It may sound corny, but I owe all my success in life to my ambitious mother, the woman who didn’t hesitate to raise me on her own and always inspired me to reach for the stars – even when When life made it tough.
Growing up, I never understood friends who said they wanted to be doctors or lawyers because their parents said so, or because it was the practical thing to do for financial stability. That was never my reality. my mother Always Made me believe that I can be whatever I want to be – just as long as it makes me happy. Despite juggling the tough responsibilities of being a single parent, he followed her own advice and worked as a background actor in Hollywood. Simply because she imagined that she could and acted upon it.
She may not know it, but that determination is the main reason she is one of my biggest inspirations.
My mother, Angela McKnight, who is from our hometown of Baltimore, graduated from Morgan State University in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She later became a case worker and medical social worker in the field of healthcare, inter alia. It’s not exactly the career path you’d predict for an aspiring actor, but she tells me that at age 35, about five years after I was born, she decided she wanted to “try something different.” wants.”
“I wanted to try something new. I felt like I was at a crossroads in my life.”
About pursuing acting, she says, “It was something that just occurred to me.” “I wanted to try something new. I felt like I was at a crossroads in my life. But with me trying to pursue acting and working as an extra in several films Was.” [as a mom], I didn’t have the flexibility I needed so I didn’t travel. While I was doing this, movies were coming into town, so I’d work on them, or I’d go out and try to get opportunities to work on them.”
In May 2002, an acting opportunity came in Baltimore – a film that would later become known as “Head of State”, Chris Rock’s directorial debut. And, as my mother has told me over and over again throughout my life, I helped her secure it. “I went to a casting call, and they had a [Security Square] Mall, I remember going with you,” she says. “I didn’t have a babysitter, so I took you along. And when we got there, the line was outside the door; It was too long. I thought, ‘You know what, there’s no way I can put you in line because that’s what I’m trying to do.’ And just as I was about to walk away, one of the production assistants comes in — because you start whining — and he tells us to go to the front of the line and take my picture.
Image source: Angela McKnight
After my mom did that — with me right next to her off-camera — she went to a casting director who told her, “We’ll see you on set.” Fast forward to that summer, he officially worked on his first major motion picture as a background actor. She would later go on to work as an extra in other films such as “Ladder 49,” “The Invasion,” “Shooter,” and “Live Free or Die Hard,” which starred such big names as Nicole Kidman, Bruce Willis, Daniel Names included. Craig, John Travolta, and Mark Wahlberg, to name a few. He also starred in TV shows such as HBO’s “The Wire” and “We Own This City,” as well as Netflix’s “House of Cards.”
Needless to say, my mom has lived a life. One who inspired me to be fearless and determined just like him. Although she took a long hiatus between 2007 and her most recent acting credits (2013 and 2022) to continue her career in healthcare and, of course, Grown Me, she says she’s got acting credits beyond her handful. No regrets for not doing it. background roles.
She said, “I loved being in the setting, the atmosphere. I never really felt discouraged because it always seemed like I’d always have the opportunity to do a little part.” “If I wanted it bad enough, I would have gone ahead with it, but I just didn’t. As a parent, my primary thing was making sure my child was taken care of properly.”
My mother always dared to dream – and still does – even when her circumstances as a single mother didn’t make room for it. I couldn’t be more proud of the example she set for me on my own, and I’d say she’s equally proud of how they turned out. “Now I am being interviewed by my daughter, who is a celebrity journalist,” she smiles proudly.
Read on to know more about some of his true Hollywood stories as an extra.