and R&B, he performs in plays and movies, and he
is a budding screenwriter. Some call him a triple
Hollywood.
of show-business executives, so he's covering all bases
as if it's the bottom of the ninth. We caught up with
him in Dallas the night before
his debut performance in the
traveling stage play "Church
Folks...Will Send You To Hell."
When he's not showcasing his
talents on stage, you can find
him in the studio laying down
tracks. Some people might
remember Grant as the lead
singer of R&B group AZ Yet in
1997. In 2006, he was part of
the quartet known as Blayse.
These days, Grant is a recurring
cast member in most Tyler
Perry stage plays, but he counts
at least 20 movies and stage
plays among his credits. Grant
says he prefers performing
in stage plays because live
theatre allows him to showcase
his vocal and acting abilities
simultaneously. Today he
welcomes the challenge, but it
wasn't always that way.
singing was for girls," says
Grant, whose mother sang
backup for gospel great Shirley Caesar. So the Charlotte,
N.C. native focused on sports. When he won a football
scholarship to the University of Tennessee, Grant thought
the NFL would be his ticket to success. Grant soon
realized that he had natural talents for modeling and
singing. So, he turned his attention to those skills instead
of on the NFL. Now, fifteen years later, Grant knows the
entertainment business inside and out, and he has shared
stage and screen with some of the best in the business.
and Vivica Fox and actors Darren Henson and Mel
Jackson. He was signed to Kenny "Baby Face" Edmonds'
with music icons such as Stevie Wonder and BeBe Winans.
Stage and screen mogul Tyler Perry and Bishop T.D. Jakes
are a phone call away. But Grant credits deceased Rev.
David Payton for getting him his first role in "A Good
Man is Hard to Find."
their artists -- teaching them how to dance, how to
a voice coach," says Grant.
Today artists are expected to
be camera-ready while labels
are streamlined as primary
distributors. That's why Grant
advises budding actors to hone
their skills on stage in front of
live audiences. He encourages
anybody who aspires to be an
actor to do stage plays first,
"because stage plays help
you to capture the moment.
Stage plays ...sharpen your
tools. Going straight to film
will discredit you as an actor,"
says Grant.
just copy people. Be creative,"
advises Grant, adding that most
people in the entertainment
business try to duplicate what's
already being done instead
of studying what works then
developing their own style.
As in any industry, Grant says
budding thespians should
reading a book. He speaks like the seasoned 43-year-old
industry veteran that he is.
winding down, he's just getting started. Grant will travel
with "Church Folks" and will rejoin the cast of Perry's
traveling stage plays in the fall. He landed leading roles
in bio-pics about the lives of Marvin Gaye and James
Brown, both due out in 2013, and he'll start to co-direct
and co-produce some of his own movies. Yes, Grant is
getting older, but he also is getting better.