Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Omari.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born and raised an only child in Cleveland, Ohio. I grew up in the Kinsman neighborhood of the cities Eastside which is a rough area, but this is where I grew up for the earliest part of my childhood. My Great-Great Uncle Marion Motley was a Hall Of Fame running back for the Cleveland Browns, who in 1946 was a pioneer alongside three other African-Americans to be the first to successfully integrate into the NFL.
I was motivated by my uncle to play football and pursue a career in sports. I played football for PAL 6 Red Dogs, a police athletic league team that practiced in the fields next to the local recreation center Zelma George. Playing football to me was like the only to keep me out of trouble every summer. My Great-Grandmother whose house I stayed over whenever my parents had to work late always watched Entertainment Tonight, and this is where I saw people in the limelight and living a different lifestyle than what I saw in reality. I wanted that for my life, and my grandmother would watch that television show every night along with her soap operas in the day. I went on and studied acting and performed on stage at the historically African-American Theatre called The Karamu House. I took to summer acting programs there and performed at other professional theatre’s in Ohio. My first stage play was “A Raisin In The Sun” where I portrayed the role of Travis.
My mother got her film degree from Cleveland State University and she casted me as one of her leading roles for her senior thesis called “Benjamin” in which she was honored the 10th anniversary filmmaker Award from the astounding African-American Women In Cinema. Benjamin was my first movie role. I was only fifteen when I moved to Tarzana, CA from Cleveland, Ohio wanting a better lifestyle. I graduated from Taft High school in Woodland Hills, CA only pursuing a career in football, which lead to me moving to South Florida to train with my uncle that coaches football and also trains professional athletes. I moved to Florida when I was 18 years old and moved back to California when I was 21 but during the time in between those years, I went to Palm Beach State College planning to transfer and play football at Florida Atlantic University. I did not eventually play football at FAU but I also had the passion of acting still and asked one of my classmates how to start acting in Florida since I wasn’t playing college football. I took acting classes at the Acting School of South Florida and The Actors Workshop of South Florida and eventually got casted as a recurring Extra on the first season of the USA Network TV show called Graceland. This was my first TV appearance. I was still attending college classes and shooting Graceland at the time and had to make a decision on taking my final or shooting another episode of Graceland. I chose to take my final because my dream was to play college football and play professionally.
The route I was taking towards fulfilling my football dreams were long and full of adversity. I was only 20 years old at the time but I started taking acting more seriously. This would be a big year for me because this is where I shot majority of the films I can be seen in today. I visited my family in Ohio over the summer and got a call to be a football player in a movie called Underdogs and became a stuntman doing football scenes. This was my first time on a major motion picture. I became good friends with the stunt coordinator and they liked my professionalism because I took football seriously and that’s what I planned on making my career once I moved back to Florida. Once I got back to Florida, I signed up for Backstage.com and submitted frequently to projects and also checked project casting for any open calls. There was a casting for a new Arkansas football movie called “Greater” which I thought I was the perfect fit for and sent in an audition tape. I never got any feedback, and I thought that opportunity to be in that film was over, but one night I just hit up my stunt coordinator from the previous movie I shot. I talked casual with him then he asked me if I wanted to help him with stunts in an Arkansas football movie. I told him I just submitted for that movie and would love to be apart of it just as a team member. The funny thing is I was only an extra in that movie but there is one scene I improvised lines which became apart of the film.
During my filming in Arkansas, my mother who made her way into Hollywood as an Assistant Director was working on an Independent film called “And Then There Was You” which stars Garcelle Beauvais, Leon, and Brian J. White. I was casted for my first speaking role alongside Garcelle. That was an amazing time to fly to Hollywood to shoot one film and fly back to Arkansas to finish shooting another. When I landed back in Florida after finishing two projects at the same time, I had confidence that this was a career and something I could be successful at. I then booked my biggest role on an independent film that same year in Houston, Texas called Flashes which is releasing a director’s cut May 2020 on Prime Video. After I shot the movie Flashes, I ended up moving back to California to pursue college football once again and graduated from Los Angeles Valley College. I’m 21 at the time I moved back to California from Florida with hopes to finish school and actually play college football. Two years later, I am working with my mother again on an independent film called “Where Children Play” that was available to watch on Netflix where friends and family could recognize me. I never officially signed with an agent and I’ve always went on auditions to book roles and it was a blessing to be able to work on projects with my mom, which in the future I would love to continue doing. After shooting those projects and some short projects on the side to build up my demo reel, I decided to Walk On at a division 2 football program on the campus of Henderson State University in Arkansas.
At the late age of 24, I finally was able to have a college experience I wanted since childhood, even though it wasn’t one of the top football programs. I went on to practice with the team and was also initiated into Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity inc. My membership in the fraternity cost my football dreams because it was a rule that football players couldn’t pledge a fraternity during the fall semester. I wanted to have a full college experience, and I sacrificed my football dreams because of it. I lost my passion and my focus in school and eventually dropped out of the university because I didn’t have a reason to continue academically and I couldn’t afford it. May 2019, I moved back to California to pursue only acting and I have been auditioning as well as taking acting classes to prepare myself for the next opportunity. A year later it is May 2020 now, I have matured as a man, I’ve dealt with a lot of adversity and my story is one to never give up on your dreams, no matter what. Acting is something that I’ve always wanted to do as a kid and something that I will never let go. It’s apart of my and I will continue to work on myself and the craft of acting so I can work professionally again.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is long ruff and rugged, but it takes a hell of a man to make it on through. I’ve been told no plenty of times, I’ve dealt with insecurities about myself and my own acting abilities, I’ve never had an agent to submit me to projects nor have I had the best headshots taken by a professional photographer. I’m still the same kid from Cleveland that grew up struggling with no money, job, and just a dream but I won’t give up on myself which is making me stronger. I had a couple of good years where I filmed and was working but it’s so tough when you’re not booking jobs or acting. The process that I deal with is just knowing I’m enough and belong here. I work odd jobs that I do not want to do but I have to provide for myself, and I don’t want to identify myself with a job other than being a working actor if you ask me what do I do for work.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moments of my career have been just being able to achieve my goals. It’s a dream of mine to watch myself on screen or on television and to be able to accomplish that in the smallest aspect is something to be proud of. It may sound arrogant or conceited, but to be able to visualize and manifest your life is powerful, and something to be proud of. As an only, I only wanted to make my parents proud, or my family proud conducting with respectful manners. I’m still wanting to accomplish much more for myself and I’m feel that I can and I’m not done yet, the show isn’t over.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @AnthonyOmari
- Facebook: Anthony Omari
- Twitter: @AnthonyOmari
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