We were lucky to catch up with Roderick Davis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Roderick , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on recently is a show called “About Him”. About Him centers around five friends who are dealing with life’s challenges, as they try to navigate love, life and the ever changing dynamics of their relationships with one another. I play the role of JaMicheal. A married man on the brink of divorce, as he finally decides to explore his sexuality and embark on a new journey that has devastating consequences. I was reluctant to take the part because some of the themes hit a little to close to home, than I realized, as an actor these types of roles are rare. I had an opportunity to truly sink my teeth into a role that not only spoke to me, but that could potentially save lives and help other people see themselves.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is when someone is moved by something I have created. Whether they laugh, cry or become upset by something I wrote or visually created, that’s a massive win to me. (Well, as long as they aren’t laughing at something I intended to be dramatic and moving, or crying at something I wanted to be funny, or upset because they wasted their time reading or watching something I made.) If I can move someone by my words or something that I created that’s up on the screen, that’s the greatest compliment I can receive, and that keeps me going and wanting to create more. I will never forget when we screened ‘Together” at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival – one of the first festivals where we screened. The movie was intended to be emotionally heart-rending. I was sitting in the audience as it screened, and I looked across the aisle at two big, strong middle-aged men – and they were crying unashamedly. It’s hard enough for men to cry anytime in our society, but to do so in public? Wow. That was a truly moving and rewarding for me, because I knew that what I created was hitting people the way I intended.

I also love being able to take all of the artistic aspects of my personality and history – story telling in writing, music, and photography/cinematography for visuals – and pull them together to create a wonderful piece of art. And to be able to use the skills I learned in my MBA program and career in business to plan and manage a project on set so we achieve results with zero drama.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist to me, is the ability to simply be myself. Growing up in south central Los Angeles, in the 90’s and 2000’s, was challenging. I often struggled to fit in, but when I discovered the stage. It changed my life. For the first time I found a space where I was celebrated, and encouraged to be myself. I didn’t have to pretend or hide who I was. I could be as silly, random and insane as I wanted to be. It’s helped me grow not only as an artist but as person. All the things I saw as negative about myself, I learned were actually benefits. My ability to morph into different characters, and become emotionally invested was something that would often shock me, but I now know it was destiny. I was always meant to be on the stage, it’s where I feel most at home, and most like myself.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I booked my first national stage tour at 21. This was a musical that had been worked shopped for 4 years before we finally got an opportunity to go on tour. I dropped out of college and quit my job, because I thought this was “my moment”, this was “it”, it was finally happening. After four year of auditions from everyone from Broadway producers , and even having Bruce Willis and Cedric The Entertainer attached at one point, the tour only lasted 6 months, and than it was over. I had no money saved, no job and no idea what to do with my life. I decided in the fall of 2008, to go back to college. It wasn’t my plan to ever go back to school, but I needed something different. The devastation of the previous two years was insurmountable, but I knew I had to do something. I knew the life I so desperately wanted, was going to come a very high price tag, and in order to get there, I had to be willing to adjust and pivot, even in the midst of uncertainty. Life doesn’t stand still, it doesn’t wait until you figure it out, so I learned to just try, to keep going, and hope in time, the pieces would eventually fall into place. I actually needed that experience. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roderickdontedavis/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100003801100758
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Talented_Davis
• TikTok: @fakeasstayediggs

Image Credits
Sean