We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Malachi Beasley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Malachi below.

Malachi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Neither. Before I used to beat myself up about how late I came into the craft. I felt inadequate as an artist because I had been in the military for 6 years and I was afraid that I wasn’t “vulnerable enough”. This haunted me through undergrad all the way through grad school. I think the logic in my head was ” Every one will think I don’t care or dislike me because of something I had to do”. Some of it rang true but most of it was just an idea in my head and when I finally moved through my own insecurities I stopped beating myself up and decided to be the artist I dreamed of. I think I needed to have started late. It helped me gain life experience. It help me gain grace and empathy for others needs. I had seen how shitty some of my old leadership made people feel . I knew what it felt like to be an athlete in college who didn’t have social outlets outside of “being an athlete”. Ultimately all these things are what have me a point of view, an opinion. I now know I was participating in art, it was just disguised it as my attempt to fit into the solider mold, memorizing football plays, wearing the costume of the hood I was in. All the shit I was participating in was very real and I was very much in that world and present to it allowing things that were important to effect me. Those are stakes, I had an objective and a super objective. It was to find myself. What better time to start then today. I can say tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow or I can dwell on yesterday, everyday I make the choice to start again.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an artist. First I dabbled in piano for like 2 years. It was a way for me an my friend to find a distraction from the constant labels imposed on us. I found my way to acting on the food court of Mount Miguel High school. I was a junior at the time and all I wanted to do is play college football for San Diego State University. I remember joking with a bunch of the homies (really just observing the jokes cause I couldn’t crack one to save my life) And a teacher came up to me by the name of Mr. Gomes. He was the theatre teacher and he was like “we’re looking for someone to play Malcom X in our upcoming production” and I remember being like “I’m looking for a D1 scholarship.” Long story short he handed me the script and said read it. I stayed up reading it and marking it up and just thought Oh this is fun homework research but I can’t actually do the production. I remember giving him back the script and he was like ‘dude you already did 90 percent of the work, just showing up.’ The next thing I know I’m balancing football practice and memorizing lines in between reps. After high school I failed my first year of college not cause I didn’t apply myself but because my transportation fail through. I join the military after that, then deployed to Guantanamo Bay Cuba. While I was deployed to GITMO I remember thinking damn do people not realize if they communicate like human being to other human beings both people would probably get what they need from each other. This was based on the interactions I watched with detainees and my fellow soldiers. Don’t get me wrong my unit was very respectful in comparison to other units but the way some things got handled made me realize how much trauma was stored in their bodies. I realized that I didn’t want that kind trauma stored in mine so I started my journey as an actor.

As an artist, to me, the highest thing you can do is inspire. My job is to make everyone on set, backstage and writers lives easy. Do the job, find what speaks to me and find a way to hold it with care, never clinching too tight to an idea of story.

I’m most proud of getting my Master’s degree from the Yale school of Drama. I’m the first male in m family to hold a bachelors so to me already reached what I wanted, everything else has been a treat and I try to approach it all as if for the first time and the last time. I recently finished a Kathryn Bigelow movie and I felt that the biggest take away was being able to connect to people on set. From that set I’m now friends with a bunch of people from all walks of life and collaborating with a PA I met to actualize a short film I’ve always dreamed of making. Seams is about a collegiate football player moving through grief during an off season practice. If wanna learn more follow me on insta don’t be a stranger.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

All about love and The Will to change by Bell Hooks for love ethics. The Toa Te Ching and 50 letters for a stoic.

A love ethics is what I do my best to model. Antithetical to a work ethic it centers community first and Bell Hooks feminist approach feel practical in doing the work necessary to actually formulate a strong work ethic that doesn’t break your mental health as a man. The Will the change has been pivotal in helping me understand how difficult it is to actually change in a world that clings to stereotypes.

The Toa Te Ching brings ease to the stoicism I use to navigate difficult conversations. And Stoicism in its truest form isn’t running from your feelings but giving yourself the time to meditate on them. I think these two elements give me the ability to allow what is in the moment and make critical decsions without it costing my sanity.

Also the subtle art of not giving a fuck and green lights by Matthew McConaughey

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think understanding that everything doesn’t have to be perfect. That by supporting the experimental you are giving room for you to explore weird things to be a little different and that maybe that weird thing will become something that you actually like. It took thousands of no’s for us to get a Spike Lee or a Marvin Gaye. It takes the time it takes to keep pushing against the status quo until you find something consistent in your work worth exploring. Keep supporting your local weirdo and your family optimist. Whatever they find might help you move through pain and joy you never thought you needed the help moving through.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://newyorklivearts.my.salesforce-sites.com/donate/?dfId=a0nVt000009Z6ISIA0
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malachibeasley_/

Image Credits

natalie anne powers