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

Alright, Marcus thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

As a kid, I was drawn heavily to the world of fantasy, science fiction, and action. These genres resonated with what I found to be the best aspects of living, exploring the imagination. In elementary school, I remember coming to career day wearing a Hulkamania t-shirt, and I wore a Superman costume year around, even having jumped from our 2nd story window onto couch cushions below.

Marcus, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Marcus Nel-Jamal Hamm, a passionate creative, my way of combining my many titles which includes being an award winning actor, producer, professional wrestler, writer, and stunt performer. I was born in Washington DC, and raised in Prince George’s County Maryland, one of the most densely populated areas of affluent Blacks in America.

I grew up in a reality that reflected success and achievement. I received mentorship and tutelage from countless Black scholars starting with my own parents, Wilfred and Brenda Hamm, both having achieved their Masters in Sociology.

Because of them, I dared to dream, and following a nearly crippling car accident during college, I decided to venture into the world of professional wrestling to make up for having missed out on collegiate sports. At that time, in 1999, I only wanted to pursue a career in wrestling, with a dream of wrestling in Japan where favorites such as the late Hayabusa and Mitsahuru Misawa performed.

In 2000, almost immediately upon graduating wrestling school at Bonebrakers Academy, I was given my first major break with Urban Wrestling Alliance, which aired nationally on UPN where I was one half of the UWA Tag Team champions known as The Black Legion.

After the series ended, I returned to finish achieving my degree, and while taking theatre at the University of Maryland, College Park, my professor encouraged me to pursue a career in acting after seeing me perfom a scene from the play Chicago. I was asked to perfom before the entire student body which led to an inspirational reception.

From there, I sought representation, and landed my first major role on the 5th season of HBO’s The Wire, with a recurring feature role as Officer Marcus. At the same time, I produced my first television pilot Urban Empire Wrestling, hoping to revitalize the series concept that I was part of, but inspired by the Japanese style of more realistic storytelling. The project was vetted by Black Entertainment Television, but wasn’t greenlit.

In 2008, I moved to Los Angeles, and in 2009 I joined Knox Pro Wrestling, run by WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi along with Count Black Pearl, Reno Anoa’i. The Samoan Dynasty has been an integral part of my entire career, having been trained by Rocky Johnson (father of The Rock, Dwayne Johnson), who was head trainer for Urban Wrestling Alliance, and having worked to produce a reality series following the family of the late Afa Anoa’i, another WWE Hall of Famer.

In 2020, my focus shifted from acting to filmmaking, where I mostly focused on the superhero genre creating fan films which all have won multiple film festival awards including Best Fantasy Short of the Year from Indiex Fest as well as a 5 out of 5 star review and nomination for Short of the Year from Short Films Matter.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

To be a creative, you have to live a double life. The world is our reality, and when in it, you must fit the roles that are considered the norm. Not just in personality, but in daily cultures. Our creative journey requires us to work in the darkness, in our private time. Time that others use for rest or leisure, or taking on a second job. Some may see it as a distraction from enjoying this reality, but to us, we are entering other worlds and work to bring them to this one for others to enjoy.

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

My goal is to continue to strive for diversity and disability inclusion. We’re in a time now where that has become a political hot button, but just a I was born into a world of breaking boundaries, I intend to continue to until the end.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.urbanrenaissanceentertainment.com
• Instagram: @marcushammactor
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/reel/9355409904532119/?mibextid=Nif5oz
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcushamm?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@urbanrenaissanceentertainmentl?si=iNxi1sSPSuyEcqVG
• Other: https://www.imdb.me/marcusneljamalhamm

Image Credits

Kevin Boot Photography