We’re looking forward to introducing you to Charlie T Savage. Check out our conversation below.
Charlie T, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Right now, I’m being called to step into spaces where diversity is often missing and bring my full self there. In the past, I hesitated because I wasn’t sure if my voice would be accepted or if I’d be seen as out of place. But now, especially as the 2025 Best TV Pilot Winner of the LA International Diversity Initiative Competition, I feel both the responsibility and the confidence to show up. I want to use this moment to not just take up space, but to create it, for other Black women, for veterans, for voices that aren’t usually heard in these rooms. It’s no longer about fear, it’s about purpose.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Charlie T. Savage, and I’m a Los Angeles–based screenwriter, producer, and founder of Charlie Bit Me Joints, my independent production company. I create thrilling, funny, and unapologetic stories that highlight the Black female experience while weaving in my Southern Gothic roots from New Orleans. I’m also a Navy veteran, a mother, and an advocate for diversity in entertainment, which drives much of my work.
What makes my journey unique is how I blend my personal story, surviving Hurricane Katrina, navigating life as a disabled veteran, and raising my children, with my creative voice. I’m committed to shining a light on overlooked perspectives and creating spaces where stories that don’t often get told can thrive. Recently, I was honored as the 2025 Winner of the LA International Screenplay Awards Diversity Initiative Competition, and I’m currently working on multiple projects, including a Southern Gothic thriller series and a feature film, as well as preparing for the Ms. Black California USA 2026 competition, where I’ll be using spoken word as my talent.
At the heart of everything I do is the belief that creativity is a form of power and healing, and my goal is to inspire others, especially young Black girls and women, to embrace their own voices and stories.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
I was 15, after surviving Hurricane Katrina. We had been evacuated from the Superdome and brought to Fort Worth, and I had started writing the beginnings of a novel about my experience on loosen leaf paper. I was ashamed of it, my misspellings, the incompleteness, the rawness of it all. A volunteer came to talk with us, and my father, who was usually such a hard man, handed him the pages I’d been working on while I was away in the bathroom and without my permission. When I came back and saw my scribbles in this random man’s hands, my heart dropped. In that moment, instead of criticizing me, my dad looked at me and said my words had power. He reminded me that even unfinished and imperfect, what I had lived through and was willing to one day share could help others who might be struggling. That was the first time I truly felt powerful, realizing that my voice and my story mattered.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that has held me back the most in life has been the fear of failure, so much so that for years I wouldn’t even start certain projects or chase opportunities because I was terrified of falling short. That changed when I read The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene, which taught me that fear itself is often a bigger enemy than failure. The book showed me that failure is information, not a verdict. That the things we fear most usually point us toward the areas we need to grow and that power comes from embracing reality as it is and moving boldly in spite of uncertainty. Internalizing those lessons gave me the courage to finally take risks, create unapologetically, and step into spaces I once thought weren’t meant for me.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
Hands down it is Phylicia Rashad. She’s always carried herself with such grace, soft-spoken, never forceful, yet her presence is undeniable. As a child, watching her on screen shaped my idea of what it meant to be a powerful Black woman. She raised me in many ways through her performances, and I wanted to be her when I grew up. It wasn’t about fame or authority, it was about the elegance, warmth, and quiet strength she embodied that made me feel seen and gave me someone to model myself after. A mother figure without even knowing it. I hope to work with her one day.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What light inside you have you been dimming?
It’s my ability to be unapologetically imaginative. I used to quiet the part of me that dreamed too big or told stories that felt “too strange” or “too risky” because I was afraid they wouldn’t fit into the industry’s boxes. But that imagination. The part of me that can take pain, humor, history, and even the surreal, and blend it into something new. That’s the light that sets me apart. I’m learning not to shrink it down to what feels safe, but to let it shine exactly as it is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.charlie-savage.com
- Instagram: @charlie.t.savage
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlieisavage/
Image Credits
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