite and anger fueled me for many, many years until I grew out of that, because I wanted to prove that person that you chose wrong. You chose the wrong person. You know, you should have stuck by me. I wanted to be successful and make it and be this big time rapper and be like ha, you chose wrong.
Speaker 2:So, to be honest with you, when I was homeless, I could have ran home to my mom. My mom was in. She's still in Douglasville. I think she was still in Douglasville at the time when I got out. So Douglasville, georgia, I was in San Diego. I could have ran home to mom. Now, granted, at the time I was 24 years old, I was a grown man. I'm not running home to my mama. I'm going to figure this thing out. I did my time homeless and also my ex actually coined this term for me or gave me this term. I wasn't aware of it. It's called a hobosexual. Do y'all know what that is? A hobo sexual? I don't know what that is.
Speaker 2:Let me break that down for you, because when she explained it to me I was like, oh shit, I was a hobo, sexual Hobo, we know. Hobo moves from place to place, right, right, right. And then I think you can add in the sexual part and figure out what I had to do to survive for for a while, back and forth, okay, you know. So back then we still had a MySpace. We still had MySpace back then. So I would hop on MySpace. Yeah, man, Remember that, that's how far back we're going. I do. So I would get on MySpace and you know, I would just be talking to a different girl and like, hey, yeah, I'm a Marine, I just got out, but I'm homeless and I'm going through this stuff. My wife is going through a divorce. Oh so where do you stay? I stay in my friend's car. You don't have to do that. You can come stay on my couch. Sure, I'll come stay on your couch and I will stay on the couch for a while.
Speaker 1:I love that term, man.
Speaker 2:That's funny yeah yeah, yeah, so yeah, but ultimately, like I said, it came from, like I said, spite and anger. I wanted to prove that person wrong, but then also I needed to prove that to myself, that everything that has happened happened for a reason. Like I'm going through all of this struggle, all of this strife, all of this I have to win. So that way, I know that this pain meant something, because the worst thing you can do is go through pain for no reason. The worst thing you do is whoop your child and not tell them why. You know you give your child a spanking. You need to explain to them why you gave him a spanking. That was the same thing I was thinking about with my life. Is life is whooping my ass right now? Now I need to get to the end of it.
Speaker 1:So I not in life but the end of this struggle to understand why am I getting my ass kicked? So that's what it was. Yeah, yeah, and I can wow you like you. Hit the nail on the head with me. I can identify with everything that you said.
Speaker 1:As far as like proving others wrong, I mean, I was a special ed growing up up until like ninth grade was told by, was told by counselors like I wasn't college material like straight to my face, man, and I was like yo, bitch, like I'm gonna show you like college material like, and that was that was the early fire.
Speaker 2:So every time I'm like, yeah, man, like that's like and and to be honest with you, the reason why, you know, I'm able to say these things, because I'm not afraid of mirrors. I have, no, no problem looking at a mirror and going, damn damn, that's fucked up with me. Oh, that's that's. That's something in me that needs to be fixed or adjusted, or that's the reason why, even though it might not sound good or look good, this is why I'm doing this, the same thing that people find out about themselves in counseling. I can find it a bear, I just go. Hey. I can find it at bear, I just go. Hey, I'm probably mad because such and such said this and I don't like this, and I don't like it because of this. It's just, I don't know, it's, it's. I don't need counseling for myself, I just need to sit down and meditate and go. Why am I upset or why am I sad or why am I angry? And when I do that, I'm able to go back and go, hey. This is why these things happened.
Speaker 1:Right man, I tell you like, and I I've, I've told people before cause I've been through. They always say you're not in the military until you get divorced and it's like, it's like you know and and and you know, working in law enforcement and military like being in those rooms. You have to have thick skin and I always used to tell people like there's not anything that you can say to me that I haven't already said to myself.
Speaker 2:I am my own worst critic.
Speaker 1:I'm not going to get offended by anything you say, because I've already told myself that I screwed up and I take accountability and that self-awareness you're talking about, man. Some of the most successful people that I know are self-aware of their weaknesses and then they join the military to try to fix those weaknesses or they're aware of, like their surroundings, their upbringings are not the best in the world. So then they joined the military to try to get out of it, you know, and they stumble and fall but then they get back up again and that sounds like sort of where you were. You were very self-aware, very accountable at a young age and you wanted to do better, and that's that's where it all starts, man.
Speaker 2:Let me say this just to kind of piggyback off of that.
Speaker 1:If you haven arts man.
Speaker 2:Let me say this, um, just to kind of piggyback off of that. Uh, if you ever figured out, I'm a black american man.
Speaker 2:I don't know if y'all picked up on that, but I'm that and I grew up, uh, I was born in the 80s, grew up in the 90s and, uh, a lot of the and I, you know, my mother was a single mom, you know, um, I didn't have a predominant male figure for the majority of my life to kind of guide me and go, hey, you know, this is, this is not what fellas do, the same way we do. So I went to Entertainment music and you know my, my, my friend group and movies to see how a black man is supposed to conduct himself. You know, in what was popular around black, you know black culture and how to be black. And what I found, you know, and I'm able to even look back now, what I found, is that a lot of that stuff that I was watching and a lot of the music I was listening to, not all the music.
Speaker 2:Not everything I watched, but a lot of it was not the best and I can see it even now in our culture. Now I can see the way that it affects and tanks our children. I'm not going to speak. I'm going to speak specifically to the young men because it happened to me, you know, and I wanted, I wanted so badly to be real, to be hood, to be that, you know. Oh yeah, I've been to jail. I didn't did this, not realizing that's not.
Speaker 2:That ain't cool, man, that ain't what you want to be. You don't want to mess your life up for what? To prove what to who? Who do you want to prove this to? That person ain't doing nothing, that person ain't nobody.
Speaker 2:And so the, the being self-aware started then going. I don't want to fail. If I follow this person, these people, I follow these people down a path that I can see the, the end result, then it's on me. It's my fault. I chose that path. So what I'm going to let you guys do. I'm going to let you guys go down this path, because that's where all y'all want to go. I'm going to do just like this what's over here? Hey y'all, it's cool over here, there's no problem, nobody want to come, that's all right, y'all go, y'all go ahead. I'm going to go over here and try something different. Right, you know? And? And there are people who are afraid. There are people even now, to this day, they, they, you know, you've sold out and you went to go fight the white man's war and you're standing other and I'm like I hear the same thing from family and friends.
Speaker 2:I didn't want to be a stereotype. I don't want to be easily identifiable. I don't want to be easily identifiable.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's heartbreaking. I have a nephew that's from Atlanta and he got involved in gangs and he eventually got killed. And it breaks my heart to think that. I mean, I remember going down to the detention center down there when he was locked up and I tried to talk him into something else. I said, look, you got to get into boxing or jujitsu or you got to get into some positivity when you get out of here. And I remember he put a Facebook post up talking about you know me going down there and taking the time. But when he got out, man, he just fell right back into it again and then he eventually got killed.
Speaker 2:And it was familiar. It was familiar and it was safe, and I think that's all we ever really want is something that's safe and that felt safe because he knew that. He knew the devil, you know.
Speaker 1:Right, so much that you've touched on man. It's just like it hits home for me because I I I'm with you, like I know what you're talking about Exactly and I've gone through the same thing, man. So I'm so blessed to be on this conversation with you today. But I want to get back to like your, your career, and talk about, like, what inspired you to first pursue acting and modeling, because this is kind of a unique industry in itself. Was there a specific moment or influence that set you on this path?
Speaker 2:There was. There was so and I talk about this all the time A friend of mine. He was. He's also, I think, his former army, but we were contractors. I was saying I lived in Kuwait for about five and a half, six years. We were contractors out there.
Speaker 2:His name is Dexter, emery Hi Dexter. His name is Dexter and he was talking about a small role that he had in the Bourne supremacy. I think he said the role got cut, but he had pictures and stills and this is. This is back in 2018. I still had dreads, braids and I had long hair.
Speaker 2:And I'm talking to him and showing me these pictures and I'm like Interesting, how do I get into that? And he was like and this is what he says he goes well, I'm doing this little independent project with this guy. Maybe I can possibly get you a role. I was like sure, I'll give it a try. Never took a class, nothing like that. Just, the guy comes out. I can't remember his name, but he comes out. He has a little camcorder on his shoulder. All right, this is what I want you to say and these are the lines. All right, and come out here.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't think I got paid for that. I don't remember anything, but it was literally my first time on camera, um, and it just, it just kind of blew up from there because I, you know, I just hung out in Miami with Dexter, I think like two months ago, a month ago or whatever, and people recognize me from beyond the gates and we're in Miami, and so he's not acting anymore, but he's just like he says dude, I don't even know, I'm so proud of you, you really just took off. And I was like, yeah, I just made a decision, that's what I wanted to do. And so, you know, shout out to Dexter.
Speaker 2:The reason why I'm here is because he said and sometimes you'll have that person who will say the right thing at the right time to the right person and he was the right person to say the right thing to me at that time. He was like, hey, I can try to help. Yeah, now I've worked with Morgan Freeman, chris Maloney, viola Davis, brian Tyree. I'm on a hit soap opera and it's like all that came from it was a group of us, a bunch of military, former military sitting in a cabin. And he just pulls out a picture and goes, yeah, I was in a movie and now I'm here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I met Chris Maloney once and I didn't know who he was and I think it was in Indianapolis at the Super Bowl. And we're standing in line for Starbucks and this guy's in front of me and some girls walked by and was like, hey, we love your work. And I was like in back then I was in law enforcement and I was. He had like a scarf around his neck and so me being curious, george was like. I was like oh, or are you an, an, an artist or?
Speaker 1:and he goes I'm an actor and I was like, oh, I'm like, what have you been in before he goes? Well, for the last 11 years I've been in Law Order SVU and I'm like, oh, I'm like, I'm sorry, I didn't know, I didn't watch that. But he was a really nice guy, though, really nice guy.
Speaker 2:I did two episodes of Law Order OC. I played a Marine with PTSD on the show. I did two episodes of that show. I got a chance to work with Chris. I got knocked out on the show by Chris. It was great. He's a he's a very, very intense actor. I loved working with him. I would love to do it again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's so awesome, man. Um, and then before you you stepped into the spotlight. What were some of the biggest personal or professional challenges that you had to overcome? That you realized really quick, cause I know, being in different industries, you have to take on like new challenges. Um, as far as like when you're in the military, you got to have, like, you got to be able to take criticism and things like that. What about the industry you're in now?
Speaker 2:So what I will say, the most difficult thing for me is but it's still, it's still something I work on is emotions. You know, being a man, being a black man and then being a Marine, you know we don't access that shit too quick, you know, but thanks to my acting coach, Johnna Nagley, here in Atlanta, she helped me to, you know, break into that and to access those and to be able to emote. There was a show I did called Ordinary Joe, where my character was saved by the Lee's character, his father, during 9-11. And if I had not been saved then my daughter would never have been born. And so, because I'm a girl dad, I was able to tap into those feelings. And then I remember 9-11.
Speaker 2:I was able to tap into that, and so that's actually been the most difficult is just tapping into more vulnerable emotions, but now it's. Part of the reason why it was difficult was because I didn't want to be seen as weak or less than. But then I understand that we all have emotions, we all have feelings, we all. And then part of my craft is to be seen. People are going to have to see you here and they're going to have to see you here. They're going to have to see you, you know. And then the other part of it too, and this conversation that I have with people. They ask me you know, how do you get in front? How do you just talk to people? How do you get in front of cameras?
Speaker 2:And my fear, the fear that I have, is not the same fear that other people, that the average person or the person who has never been in military or never been to combat has seen or may feel. My fear is at a higher level. The things that it takes to make me afraid, things that that were that it takes to, you know, make me afraid, and so I created a, a sort of a mantra or saying of mine, and forgive me for using profanity, but what I tell people when they, when they, how are you? How do you do this? I say, in iraq I was shot at and bombed and my enemy couldn't kill me, so what the fuck do you think your opinion can do to a man like me? What do you think your opinion can do to a man?
Speaker 1:like me. Yeah, yeah, what's? I guess it's kind of like what's your idea of a bad day, exactly.
Speaker 2:And I have this conversation with my daughter, I've seen kids who don't have walls on their homes or don't have shoes walking around on hot rocks and glass, and that's their day to day life. Oh, but you want to complain because you don't have Wi-Fi. Get out of here, right? You want to complain because you don't have Wi-Fi. These kids eat food with flies all over it, but you don't have cream for your latte.
Speaker 1:If you don't shut up. You're right, man. What's your idea of bad day.
Speaker 2:Right, there's levels to this. There's levels. You didn't meet my requirement yet. I'm sorry, you just didn't.
Speaker 1:I love the experience, man. I feel like back in the day more people, especially in the entertainment industry, served in the military.
Speaker 2:So to some extent they had to eat shit, and some people never do that nowadays.
Speaker 1:It's like you have no idea.
Speaker 2:The other thing, too, is I think you and I came up in a time where this did not exist, social media did not exist. So we also live in an age where anybody can say anything at any time, behind an anonymous face, a made up name Anybody could. And the fact that they can do that and that people will believe them and follow them, and you know, oh yeah, that that sounds like it makes sense. I think it's a detriment. I think the fact that people are not accountable, don't have to be accountable for the aftermath of the things they may say, because they can just hide, right, they can just hide, and I think we live in a coward society where cowardice is rewarded in. I think we live in a coward society where we're cowardice is rewarded. I don't think cowards should be rewarded, I think I think people should strive to be stronger, mentally, physically stronger, better.
Speaker 1:So I love I love how authentic you are, man, because at the end of the day, like I, I get I mean I agree 100 with what you're saying. People can say whatever they want, because they would not say it in real life. And then also, too, like you've got a lot of people out there that are just fake, like people that are portraying themselves as something online that they're not in real life, and that irritates me too.
Speaker 2:And it absolutely should irritate you, because the thing is that they call those people influencers. Their job is to influence you to move in a certain direction, even if they don't believe in shit themselves. You know, going back to I'm sorry, real quick, going back to what I was talking about before, about having something that's standing on, something believing in something you know and not giving up your morals and your values. Right, some people will do that simply for money, for money.
Speaker 2:And it's like it's more courageous to just say no, I'm not saying that, that's a lie, I'm not going to lie or I don't agree with that, so I'm just not going to say it. But people operate out of fear, the fear of loss.
Speaker 1:So wow, You're a man that really stands on on hard ground, for sure, because you ever worry about there being a ceiling because of you having those specific priorities of your life that you're not willing to violate I so.
Speaker 2:I absolutely am afraid of that. Um, um, that is something that I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that my honesty and my willingness to be truthful will create a ceiling for me. But I have hope and I have faith in people, in good people. I have faith that there's somebody out there you know, in my industry or with what I do who gets what I'm trying to do and gets what I'm trying to bring forth, because it's so interesting that we profit so much and there's so much money to be made off of lies Right I hate it.
Speaker 2:It's so interesting. So my curiosity becomes how much money could we make off of the truth, even though some would say that the truth is not lucrative? Right, being honest is not lucrative.
Speaker 1:No, I'm with you, man. I absolutely hate it. And I was thinking the other day I was like you know, I should like redact the like personal stuff on my DD 214. We just have that available. Like, look, if, because there's been questions about like people that are influencers now, whether it's the liver king or Tim Kennedy about things that they said that they did but they didn't do that, are coming back now full circle to haunt them. They didn't do that, are coming back now full circle to haunt them. And so you got to be careful, man, because there's accountability out there that will catch up to you on the things that you say and you claim.
Speaker 2:You know, and I'm sure I'm sure somewhere down the line, I've said something that's going to come back and bite me in the ass. I don't know exactly what it is, but because I'm human, I've been around for Fuck it 44 years now. So I'm sure somewhere along the line I done messed something up somewhere and I've said something that I might not necessarily believe now or I believe differently. So it'll happen. But one thing I do I was just talking about the other day is I hated knowingly being hypocritical.
Speaker 2:So when I was rapping, I was doing music. You know how rappers are. They talk about the cars and there's jewelry and all this other stuff. So when I was doing it, I was rapping about cars and jewelry, but I didn't have it. I didn't have cars and jewelry. So as soon as I got some money, I immediately went and bought the car that I was talking about and some of the liver King um, cause, you know, you look at the guy, great physique, and I'm all natural, I'm like come to find out. You've been, you know, and, uh, my, the question becomes why did you do that? Because the moment you lie, you just admitted that you don't deserve whatever accolades that you were about to receive. You do not deserve that. You admitted it to yourself because you lie, so you know you don't deserve it, so why would you do it in the first place?
Speaker 1:It's all for money, yeah, and people feel betrayed because they he, from what I read, like he literally made millions of dollars off of these supplements and telling people like poor information. That wasn't true to begin with right, you cheated.
Speaker 2:You became a millionaire and you cheated you. Yeah, I think cheater yeah, yeah, that's.
Speaker 1:that's really frustrating, especially when you're authentic and you're, you know I. I think in your case, man like you I mean you've been 100 honest with everything from your mos to what you've done. I mean you're not going to fall into that category because, at the end of the day, it's like some of these people go so far outside the lines, like claiming that you have a Bronze Star with a V device. You know what award you were given specifically and that's what Tim Kenny did, and it's like why would you even say that, why would you even tell a story about that at any point in time? That would be recorded and broadcasted Like that was done on purpose.
Speaker 2:Right, you know we can see you right.
Speaker 2:You know we can hear you right. This is recorded, sir, anybody with any you know. So what this tells me, what this tells me and what I've noticed, and what I do believe, is that media believes that the average person is stupid, stupid and lazy. Stupid and lazy because stupid we can just tell them anything, they'll believe it, and lazy because they're not gonna fact check it. They believe that. Then every now and again you get somebody who goes back and they'll they'll fact check it, like with believe it. Then every now and again you get somebody who goes back and they'll fact check it, like with me.
Speaker 2:I say I'm a decorated Marine Corps veteran. I don't have like a bronze star, silver medal, but I am decorated. So when I tell people I have my car not my car, but we know what a car is right and I say I'm a combat veteran, I say yeah, I'm a combat veteran, I have my combat action ribbon. You know what I mean? Yeah. And so when you get those people who just fabricate, they fabricate easily Google-able things. You know we can Google this Right. Don't lie about things that can be easily fact-checked, you idiot. Yeah, but then don't lie in general, but damn yeah you are definitely.
Speaker 1:I mean, in my opinion, the marines are are whether you got an award there or not like you guys are decorated. I I I was in the military prior to september 11, prior to iraq and afghanistan, and I remember hearing, like all the garrison, like a shit, talk about, like, on Marines, the army is better, the Marines are better, but I tell you what, when you get down range and the bullets are flying, it changes everything. Man, like I have a tremendous amount of specter. The the. The few times that I got an opportunity to work with the Marines, I was impressed, like I was like wow, these guys are very professional and I trust them. No-transcript. Wow, like my perspectives have changed now that I'm in war versus in garrison. And you know, that's, that's everything, man, that you really, you really hit the nail on the head with that one man like that's.
Speaker 1:And the industry is is where it is. And I want to take it back to where you first started. What was your, how did? What was your? How did like? What was your first gig when you started the entertainment industry? And how, how did how did that opportunity come around?
Speaker 2:Okay, cool, so we'll we'll talk about my first onscreen gig, my first one right. This is after I got an agent and I was. I was like yes, and I was like yes, I'm an actor, I still had braids. You guys can find this, it was MacGyver.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I saw that Season three Season three Episode, I think it was 19.
Speaker 2:It was like permafrost seed and something else, I don't know. But no, I went through the audition process and I got the audition and I had a friend of mine come read the other side for it. But I think the reason why I got it was because it's on the line where you see me actually doing the audition was because the character was just a bad guy. I had like four words. You know one scene, four words. It was real quick. But he had a gun, you know, and I didn't know that it was going to be like this. My marine kicked in, so I immediately went like this. So when I did my audition, they were like he looks like he knows how to use a weapon and so I'm literally swinging it. You know muzzle, awareness and all that. You know I'm doing my thing. And so they were like he looks like he knows what he's doing. I was like motherfucker, I know I'm doing my thing. And so they were like he looks like he knows what he's doing. I was like I know what I'm doing, I did this and so, um, and then also I had a very interesting hairstyle at the time. I had, um, dread or brains and this whole thing. So, uh, if you guys go back and look season three, episode 19 I think it's something's permafrost seed and something of MacGyver you'll see me. It's literally the first two minutes of the show. Like as soon as you turn on two minutes in there I am kicking the door, waving my gun.
Speaker 2:And so when I walked onto that set I had done background before. You know background, people are like whatever background. I, you know the background that people are like ah, whatever, ah, background, go, go, go, I don't know. Your, your, your, your room is behind a toilet or something, I don't know. It's like background gets treated weird and um, but when I walked in and this is CBS and I'm with CBS now, um, cbs, paranormal Ta-da and um, when I walked in and they were like oh, background's over there.
Speaker 2:And look, I was like no, sir, are you the bad guy? Yes, I'm the bad guy. Oh, sir, well, can we make you an omelet? Here's your dressing room. Do you need anything? If you need anything, just let me know. And I was like nothing from you, peasant. And I was like nothing from you, peasant. I was, look, I was milking it because I was like this feels so good and that was the moment I knew and once we said, cut, I done my scenes, this is all I'm doing for the rest of my life. It felt so good. I took a picture with Lucas Till and he was a star at MacGyver and Levy Tran. She was one of the female leads and it just felt so good and I knew then that this is all I want to do and I just went full throttle ever since and it's just gotten bigger and better after that, like even right now, I'm writing and producing and starring in, you know, my own film.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow. And so that whole creative process though. What's that look like when you're preparing for a new role or new project? Is it difficult to like? Do the lines. How do you like? What do you do?
Speaker 2:So it new role or new project Is it? Is it difficult to like? Do the lines? How do you like? What do you do? So, um, it all depends on the role. So let's uh, for the lines.
Speaker 2:For me, you know it, it there is difficulty with memorization because of PTSD and short-term memory, uh, issues that I have to really, really, really, really, really work hard on memorization. You know, like like overkill, I literally will go to sleep playing lines. I'm like, I'm like, I'm finna, osmosis, this shit. You know what I mean, like whatever, and so, but depending on the role will determine, determine on how I prepare. What I typically do is I try to decide what that character wants, ultimately, like their main goal. What do they want If they didn't get it? What would they like? You know, would they die if they didn't have this? And then that kind of determines which way I go.
Speaker 2:I can't, I can't, so I can't go full method. I'm a dad my daughter's upstairs right now, so I can't go full method. I'm a dad my daughter's upstairs, upstairs right now, so I can't go full method acting. I got to stay present in my kid's life and but you know, if it's, if it's an emotional scene, I'll find those things that you know. It kind of gets me there, gets me in those feelings, if it's, if it's, if it's, if it's, if it's, if it's, yeah. So my, my wheelhouse for anybody who's watching my wheelhouse is charm and being uh, authoritative. So being charming and being, um, you know, like the, the authority, that's sort of my wheelhouse, everything outside of that. I had to work a little bit harder at that because, just naturally, I know how to be in charge and I know how to be charming when it comes to women. I'm fucking funny, yeah.
Speaker 1:So so you know, do you think the military helped hone a lot of that? Because in a sense, like sometimes you gotta I always tell people you get more with sugar than you do a shit when you're asking for things.
Speaker 2:But then there are times where you have to be authoritative, you gotta be like absolutely, absolutely, um, there, there are those times, um, you know, when you know I was in the marine corps and you know I'd be in charge, you know, and you have to. Granted, those are your, your buddies, and some of them on the same level as you, but you have to be able to switch in and out of being that guy like look, I know we're like homies, but right now I'm in charge. I don't want no bullshit, right, because I, because I have to, I have to report back to you know our corporal, our sergeant, you know our staff gunny, so don't make me look bad, or it's gonna be on you. I'm on, you know I'm saying, and so there's those it's going to be on you. You know what I'm saying. And so there's those times we have to be authoritative. But then there's other times where, again, you have to get, you have to use the sugar to get what?
Speaker 1:you need.
Speaker 2:And then being, you know, being a welder. So there was a couple of things. I was a welder. I was also the safety. When I was in Japan, I was the safety officer for the shop and to get the safety equipment and things that we needed, I had to Granted, I was Mayor Troy's Lance Corporal Plus at the time, and so they gave me a little respect because I was a hard charger. This was before I got married. This was before I got married. I was a hard charger. We still had the woodlands. Yeah, charger, we still had the woodlands.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we had the woodlands, I was creased, boots was shined. I'm talking about, yeah, I was that marine, you know what I mean? Yeah, and so I would get a little bit more respect and I would get the things that I need. You know, just being charming because I had to talk to the higher ups, I had to deal with a lot of, even though I was in E3, I had to deal with E6 and up, and so that kind of gave me that ability to go from one side to the other. You know, talking to my Marines but then talking to the higher ups, like, hmm, so Same deal here.
Speaker 1:Man, I was a second lieutenant when I deployed, so I was a gold bar, butter bar, butter bar dude lieutenant when I deployed, so I was a gold bar butter bar dude. I was like right out of like because I did, I did. I was enlisted in National Guard in Ohio and then I went active duty as an officer, so and I was only like 23, 24 years old so I was a baby.
Speaker 1:So when I I didn't know anything, dude and like, so I, so I go over there and like I became 100% okay with like being wrong and getting my ass chewed by NCOs Because I would have to eat it, I'd be like you're right, I screwed up. Like you know, it doesn't matter what rank I'm wearing, but I've got my ass chewed by E7s, e6s and I was okay with that man. That's leadership, you know like it's. You know, know your role.
Speaker 2:Another thing that I love to tell people. You know you have to be willing to. You know, admit that you're wrong. And the reason being is because you're not going to die. Literally, my bars for life are am I going to die? I'm not going to die. Literally, my bars for life are am I going to die? I'm not going to die, nah, you know. So me admitting when I'm wrong, or when I've done something wrong, or getting my ass chewed, whatever it's like, I can handle this because I'm not going to die Right. So it's literally my bar at this point in life. You know, basically saying the point of me saying that is that it's going to be okay. You know, be be willing to take those hits, you know, but you got to keep pushing forward. That's how, what it has done. Another Rocky reference. Sorry, I saw it a moment. I'm so sorry.
Speaker 1:We grew up in that era man did, that's what it was all about.
Speaker 2:So I would love to work with Stallone. Dude, just saying this, the film that I'm writing I have a part that I wrote that I'm writing specifically I want Stallone in because I'm like he'd be perfect. So I make a lot of Rocky references because I grew up watching those and I watched them with my mom and I have fond memories of Rocky 1, 2, 3, and 4. You know and the things that it kind of taught me. So I know I sound like a geek but it is what it is.
Speaker 1:You know it kind of hurts to watch that generation age. You know the guys like Clint Eastwood, rocky even.
Speaker 2:Arnold, kind of like 90-something now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, it's hard to believe. You know I want to take it back real quick. Man, you know the Marines does a tremendous job as far as putting young leaders in position and you know your E-4s are almost like E-5s in the Marines and at the end of the day you take command and then you screw up, you fix it and maybe you get fired. Maybe you don't get fired, whatever the case is, but that's what it's cutting your teeth and that's what I really appreciated about the Marines. Man was like even their enlisted folks had the responsibilities that were really high up there. Man, that was my experience. And with everything you're doing in film, how do you stay grounded and so consistent in such a fast-paced and sometimes unpredictable industry?
Speaker 2:Staying grounded again, being a father and knowing ultimately what I do now it's, it's, it's fun, you know it's, it's something that I enjoy doing.
Speaker 2:But I know at any point that the carpet can be ripped from up under me and maybe I won't be doing this one day. But I know that my, my, you know my kids need me. I know that my, my, you know, my kids need me. And so, you know, I work as hard as I can, I push as far as I can and I fight as hard as I can to succeed. I also understand that I'm not at the level that I want to be, and I also understand is that there's a fear that I will reach the level I want to be, and it's still. It still won't be enough.
Speaker 2:So, you know, staying self-aware and understanding that you know, before all of this, I'm a man and I'm a father. I got to be somebody's daddy, you know. So that's what keeps me in place, because I can get lost out mentally, get lost out there in the world. And then my child, who did not ask to be brought to this world, she suffers. That is not fair, especially with me already being the only one she's got. You know, I've been a full-time single father for 15 years now. She's 16. And so it's just been me, you know, raising her, which is part of the reason why I'm so late to the game. I had to get her up some size before I even attempted to do this, and she didn't ask to be here. She didn't ask to be stuck with one parent. She didn't ask for none of that. So staying grounded means that I have to protect that baby.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know your reason why. She's your reason why. Wow, you know um, beyond acting and and modeling, are there other business ventures or creative projects that you're real passionate about?
Speaker 2:well, most, most everything does really revolve around the industry itself. Like I said, I am writing, uh, producing and starring in uh upcoming action film. Um, we're still in the development stage but you know plan is for it to come out Labor Day next year. So that's the plan. But I do love advocating and helping you know other military and helping them to see that there are other things that we can do. You know, we're not just bound to that. You can be a soldier, an airman, a seaman, you know, a Marine, and you could also be this. So you know, advocating for mental health, homelessness and or no. What did I say? Unhoused, which I don't, whatever, but I'll say it.
Speaker 2:Unhoused which I don't, whatever, but I'll say it, unhoused and you know, just Trying to show the world that we're, we're still important. You know, we, we people who are willing, because I was an EMT slash firefighter for a while People who are willing to run into danger for a stranger, for somebody who doesn't know, just for their right to to live and survive, a special kind of people.
Speaker 2:The military gets a bad rap when people say oh, you know, you want to go fight this war, you want to go fight the war? I don't think anybody. Well, most people, the majority of people, don't join the military to go fight a war. I think they join the military to be of service, to give, even if that giving is possibly their life. But they, they're heroes, people willing to go fight for you. Because you don't want to go do it. And I want to bring respect back to that, like, hey, you don't have to kiss their ass, you don't have to do that, but just understand that those people are willing to go out there across the world, leave their family, leave their friends, leave everything they love and know, so you can be comfortable and have your Wi-Fi and have your cream for your latte, you know, and the fact that you're speaking English and not German or Japanese, just a little bit of respect.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, and I tell people sometimes it's about God and country, it's not about me, it's about my community, it's about the person next to me, and I think a lot of us have forgotten about that. You go to the, you go to freaking Costco, and you see people pushing shopping carts into other parking spaces, especially the handicapped ones. That kind of stuff really irritates me because I'm thinking about what about the next guy, what about the next person?
Speaker 2:Mm hmm, now they have to do it, so I hate that it had to be this way, but the most cohesive time that I can remember in American history, can you guess what I'm going to say? Nobody gave a shit right, we're american, they ain't fucking with us, we gonna, we gonna go see them. You know, and I miss, I miss, um that, that level of, of camaraderie, cohesion, um, I miss it. Yeah, genuinely, genuinely miss it, because we didn't care, we. We knew somebody came at us and we're American, I am black, white, spanish, asian. You know, nobody cared. We just know we're together now, we. So I would love for us to have that level of cohesion again and just be American again, yeah, without the tragedies. You know, you know, granted, I'm sure people are watching this, like, have that level of cohesion again and just be American again, without the tragedies. You know, you know, granted, I'm sure people are watching this. But well, you know, this conspiracy theory, this, this, this and the other, whatever, whatever, whatever, I don't, I don't care, that's not what. My point, right?
Speaker 1:My point is it was almost like we were family, right 100 man 100, I agree with you 100 on that one, you know and talk about you signed up at a time when we're at war.
Speaker 2:Actually, you're before I signed up. I was in the depth program when, when night 11 happened, I was just waiting to go. I had already signed a contract. I was sitting at my mom's house when the towel was here. I was sitting on my mom's living room floor when she called me from work and said turn on the TV. I had already signed up. I was just waiting for the bus. That's when I I signed up at a time directly before 9-11. I sat there and I was just like Me too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was enlisted in the National Guard at the time and 9-11 happened and I decided because I could have gotten out and never have gone Iraq or Afghanistan and I decided that I would get commissioned and I knew that I was going to deploy, I just didn't know when and I didn't. It happened like right as soon as I got to Hawaii, to Schofield Barracks, they gave me my 30 days you're going to and I'm like I'm a butter bar, like I don't know anything, and I was so scared man I was like I'm a butter bar, like I don't know anything, and I was so scared man. I was like you but again, like you, find that intestinal fortitude and that God and country and community and man. It was the hardest thing I ever did in my life. Was it difficult for you knowing that once you get through boot camp that you could be going down range and going to war?
Speaker 2:Well, difficult ain't impossible, but I lucked out. I actually got a year reprieve. After I got out of the boot camp I went to my MOS school at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Yeah, I was there, you were, yep, yeah.
Speaker 1:I went there for my OBC.
Speaker 2:Look at that, see, I was there. The Marine Corps Welding Program is in Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Speaker 1:It's Ordnance right.
Speaker 2:And so I actually went to Japan. I went to Iwakuni, japan, for a year Now. During that time now, granted, I could have stayed, but during that time I got married and they wouldn't bring her over, so I ended up going to Camp Pendleton and that's when I deployed and did all that and so. But by that point, no, I wasn't afraid. I trusted my you know, my fellow Marines around me and I had a great command at the time, shouts out to Sergeant Pelham and Sergeant Taylor and, yes, I so I wasn't afraid. You know what I mean. I knew my fellas had my back and plus, I had something else. You know, I was newly married. So I felt like I had something else to fight for. I was going to fight for my wife. You know, wish she would fight for me while I was gone.
Speaker 1:Boy. We got some stories, I got stories. Oh boy, so yeah.
Speaker 2:So, no, no, I wasn't afraid. I didn't feel my first bout of fear until May 17, 2004. So my birthday is May 17th 2004. So my birthday is May 16th. Remember I told you I built the turrets, yeah, so on May 17th we lost Bob Roberts. I'll never forget, because it was the day after my birthday. I turned 23 and he was KIA and that was the first time I got scared. When the realness hit, you know the finality of mortality hit the squad. That's when I got scared. And then it kind of lingered here and there. Every time we would take convoys I was like damn, I don't want to go. In my head I'd say, you know, even verbally I'd say I don't want to go. But obviously I went. You know, I'm the guy, I'm all they got. I got to do my job and just hoping that I came home safely and I can get home safely to my wife. That's all I wanted to do. Get home to my wife, get home to my wife.
Speaker 1:Man, you give me goosebumps, bro, like I feel you on so many levels, man. I remember sitting in the Urimic traffic circle and the night before another lieutenant just like me was shot right in the middle of a sappy plate with a .50 cal .50 cal.
Speaker 1:That is uncalled for Dude. So these guys had .50 cal sniper rifles. I mean they were, and that's the thing, man. Like that was real, like I sat there with MVGs on in the turret because I was the type of lieutenant that would. I would get up in the gun, I would drive. I wouldn't just do convoy commanding and sit in my in my beautiful like passenger seat and do whatever, like my squad leaders were. They're the ones that taught me everything. My ncos taught me everything I knew because I didn't know
Speaker 1:anything. Um, and that was the scary part for me was I didn't have that camaraderie prior to deployment with anybody. It was just go over here and you're going to meet everyone. Yeah, you're in charge and you're going to meet everyone as soon as you get in country. And the day I landed that was when we had the Chauhal bombing in Mosul, um, which was followed by a bunch of motors and rockets. So my first few weeks was spent under concrete bunkers with my Kevlar and uh, living in one of those, uh, those Connex like makeshift places and man, it's looking back on it. Man, like everything you're saying like as far as like when it really hit home for you and you probably were standing at. You probably had a memorial service with the with the boots and everything.
Speaker 2:Yep, kevlar, we lost other guys but I, you know, I was closer to Bob. He was part of my squad. Plus, I actually knew him longer than everybody there because he was in Iwakuni Japan with me as well. Well, we weren't together in Iwakuni Japan, but I would see him in the child. He was tall, he reminded me of Gary Busey, that's what he reminded me of. He kind of reminded me of Gary Busey with red hair, and so he was just, he had a memorable face, and then just to lose him the day after I turned, the day after I turned 24. 23. So I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that day.
Speaker 1:I sat and I cried, I'll never forget.
Speaker 2:That day I sat and I cried like I, straight up. I was standing outside. I'll never forget I was standing outside. We were at ASP Wolf, ammo, supply Point, wolf, and you know we were protecting the contractors as they were like blowing up ordinance. You know, they kept finding ordinance in these bunkers and they were just blowing up ordinance. So we were out there, you know, protecting them and we lost Bob and this is a real name, bob Roberts. We called him Bob, bob and you know I stood out front of our barracks and I was listening to Swing Low, swing Chariot, the Beyonce version from the Fighting Temptations, on little CD player.
Speaker 2:You know that's what we had back then and I just I bawled out, like you know, because I was, I was genuinely scared, I was like shit, he ain't coming back back. And there's a good chance that, you know, because we were maybe just barely over, we were just over about halfway through the deployment and I was like I still got time here and I do a lot of convoys as the welder, I do a lot of convoys. I'm like crap. So, yeah, that one hits and then that one, that one hits and then you know, it still hits, cause yeah, Coming back here.
Speaker 1:Man, it probably drove you nuts. I know it drove me nuts. Whenever people would ask me where I was and I would say Mosul. And, because of the news, everything they would label as Baghdad. They'd be like they would say oh well, it sounds like you were in a safe place. There's no safe place.
Speaker 2:I was in Haditha Dam for a while. I was there with the Israeli army and shout out to the Israeli army because good Lord, like they, everybody goes with them.
Speaker 1:Like like they don't mess around.
Speaker 2:No, they don't mess around, they're quiet. And what messed me up was, let me tell you, they had these funny helmets or whatever. But what messed me up right is I'm going to hit Haditha Dam. I was doing some welding over there. I don't remember what I was welding. I was building something over there and these gorgeous women were just walking around in uniform and I'm 23. I'm like who are they?
Speaker 2:And the guys were like, they were like, dude, that's the Israeli army. I'm like the women. They were like, yes, I was like good God, they just walk around, fine, they just act gorgeous like that, you know. So, uh, that was hilarious to me, you know, and I spent, um a number of months at haditha dam. Um, I don't remember what I did, but I just remember I was there building stuff and every time I walk around I'm like, oh, I'm so married, though so married Little did. I know I could have cheated, it would have been just fine.
Speaker 1:Man, people don't people. I can't tell you how many people I knew that left to go to war, do something honorable, and then when they came home they didn't have the white picket fence. They they lost themselves. While they were there.
Speaker 1:I had a couple of guys that begged me at the end of the deployment. They said I want to extend, just keep me here. And it come to find out, like when I started thinking about it and started asking them more questions. The reason was was because, you know, when I left, I had the house, I had the kids, I had the dog, I had the white picket fence. But now when I go home, I've got to talk to a divorce attorney, I've got to move in with my parents.
Speaker 1:My stuff is in storage right now, Like I have to face the music and that's that's something people don't think about, man. It's like when you come home, things aren't always the same. People here went to spring break, people here live their lives, but you and I, we were trying to stay alive, like trying to avoid IEDs, trying to avoid rockets and mortars and things like that, and that's what we did for a year, and that's that's crazy, man. Like just to just to put it in that perspective and I try to get people to understand that about me the most. Maurice, I wanted to ask you because I'm sure there's other creatives out there that are interested in break into the entertainment industry, especially those with connections or those without a clear starting point or any connections yet.
Speaker 2:Okay. So just like I tell anybody with acting step one, take classes. A lot of people say that I even thought this before I started acting. I have a great personality, I'm funny, I'm charming, I could be an actor. It takes more than just being funny and charming and all that. You got to take some classes.
Speaker 2:Another thing, too, is do research on people and find a mentor, and it might be a mentor that doesn't even know that they're mentoring you. And I say this because a couple of people that secretly mentored me that didn't know they were mentoring me Will Smith, he secretly mentored me, he doesn't know it. Chadwick Boseman I was following Chadwick Boseman, I was following. So basically, what I mean by that is, the path to success has been laid out by numerous, numerous actors, numerous people in whatever the field is. Find that person who you would like, whose career you would like to emulate, even maybe surpass, and just start where they started. I was looking into the schools where Chadwick Boseman had studied at British American Arts, I don't know, but it's, that's right. British Arts Drama Academy. I think that's what it is, but it's it. Oh, that's right, british arts drama academy. I think that's what it is, but it's. It's actually in London and I I wanted to go there I couldn't afford to go there, but I wanted.
Speaker 2:I was a dad too. I couldn't just go by this point. But, um, yeah, you know, do your research, Don't let people scam you. Um, and and do take classes. And if you're not sure and I say this very honestly to people if you're not sure what to do, my DMs are open. If you don't know, I'll let you know free of charge, like, hey, that's stupid. Don't do that. They're trying to scam you. You'll end up missing your kidney. Don't do that. I'm like come on. So yeah, I'm very open to help people.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, i'm't be afraid to give advice to people. Talk about your failures, your wins, your trials and tribulations, all that stuff. Man, try to create a clear path for the generation behind you.
Speaker 2:I feel like that is a huge uh role to take on for folks and I appreciate you saying that, like the mentorship side of it and your willingness to help others out over the um, I think you know, and it's this is gonna sound really cliche and I'll just make it quick but I think the world and not just the world, but specifically our kids, you know, I think our kids need heroes, somebody to look up to, um, but human heroes meaning somebody who's fallen down. I've been to jail when I was a kid, between the ages of 17 and 20, I went to jail a couple of times, but that's not where I ended up in life, just humans trying to figure it out.
Speaker 2:So if I can save somebody some time and some heartache, if I can save someone some time by, you know, telling them my story and showing them the path that I took, I am so willing to do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think the best advice I've given someone before that's fallen down is I will tell them like look, this situation doesn't define you, Like your book is not finished yet. This is just a chapter of your entire book. So some people feel like, oh man, I really messed up. My world just crashed down on top of me and I don't feel like I can be like this situation, this, whatever it is that you're going through, it doesn't define you. You know, and people need to remember that.
Speaker 2:You're still breathing, Like literally again, the bar for me is death. I'm still breathing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so true over the over the years. Um, who have you looked up to in the industry or in just life in general?
Speaker 2:um, I would say if I had to say I looked up to anybody, I would say um, I would say probably viola davis. I would say viola davis, I would say Viola Davis. I got a chance to work with her on the First Lady. She was playing Michelle Obama and she and I worked together.
Speaker 2:It was a pretty physical scene and she walked into the set and I felt like I could have been misinterpreted. I could have saw it wrong. But I felt like I could have been misinterpreted. I could have saw it wrong, but I felt like she was uncertain or unsure of what. You know what we're going to do with in the scene because we're boxing. And I immediately said to her hey, miss V, I got you, we're going to make this work.
Speaker 2:And the fact that I was able to see her vulnerability, knowing that she is who she is, like dude, that's Viola. It let me know that just because you up here, you're still a human, you're still a person. Literally everything starts with the idea of human humanity. Start with that, start with humanity, start with empathy and humanity. And you know, I learned that from her and that sort of eased the pressure off of me to um, that I had to be this. You know, I had to know it all and do it all if I wanted to make it. No, you know, and I I'd look up to her, I look up to her career and how hard she fights for herself and and, um, yeah. So I would say Viola, she don't even know this, like I was, I'm very much inspired by her and her story.
Speaker 1:That's interesting, maurice. What's one message you want your audience, fans and followers to remember you by?
Speaker 2:That if I. If there was one thing, one message that I want people to take from me, is that if you see that I did it, and if you see that I can do it, then you can too. There is no difference between between you and me. Again, everything stems in humanity and empathy. So if I can do it, you can do it. So just nike that thing and just do it Just execute right. Just execute you see your goal you identify, your target, execute, that's it, that way.
Speaker 1:So what's over the horizon for Maurice? Anything exciting that we should be watching out for man?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, yes. As you know, I'm heavily recurring on CBS's Beyond the Gates. I play Randy Parker there. So if anybody wants to check out a soap opera which I was shocked, I'm on a soap opera, you know check that out, randy Parker. I am currently in the works of writing well, co-writing, co-producing and starring in an action thriller called Labor Day, so we're working on that. I have two horror films coming out this this year as well, as I'll be doing an episode of Stranger Things that comes out season 5, so I'll be in Stranger Things season 5 playing military. So there's that. So there's a few things. It comes out in season five, so I'll be in Stranger Things season five. So I'm playing military. So there's that. So there's a few things. I tell everybody just and I don't mean to sound like that, but Google, Because I be forgetting sometimes, you know, and then go check out my catalog. Go check out like, oh gosh, I didn't know that was you back in the day, it was me, it was that guy.
Speaker 1:Wow, man, you're a busy man. You got so many movies coming out and whatnot. I don't know how you do it all, man, but and be a father and and, first and foremost, that's, that's the most important thing. Before we round out the episode, I just wanted to ask man, do you have anything else that you want to mention that I didn't mention during this podcast?
Speaker 2:Um, you know what? One thing I definitely want to mention is that I want to say thank you to everybody that sat with us and watched, and I just want to say thank you to you for actually taking the time to sit with me, work with me on my tech here and my sound, and we did the best we could do and just to give me an opportunity to talk about a little bit about my story about the military and just bring a little bit more light. So I just want to say thank you to that, thank you to CBS, thank you to Betty Diaz. Betty Diaz she is was with Paramount Veterans Network and she is very, very, very big on helping veterans and bringing attention. So just much love to her and thank you. But thank you as well.
Speaker 1:No man, I'm honored. I'm honored and I was surprised when I got a message back from you, Like I was not expecting that at all, man, and I appreciate you representing the veteran community as well. I think a lot of times, the further we get away from 9-11, Afghanistan and Iraq, I feel like we're sort of fading into the fog a little bit. So it's great to meet someone like yourself, man that's been there and has real life experience with an incredible I'd say we had an incredible last 20 years man when we were in both those wars. So, Maurice, thank you, it's been an honor and I'm blessed man, and sharing your story and your honesty in your heart and your journey is a powerful reminder, with focus, faith, fearless creativity, the idea that anything is possible For those listening. Make sure you follow Maurice on Instagram. Maurice, are you also on other social media accounts as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, literally everything is Maurice P Carey.
Speaker 1:That's M-A-U-R-I-C-E-P-K-E-R-Y on all social media. Okay, and then make sure you stay locked in with everything he has coming up as well. He's a busy man. He's got several movies coming out this year. He's got more on the horizon. Maurice, thank you so much. It's been an absolute pleasure. I mean, we really went down certain little short rabbit holes about the military and going to war and everything, and for everyone else out there, I want you to stay tuned, stay focused and stay motivated. Warriors fall out.