Meet Wayne Smith Jr. of WsmithProductions in Santa Monica

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wayne Smith Jr.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
First of all, I want to Thank God for everything. If it wasn’t for his Grace I wouldn’t be who I am today. Working in the film industry wasn’t my original dream. I had hoop dreams as a child, had my eyes set on trying to become an NBA player. My old AAU coach at that time was working in the Film industry on the side. One weekend after our Tournament she asked me if I ever thought about being an actor. I said no but I’ve always had a love for movies/tv shows. She then invited me to play a Featured Role In this Television Series named, “Game of Silence”.

When I got there, I was completely blown away. The atmosphere, the people, the whole experience I just fell in love with it. Even tho I was only 16 at the time I made some great connections & booked myself on the Netflix Original film, “Candy Jar” in which I also played a Featured Role. I was working on that Production for over two months. One day on set as I was walking to Hair/Makeup, the person in charge looked at me & said I have a word for you later on, don’t forget to remind me. So when lunch time came around I saw him & went & asked him what was it that he wanted to tell me. He looked at me again & said, “Your gonna be great in this Industry. Idk what or why I’m telling you this but your going to do amazing things & Win many awards just stay focused & don’t let a No stop your hustle. Keep going strong & Keep God first & you will succeed. This had me shook no lie.

For someone who has worked with A-list Celebrities such as,” Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Will Smith, Cuba Gooding Jr, Martin Lawrence, etc…. to look at me & say that really sparked something inside of me. Ever since that day I’ve been going hard at this dream & the results are starting to pay off. I booked my first minor role last year in the upcoming movie, “Just Mercy”. I will be playing Jamie Foxx’s Nephew in the film. So through God, My old AAU coach, & the Support of my family I have been able to do a lot of things in this industry already & it’s only the beginning.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Getting to where I am now, the road has been rough. I remember when I first started I was working a part-time job at Sparkles Skating Rink in Lawrenceville GA & was making minimum wage barely getting any hours. From where I lived at the time to Atlanta GA was about an hour & 30 min drive. There was more times than I can count where I only had 5-8 dollars for gas getting there & back. Every time I got booked I was always worried that I wouldn’t be able to make it back home with what I had in my tank but I didn’t let that stop me. Shoutout to Honda for making very fuel Efficient cars because that’s the only reason why I made it back home many times. That was very discouraging & many times I thought about just giving it up. There were times where I wouldn’t get booked on anything at all for weeks – Months & I’d just be sitting asking God is this really for me?

The last major bump I’ve come across was a car accident I got into last year. I had to get 12 stitches above my right eye & the way how it healed I thought I wouldn’t be able to get booked for anything ever again. It was a battle of the mind trying to get over that. & even still sometimes I find myself dealing with that Doubt. I just have to always remind myself that I am destined for Greatness & that God has plans to bless & put you in positions to be successful as long as you stay true to him. Thanks to a couple of friends of mine, James Lampkin, Chris McCormick, Matthew Harvey, Tyrese Jennings; my Family, Wayne a Smith Sr, Paula Davis Smith, & Abigail Smith, & of course God I was able to get past a lot of those things & continue to today. Whenever your being elevated to the next level you are required to go through certain things in order to prepare yourself for what’s to come. So these people have been influential in my growth & continue to help through the Hard Times.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My ultimate goal is to be the Next Tyler Perry but in my own way. I don’t want to have any Limitations to my creativity & to the ideas I want to bring to life. At this current moment, I am A Scriptwriter/Producer & Working on adding Director to that as well. I’m in the final stages of writing my first Feature Film called Reputation. The story is about a Pastors Child & his Journey to finding himself being stuck in the middle of two different lifestyles. I am very excited about this film as it is very personal to me, with me being a Pastors Child myself. A lot of the battles I’ve had to overcome will be shown in this film so I can’t wait to see the impact it will have.

I’m also working on a children’s book/series called, “The Adventures of Ace & Abby” The story is revolves around 2 African American kids who travel the world with their parents looking at national landmarks in history. They are both superheroes as well. The villain in the show is on a mission to destroy all the landmarks & the young heroes save the day while teaching the viewers/ readers about the landmark that they are at. I am very excited about both of these projects as they will really showcase & set the tone for how versatile I want to be as a writer. That is what will set me apart from others, my creativity & originality, & my faith. My most proudest moment so far as a writer is being invited to the Writers room for an upcoming show on the CW. I can’t say what the show is yet due to contract negotiations but I helped write four episodes so that was huge for me.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is not determined by how much money you have or how famous you are; Success is you going out chasing your dreams & aspirations & overcoming the obstacles of doubt, fear, procrastination & being the best version of yourself. That’s true success. For myself, I have a high Criteria only because I feel like if it isn’t high then I’ll settle & settling is not a good thing. There’s always another level to reach & more knowledge to gain so I set the bar for myself high always. I want to always show people the goodness of God Just how he showed me, that’s success to me. I want to make Opportunity’s for the people I know in bad situations or lifestyle with big dreams, that’s success to me. There a lot of things I want to accomplish & with my support team & God keeping me in check I love having a high standard for myself.

Contact Info:

• Phone: 7703803630
• Email: [email protected]

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