We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Howard Calvert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Howard thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

So the first time I got paid for my craft was on my very first project, Race War: The Remake. It was invigorating! I had heard of so many artist that said they never got paid until after some years, it felt great to come right in and make some money. I remember it like it was yesterday! I had just went thru a break up and I was looking for a change of scenery from everything! I remember laying across the bed browsing Craigslists,i saw this ad that said they were looking for a black guy,6 ft or taller, with tattoos and comfortable wearing a tank top and a durag. I remember laughing like you gotta be kidding me right. But I came across this about 2 or 3 more times then I finally decided to open it up and see what exactly they wanted this guy to do. it was an ad for the lead role in an independent film. I shot my shot but I was told that the role was already filled. I remember thinking to myself, its only filled because they hadn’t met me yet. so I responded with some of the things I did in theatre arts in school, like playing Danny in Grease. So I must have said something ng that caught their attention because we kept communicating, by the end of the night I was asked to come in for an audition. That’s really when Actor Howard Calvert was born.

Howard, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ok where do I start? My name is Howard Calvert, Im an actor, I own a small business in reselling shoes, and I have my own non profit. I have always been the class clown, the one wanting to make everyone laugh. As soon as I was old enough to take theatre arts I was in there. I also took theatre arts for 2 years in college. I remember back in the day when I use to ride Metro(public transportation) and I would literally go straight to the back of the bus where it was packed, i would start a conversation with some people. Once they were engaged in conversation with me, i would unleash the laughter! I love entertaining people at cookouts and get togethers, even on set behind the scenes. I was cutting jokes at the hospital in labor and delivery during the birth of my children. As far as my business,Throwd Vizionz,that was deprived from my love for sneakers. I saw the market for reselling shoes and I wanted in lol. Now the fun part is the philanthropy! From the moment I became a single parent I was embedded in their education and everything surrounding it. I became PTO President of my kids school for like 3 or 4 years. I loved that so much. We did so much for the school and the students. I asked my grandmother around Thanksgiving,what more could I do? She told me to look around me and make a difference. So we ended up sponsoring like 4 families from the school with full meals for Thanksgiving. We did similar for Christmas as well. After the first year of my tenure, I started The Howard Calvert Foundation For Hunger. We have held Walks to feed the homeless, back to school drives,commun its Easter egg hunts and we have even dabbled in disaster recovery after Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect would be putting smiles on peoples faces. Laughter and smiles feed and fuel the soul. I Love making people laugh and feel good about any situation. I love being able to step out of my life for a while to entertain someone else.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal or mission is to help as many people as we can, one person at a time. Simply put like that.

Contact information:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/actorhowardcalvert?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howard-calvert-aa945870
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/howardcalvert