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Mahdi Cocci | From Navy to Netflix
183 Plays10 months ago
🎬 Mahdi Cocci's Inspiring Journey from Navy to Hollywood Stardom 🌟
Join us in this captivating episode of Forget About Money, where Mahdi Cocci, famously known for his roles in Tyler Perry's 'Bruh' and Netflix's 'The Lovebirds', shares his incredible transformation from a naval officer to a successful actor. 🌟
⚓ Chapters
0:00:00 Introduction to Mahdi Cocci's Journey
0:11:20 Naivety and Responsibility
0:22:08 Applying for Navy ROTC Scholarship
0:23:50 Changes in Navy ROTC Programs
0:25:37 Transition from Navy to Acting
0:25:43 Transition from Navy to LA Lifestyle
0:26:51 Breakthrough in Acting Career
0:29:43 Networking in Atlanta
0:35:39 Financial Struggles as a Young Actor
0:38:53 Overcoming Credit Card Debt
0:39:04 Payment Methods and Retirement Planning
0:45:45 Establishing an S-Corp for Tax Purposes
0:46:51 Retirement Account Options for Actors
0:51:07 Upcoming Projects in Acting Career
🎭 Long Summary
Mahdi Cocci, known for his dynamic presence in both Tyler Perry's "Bruh" and Netflix's "The Lovebirds", takes us through his fascinating story on Forget About Money.
From his early days in the Navy aboard the USS Tarawa to his bold leap into the acting world, Mahdi's journey is nothing short of inspiring.
He opens up about the significant transitions in his life, from his initial modeling gigs to prominent roles in shows like The Walking Dead and She-Hulk.
Mahdi also delves into the financial aspects of an actor's life, providing invaluable advice on managing finances, avoiding debt, and planning for a stable future.
His story of resilience, dedication, and wise financial choices is a must-listen for anyone aspiring to make it in the entertainment industry.
🌟 Brief Summary
In this episode of Forget About Money, Mahdi Cocci discusses his transition from a naval officer to a renowned actor.
We explore his journey from modeling to acting, emphasizing the importance of industry knowledge and financial wisdom.
Mahdi shares his experiences and collaborations with industry giants like Tyler Perry and offers crucial insights into managing finances and planning for retirement.
His story is a testament to the power of resilience and smart choices in navigating the complexities of the entertainment industry.
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#MahdiCocci, #ForgetAboutMoneyPodcast, #ActorLife, #FromNavyToActing, #HollywoodJourney, #FinancialWisdom, #ActingCareer, #SuccessStories, #TylerPerry, #NetflixOriginals, #ResilienceInActing, #EntertainmentIndustry, #CareerTransformation, #RetirementPlanning, #DebtFreeJourney, #FinancialIndependence, #ActorsLife, #Showbiz, #BehindTheScenes, #LifeLessons, #InspiringStories, #LAActor, #AtlantaActingScene, #SavingsForActors, #TaxTipsForActors, #wealthmanagement
🌟 Watch, listen, and be inspired as Mahdi Cocci unfolds his journey of transformation and success in the entertainment world.
Don't forget to subscribe to our channel @forgetaboutmoneypodcast and follow us on social media @forgetaboutmoney for more inspiring stories! 🌟
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Transcript
Introduction and Transition to Acting
00:00:00
Speaker
Today, Marikachi, star of Tyler Perry's bra and Netflix's The Lovebirds, shares his pursuit from naval officer to Hollywood and the ins and outs of actor earnings and financial planning. Here we go.
00:00:16
Speaker
Welcome to Forget About Money. Today, we've got a good friend of mine, Mati Kachi. I've known Mati probably for 20 plus years now, holy hell. And we first got acquainted in the Navy. We were on our first ship together, the USS Tarawa, LHA-1. He had come into the Navy with some passions that weren't Navy related, and then got the opportunity to actually pursue those passions in the early 2000s.
00:00:41
Speaker
Today, we're going to talk about his journey.
Mati's Early Influences and Acting Interest
00:00:44
Speaker
We're going to talk about his financial journey and we're going to talk about his advice that he would give young budding actors trying to make it into business and how to balance all of that. Mahdi, welcome. Thanks. Thanks for having me, David. Good to be here with you, man. So I have watched you over the last 20 years and because I've known you for so long, I have a
00:01:06
Speaker
I think a better understanding that it's not just all glitz and glamor out there, but take us way back. How did you first find a passion for acting? Yeah, well.
00:01:17
Speaker
When I was in high school, I started modeling. And I guess you could call it industry adjacent. It's not acting, but it's kind of in the ballpark. And I remember through that, I met a guy who was a talent manager who became with a friend of mine. And he asked me like kind of when I just started modeling, hey, have you ever thought about acting? And I was,
00:01:42
Speaker
Not really, but I like movies, it's cool. I was like, yeah, I thought about it. He was like, okay, well, let's see what you can do. He was connected to some pretty legitimate casting directors at the time. I don't even know if it was really I was auditioning for the part or it was
00:02:09
Speaker
Hey these are some parts that they're having auditions for just take this may be already identified in acting on a mean like i don't know that i was really. In consideration for the job but i got to like you know get some sides you know some scenes to audition with.
00:02:28
Speaker
And the feedback I got from the casting director is who he was connected with was yeah, he has a cool look. He needs to take some acting classes. Aka is terrible, right? So that was kind of my introduction.
Balancing Navy ROTC and Acting
00:02:49
Speaker
And I was like, well, I'm in college right now. I guess I could enroll in the classes that that are offered. So
00:02:56
Speaker
wasn't very robust theater program at university of pittsburgh but i had something going on so i signed up and had some fun with that and i guess that was the intro right and then i was in college on an r o t c scholarship for those who don't know that means that you know
00:03:18
Speaker
The Navy pays for my full tuition and books and stipend and all that and then upon graduation I was commissioned as an officer in the Navy and obligated to serve time. That's when you and I met. So I had been, I guess you could say, bitten by the acting bug prior
00:03:36
Speaker
prior to actually joining the real Navy, but I had no professional experience, just some classes and some love for movies and that kind of thing. Back in college, what kind of productions did you do? Were you like in theater? Were you in a musical? Did you ever sing and dance?
00:03:57
Speaker
Never did anything in dance. These are skills that I have not ever had. But there was some theater and I ended up doing like a play. I was in the marriage of Figaro. That was quite funny.
00:04:17
Speaker
But yeah that was i did one production the rest will just i did the classes that were offered and yeah that was kinda that was the extent of it so was very much. Bear bones and you're doing modeling at this time correct yes yes so i started modeling as a high schooler.
00:04:41
Speaker
I was living in Minneapolis but I had an agent in Minneapolis that ended up placing me with an agency in New York and through that agency in New York they had me send out some Polaroids and they used to be Polaroid back in the day and through those Polaroids I ended up booking the Abercrombie campaign. Now at that time, if you remember our days of our youth, Abercrombie was like that deal for
00:05:06
Speaker
Young people so it was like a big deal you know the clothes were a big deal campaigns are big deal so that was a pretty dope experience to get to do that and that was kinda like my intro to. Bigger modeling if you will the size of just a catalog back at home in high school you know so that gave me some clout on the college campus.
Navigating Early Modeling and Acting Challenges
00:05:28
Speaker
But I was pretty oblivious to what the business entailed. So even though I had an agency in New York, I wasn't in New York, I was in Pittsburgh, and my agency in New York is hitting me up like, hey, there's opportunities. People want to meet with you after this campaign come out. We've got Kenneth Cole, want to meet with you for the campaign. We've got Calvin Klein himself, wants to meet with you for the new campaign.
00:05:54
Speaker
I was just like, okay, what are they going to do? What are they going to do? You got to come here. I was like, I don't know how I can do that. At the time, I was 18 years old and I was
00:06:10
Speaker
Broke right i mean i made a couple of dollars actually no at the time i didn't have the money from the apple crumpy campaign had yet to pay me so i was like broke right. But yeah like i didn't i didn't know what the opportunities were so i just kind of blew them off i was in school like i can't really i mean can't they just they want to book me why don't they just put me from here like i don't get it.
00:06:33
Speaker
My agency said what are you talking about nobody blows these opportunities like to have a chance to meet with calvin klein like anyone would jump at that i'm like what. Yeah i want to buy me what do you want me to do you know i mean it was just like i didn't understand the magnitude what that meant at the time.
00:06:50
Speaker
And you know like anything else you know things come easy to you you don't you don't realize so i have a crime again i said some polar i took some polaroids at a, an agency in minneapolis they send it to an agency in new york next thing i know they're booking me flights going upstate new york,
00:07:06
Speaker
for a week doing the Abercrombie so that was just kinda like huh i didn't really even understand you know so then when it's like no no no you actually have to just come here but then big things can happen. You know it didn't really register with me because it is sort of come to me easily for me at first so now i'm thinking why would i have to go there if somebody's interested in me or my own time you know it was just kinda like it's just kinda funny looking back but that was that was the modeling intro.
00:07:35
Speaker
You know, so you're like correct me if I'm wrong, but it was a little bit of naivety because you didn't know how the business worked. And at the same time, you're trying to balance like going to college and like living the life of a 1718. And you just didn't know exactly how all that worked. Maybe didn't have. Did you have a mentor? Not at all. You had an agent, but did you have like somebody in the business that was like, this makes sense. This doesn't.
00:07:55
Speaker
I knew nothing, I literally knew nothing. And this was in that era also, it was like the baggy jeans era. I'm like six, two, one, not the time of the day, at the time I was maybe 180, I'm maybe 190 now. So generally speaking, slim athletic build. So realistically, my waist size is like a 32 and my shirt size is maybe like a large.
00:08:26
Speaker
But of course, back then, it was a baggy era, so I didn't wear anything less than double XL. It was funny because then after my freshman year of college, I went to New York to do some modeling because now I'm free, now I don't have a class obligation. So my agents, they were fed up with me, but they were like, are you willing to spend some time here over the summer? And I was like, yeah, sure.
00:08:49
Speaker
So go out there and they're sending me to these go sees and castings where you go meet photographers clients advertisers things like that and you know i'm showing up with my double excel.
00:09:05
Speaker
gear. I mean, that's just how I live my life, you know? And that ain't to play when it comes to modeling. Like you kind of have to at least show your build, right? So it ain't got to be like skin tight, skin tight, but in a way, like fitted clothing or how you sell yourself. And yeah, you got to show them what they're working with or what they might be working with. Right. So they were looking at me like,
00:09:31
Speaker
this kid doesn't know the freaky still and they're right and then so i did have an agent kind of square me away with all that he was like. What are you wearing you some more choice words but yeah like this was just.
00:09:49
Speaker
It's funny, you know, looking back on the level of ignorance and I even say that there was just, yeah, man, I don't know. I'm just out here, you know, think I have a decent look.
Joining the Navy and Transition to LA
00:10:01
Speaker
And what else do I got to do? And, you know, it's not rocket science, but there's more to it than just a look. And, you know, I learned that over time, but at that time I was, I mean, what do you mean?
00:10:14
Speaker
I can change i can put on the clothes you want to put on like you know but i didn't really understand just how to present myself what. What was going on in the business what it took nothing on what you know sounds like an agent maybe let you sounds like your agent maybe let you down a little bit because isn't it their job to kind of square your way specially at the button stages.
00:10:36
Speaker
I'm not good I mean it's debate right I'm not gonna go as far as to like blame others for my own shortcomings I mean sure I could have been guided a little better yeah but at the same time I think in that sort of what maybe folks can understand is that when we get into a business whether it be modeling acting.
00:11:00
Speaker
I suppose anything corporate roles military whatever it's like there's a certain degree of responsibility that falls on our own shoulders of what we're gonna learn and what we're gonna like bring forth as opposed to just rely on somebody to tell me.
00:11:16
Speaker
you know those who need to be told you kind of also create a burden on your leadership so if you want to be excellent. Whatever it is you're doing waiting around to be told isn't exactly how you get there it's kind of you know informing yourself taking some chances and then sure checking in with people who know more than you.
00:11:38
Speaker
And I really wasn't doing any of that. I was just kind of like floating by like, Oh, I'll do what you tell me. I don't know. You know, and that, uh, yeah. So I, again, I can't, I always like to side with personal accountability and responsibility. So it's hard for me to, to point any fingers besides that myself, just being a guy who wasn't ready and didn't even know what it took to gain some readiness.
00:12:04
Speaker
So I don't know if I've ever even asked you this, but why did you decide to go to Navy ROTC and then follow on? I know how, I know how your journey went after that, but I don't know about how you chose to, was it just trying to get college paid for, or did you have something, somebody in your family serve and you kind of. That's another great question. It's a funny story, man. Like it kind of.
00:12:26
Speaker
In a way micro to the macro it shows a little bit of how my life went and so you know when you're in high school they start sending you all these mailers colleges send you mailers and i remember when i was a sophomore high school and i said okay i'm gonna send back everything.
00:12:49
Speaker
because I want to keep my options open. That was the saying in my mind. I want to keep my options open. I'm going to send back everything and just see what's out there for me. You do that.
00:13:01
Speaker
early on in your junior year and then you start to get probably like twenty to thirty pieces of mail a day and it starts to get overwhelming but at the time you know when you start it's kind of easier and. I remember there was a i got sent something about navy rtc which i didn't know even what that really was.
00:13:20
Speaker
And i didn't have family members that serve to answer that question so i didn't and i'm from minnesota so if you know the geography at all there's no coastline so maybe kind of generally needs a coastline because we're talking ships and submarines and things. Yeah i've got planes too but those planes fly off aircraft carriers with your ships so most of the navy bases or navy towns are somewhat coastal so be a landlocked all the way upper midwest minnesota like.
00:13:48
Speaker
No maybe there's really no military there's some like army national guard us about it but there's no legit military so it's not a military community so i didn't know anything about the milk and i had the yah it was a reply card and you know it's funny people ask me why did she say and honestly it might come down to a simple answer that.
00:14:10
Speaker
I thought the white uniforms looked pretty sharp, you know, from movies and from commercials and TV, whatever, like my baseline knowledge, something about those white uniforms that kind of looked cool to me and sharp and squared away. So I filled out that card and I didn't fill out any other, like, you know,
00:14:32
Speaker
army air force whatever like marine corps like what the navy i filled out that card and i swear as soon as you build up because it was you know what it was a postcard is you know already stand so i had to do not always like the information and drop the dog one thing in the mail and.
00:14:51
Speaker
You know, it was already posted, paid. And I swear as soon as I dropped that thing. You just put it in the mailbox, you raised that flag and then you finally started ringing. Literally. Like it was weird. I was like, wait a second, did I? Like, that's how fast it felt. But as soon as I dropped that thing, you know, it's a landline at the time, but the house phone was ringing. And I was answering.
Facing Industry Challenges and Breakthroughs
00:15:13
Speaker
And a guy was asking me about that. I was like, oh, oh, dang, you really, you really gonna call me. Uh-oh. You know, this is a little nerve-wracking. But yeah, I talked to a guy, and whoops, this is another funny story, just emphasizing how little I did know. So a guy, he called me, and he's like, hey, this is Pete Zebrowski, and you know, I see you sent this card in, and we wanna,
00:15:40
Speaker
We want to do an interview. We can do a preliminary interview and determine whether or not you're eligible to apply for the scholarship and blah, blah, blah. And he was, you know, he was talking pretty fast, but he sounded like a nice guy. And I was like, all right, this sounds cool.
00:15:56
Speaker
And he was like you know can have you interview me goes have you taken the s a t r a c t. And at the time i had and i missed my date another story of me being me right it was like i had signed up for a date. When the mail came like my older sister check the mail that day in.
00:16:13
Speaker
I don't even know, didn't put it in the kitchen where everybody could see it. So when I finally found my date thing, I never got the confirmation, whatever. Bottom line is I missed the date. So now I'm going into my senior year with no standardized test scores. And that's not really a good look because you want to get into schools. So what he said, this over the summer, summer before senior year high school, he said, look, we have a guy that can test because if anyone remembers in high school, there's only certain dates, maybe like five dates throughout the year that you can take these standardized tests.
00:16:42
Speaker
He said, it's the same, you still got to pay the money. The only difference is, you could take it now over the summer because we got a guy from ACT who can administer it to you rather than having to wait on those broad five dates a year during the school year. I was like, well, that's enough incentive because then I can have a score on the books going into my senior year and that's probably going to be up to my benefit. I was like, yeah, I'll do that. He had me come in.
00:17:11
Speaker
I went into the thing and he chatted me up maybe for like five minutes and then he was like, you know, that was your interview. I don't even need to do an interview. I could tell from the kind of guy you are. You're exactly what we're looking for. So, you know, he gassed me up. That made me feel good. You know, he's like, so yeah, you're definitely
00:17:30
Speaker
you definitely the kind of caliber of of of guy and all this stuff and i was like oh you know and i thought we were just talking so i was like okay that's cool you think someone. I'm a solid guy and then i want to take the test in in the office it was like there i don't know what to see recruiting office whatever that was and there was a guy like i swear look like a cartoon had like the biggest glasses was kinda pudgy.
00:17:56
Speaker
and had these, I suppose, official ACT timers. And it was like...
00:18:03
Speaker
It ticked the entire time while I was taking the test, but I guess that's how they got a time to where they show you're getting the right time limit official. And I took the ACT in the end of August. So like when my mind is the least learning ready, you know, because the school stopped in May. So now like I'm, you know, being a knucklehead all summer, not doing anything to stimulate the mind. Didn't do any kind of prep course, any kind of anything.
00:18:28
Speaker
I'm taking a test on a summer day in an office with a dude sitting behind me with a ticking clock.
00:18:35
Speaker
But anyways, it took that. Then the guy was like, and I remember when I went in, so when I went into Pete Zabrowski's office, I remember his name tag didn't say, Pete said like something else, Zabrowski. It was like M Zabrowski. So I was like, huh, I thought his name was Pete. So I was so confused. And then after the test, the, uh, the ACT guy goes, Oh, so where's the chief? And I was like, chief.
00:19:00
Speaker
And then I was like, oh, he was saying Chief Sobrowski. And I didn't even know what a chief was. So I thought he was saying Pete. So I'm like, I've been calling this man Pete the whole while he's a chief and his name is completely something different. And that was his right. He was a chief in the Navy. So this is just it's kind of a funny story now because I felt stupid because I'm like, I didn't even know a chief existed because I knew, you know, sergeants and things like that from movies. But
00:19:30
Speaker
Navy has a whole different rank structure so this this whole chief thing but yes that's that was how crazy of a lack of military knowledge i am calling this dude pete when is she. So anyways he said okay i will give you this packet this is the application.
00:19:48
Speaker
You take this home and you could start it. But we have to determine that you're even board eligible to apply, which means your ACT has to be over a certain threshold. Once those scores come back in a couple of weeks, then I can greenlight you to actually submit your application. I was like, cool. So he called me in a couple of weeks. He goes, hey, good news. I remember he was calling me shitmate and I liked that. It sounded real like,
00:20:12
Speaker
I belong to something's a shit make good news found out your board eligible cool you know you can get started on that thing and i was like okay cool will do not know his name is she someone archie. Didn't get started just put it is kept in the manila packet of course the guy would call me weekly every every every like thursday you call me every thursday night call me at the house.
00:20:38
Speaker
How's that application going shit man oh it's pretty good hadn't opened the dog on thing but just I would say that cuz I'm like yeah. Yeah tell me what he wants to hear then you know you call me weekly weekly weekly then he calls me like on another Thursday was okay so. I got he goes he goes how's that go to school was going well you know the.
00:20:56
Speaker
Getting close to completion. He goes, perfect. Actually, I'm going in to CNET, which is Chief of Naval Education and Training. It's the headquarters for ROTC and all that nationwide. He's like, I'm going in there personally. I can hand carry your application in. I'm not saying this will give you a better chance, but I can at least save you the postage. He's like, so I'll come to your school tomorrow on my way out of town and just pick it up.
00:21:26
Speaker
I was like, okay. So I was man. So the first time crack that thing, it was like eight, eight or nine at night on a Thursday. So I hadn't even opened it. So it's like applying for a competitive college. You got to write essays. You got to fill out all these forms and all this stuff. So I was up like all night applying that night only because I had lied to this guy for
00:21:50
Speaker
months telling him I was doing it. So I was like, Oh, I gotta, can't just tell him no, you know? Um, and sure enough, the next day he came to my school, he picked it up and that was it. I completely forgot about it. And then, and usually those notifications happen early, or I don't know when they happen, but I think what they do is they notify the first round.
00:22:08
Speaker
And then if people turn it down maybe get the second round you know what i mean it's like a wedding invitation or something. Either way i got notified after i graduated the guys like two days after i graduate high school mottie we're going to college i don't know i don't know.
00:22:25
Speaker
And then i got the notification congratulations you've received this scholarship and yada yada yada so again just no it's a long story but it's kinda just telling you. This was not my life plan this was not like my dad was in the military and i always.
00:22:42
Speaker
It was like man this kinda fell into my lap and then i got the scholarship i kinda looked at my mom she looked at me like. She didn't have the money to send me i didn't have it myself so it was like well i guess might as well try this thing out and it was also. They had it structured where you could do a year of school and r o t c on the scholarship for free so to speak where is like if you didn't like it or wasn't for you.
00:23:10
Speaker
you wouldn't own time after that first year so i was like well where is the worst i guess i can try this out and that was my intro to it all i didn't i didn't know i just figured hey it's an opportunity kinda fell in my lap so i will take it.
00:23:26
Speaker
And for those listening, wondering if it's still that way, we have no idea, at least I do not, what has changed regarding the Navy ROTC programs for colleges. I think a lot has changed since then, so don't take our word for it, but you know, you can call Pete Sobrowski and hope.
00:23:43
Speaker
her kitchen and there's a lot more information now like I guess the internet existed back then but man it was different I was I was in the dark now you can kind of probably if you're a young high schooler you can probably figure everything out that you need to know on reddit before you even apply but me
00:24:01
Speaker
Yeah, I was just kind of by the skin of my teeth. So you went through college and you did more modeling. What was your first break in acting after the Navy or did you have acting before or during the Navy? Um, no, just some modeling still when I was in the Navy. Um, and I remember you did a roadrunner footwear campaign. Yeah. I used to do a little bit while I was in the Navy in San Diego. Um, I had a department head that was actually pretty cool and would,
00:24:31
Speaker
What let me take some days off when i will book a shoe when we are on the ship was important so i'm yes i was on the ship with you and some days i get i get the day off and.
00:24:44
Speaker
go shoot a little modeling job, whatever it may be. And that was cool, right? But no acting still. Then once I got off active duty, I decided to move to LA and pursue acting. And again, I didn't know what that entailed. I didn't know what that meant. I just thought it made sense at the time.
00:25:05
Speaker
How did that feel from going from something so, so with it? So going from the Navy that has a very clear framework to not only you're in your young, you're in your early twenties. I imagine if I remember right, 23, 24 at the time, and you are stepping out of probably the most structured job anybody could have both from a, like a mentor standpoint, a pay standpoint into one of the most chaotic, I would imagine.
00:25:35
Speaker
kind of environments the world of acting in Los Angeles. How did that transition go for you? Not so well, actually. You know, I tell people all the time I felt in many ways more grown, more mature when I was
00:25:50
Speaker
twenty two twenty three in the navy a division officer in charge of the division of thirty men and women then when i was in my later twenties early thirties living in l.a. just kind of trying to figure things out you know the juvenile lifestyle arm so yeah i didn't the transition did not go so well i mean i you know i didn't i had an agent that's all i had like a modeling and commercial agent when i went to l.a. and finally eventually found an acting class but i was like you know
00:26:20
Speaker
very insecure and I was like the worst actor in the class and I would like skip classes, but I'm paying for them out of my pocket. I'm skipping them because I didn't want to get the negative critique from the teacher. So that's like my mindset at the time. And then I stopped going to class and avoiding that difficult thing and was doing some
00:26:43
Speaker
modeling and relocated to New York. Again, all these avoidance tactics that at the time I could justify. And yeah, I found myself in my 30s without much career to speak of broke, in debt.
00:27:01
Speaker
credit card debt and such had people telling me I never should have left the Navy, you know, so-called friends, right? Like, that was their advice. Man, you never should have left the Navy. Thanks, you know? Well, yeah. Times didn't stay rough forever, right? Times didn't stay rough forever. You had a breakthrough. What was your first major breakthrough in acting?
00:27:21
Speaker
Well, the first thing was, again, I was in LA all this time and I was just taking class. I couldn't even get an agent in film and TV, just commercials and modeling. So I had a couple of decent years commercially where I booked some commercials and stuff, but still no film and TV. And then eventually,
00:27:41
Speaker
I met a guy who became a good friend and mentor to me named Jimmy, Jimmy Gonzales. He taught me about the opportunity in the Southeast, that's Atlanta. He split in time between Atlanta and New Orleans. He had built himself a nice little career, a bunch of credits, and he moved to LA. That's when I met him and he told me about the opportunity. Off his advice, I relocated to Atlanta.
00:28:07
Speaker
What's your credits get it never done for TV and got an agent out there and eventually about six months after being in the land i got my first ever acting job i was playing a cop on dynasty couple lines few lines but.
00:28:23
Speaker
It was like so meaningful and such a big deal at the time because to go from zero to the first is like an insurmountable obstacle at a time so that you know that at least start the ball rolling and then six months later i booked another, you know smaller part on a show and the two weeks after that booked another part so these are all like small costar parts but it was,
00:28:49
Speaker
Okay, now we're moving in a direction that maybe there's something to this. Maybe it's not just a pipe dream anymore. And that was fantastic to get started.
00:29:00
Speaker
You got some momentum, some more confidence that maybe all this acting classes that you took in LA that you didn't want the critique are actually starting to pay off.
Mentorship and Career Milestones
00:29:10
Speaker
And probably most importantly, there was somebody out there that saw something in you that was willing to give you the advice, which I don't know how, I mean, especially these days, I don't know how, and especially in LA thinks stereotypically, like everybody's out for themselves. It's all about what they can get and what you can't get from them. Yeah.
00:29:29
Speaker
or can't take from them or what opportunities they're gonna, you know, it seems like everybody just fights for the opportunities. But you found some special someone out there that actually just took you under his wings and said, hey, this is how I did it. These are what I see as the opportunities and I think it could work for you. And then you went leap of faith to the dirty, dirty, hung out with Ludacris a little bit.
00:29:50
Speaker
a little John and started your career really picking up then. But that was a long duration, right? So the time you got out of the Navy was your early 20s and the time that things got flowing for you a decade later, right? Is that rough? Yeah. I mean, if we want to just do some time, I got out of the Navy in 05 and not until 2017 in Atlanta was my first acting job. So that's 12 years of like,
00:30:20
Speaker
No active and then you hear some of these people that just get in a car and drive from montana to la in the next three three months later on some hit sitcom. Those are i would imagine art again great and that's great look it's like everybody's journey is different for me.
00:30:36
Speaker
This was a journey that I needed. And in contrast, we can contrast it with modeling. I had early success modeling, didn't even know why. And then it was kind of like chasing that in a way in my modeling career when I was like, it was, I don't know, you know what I'm saying? It was like you take things for granted when they come easily. And acting,
00:30:59
Speaker
for sure did not come easily. So the appreciation and sort of the reward involved in actually accomplishing something in it meant so much more to me. And it like, it still does. So now it's kind of like, I'm just so grateful to have this career because I know what it took. And me personally, because I was not a natural, it was not like, oh yeah, I just put them in something. It was like,
00:31:27
Speaker
I had to go through a lot to even be semi passable to get put on any show doing anything you know so i. Yeah that journey it's it's one of those things where yeah it would be nice i suppose to have it kind of fast forwarded earlier but. It would have meant as much and it wouldn't have impacted me the same way so i needed what i got.
00:31:52
Speaker
Yeah, Mare, so this is the time where you namedrop. Tell us everything that you've been in that you're most proud of so that we know what we can go find you in. Well, yeah, I mean, you know, I guess a decent handful of parts that I've had a good time. I mean, I've enjoyed them all. Obviously, Dynasty is very meaningful to me as the first one ever. You know, they were willing to give me a shot.
00:32:17
Speaker
That's the thing. After that, I did The Gifted, I did The Residence, Watchmen, on HBO, what else? The show called Dolly Parton Heartstrings. I'm trying to go through all of them because there's not that many.
00:32:35
Speaker
You know my first name all my parts up to this that i've named were like my name in the show was my occupation so i was uniform to cop and then i was police officer and then i was security guard and then i was paramedic you know i mean i was playing.
00:32:52
Speaker
what I was doing. And then the first time that I actually had a named part was for this movie called The Ludbirds. It's actually Paramount. And it ended up being released on Netflix because of the COVID and all that. So it's now a Netflix movie. But that movie was the first time that I actually had a name, had a cool little arc in the story. So that was a big milestone for me as well. I wasn't wearing a uniform.
00:33:22
Speaker
I was like a guy, you know, and that was that was a lot of fun. That was a good experience.
Financial Struggles and Breakthroughs
00:33:30
Speaker
And let's see after that I did.
00:33:33
Speaker
I did two episodes on a Tyler Perry show called Sisters, which was a great experience. I didn't expect Tyler Perry himself to be the director because I'm like, oh, he's such a big celebrity. He probably has guest directors. But sure enough, I show up on set and he's there. He's the guy yelling action and cut. That's a big deal. Then a couple months after that, I got an audition.
00:33:56
Speaker
To be a lead on a Tyler Perry show called bra and i don't get a call back for that and booking that so that's been the major like a life changer i'm just financially as well as career wise and since then i've i've had some some some great parts that i've enjoyed i've had a fun episode of walking dead i was a couple of shows the show called the terminal list i was
00:34:22
Speaker
That's a grown ish. She called like yeah decent apple of things like you know i'm probably not saying that's an exhaustive list but i recently shot an episode of the miss pat show. Yeah so it's again it's all good i'm super grateful to like continue to build career with getting that chance to play all these parts.
00:34:47
Speaker
I know I got a BET plus subscription just to watch you and bra. My man. So yeah, I tried it. And if you're listening to this, Mati's very modest because I don't know how many times I've always asked him like, Hey man, where am I going to see you next? Because I want to follow him and track him. He's like, Oh, and then usually I hear from like my brother or say, Hey, Mati was on that show.
00:35:10
Speaker
or someone else who said, don't you know him? I was like, well, what was he in? Let me go watch it. So because, I mean, you're always so modest. I mean, not that you're trying to, you know, keep information from me, but I know that you probably also don't want to come off as like this big Hollywood movie star. But one day you probably will be and I'll be glad to know you.
00:35:31
Speaker
So we're looking at what, 12 years, 13 years between the time that you left the Navy to the time that things actually got rolling in your acting career through that time. How did you pay the bills, man? Like, cause if I'm a young, if I'm a young actor and I'm hearing this story, I'm like, okay, I have a passion. I want to be an actor. I want to get into some kind of entertainment industry. LA is the place to be. I'm going to get in my car and drive cross country and go, but then
00:35:58
Speaker
How do you trudge through that decade before something may or may not land for you?
00:36:03
Speaker
Well, um, I don't recommend doing what I did, which is just go into a lot of credit card debt. I don't because it's just the stench of desperation. It's easy to smell. You'd smell it through the camera. So when you're going in auditioning and you need the job, it's not great because nobody likes desperate people. So you don't want to hire desperate people if you're the, you know,
00:36:28
Speaker
producer on the job so yeah again i had my journey but i don't think it was the why is the wise way to go i'm partially because i created such a hole for myself by the time i booked i was fifty thousand dollars in credit card debt now thankfully.
00:36:47
Speaker
After season one i would pay that all off one shot that was a great feeling but you know what's a side from booking. The most part the magnitude of like a series regular doing the whole season a regular acting job is not gonna get that get knocked out you know so i created such a whole for myself that nothing short of what of being a series regular show.
00:37:14
Speaker
Could have actually put a dent in that so that's where i'm like there's gotta be a better way i think i've seen other guys who you know have other ways to turn some income stay out of debt avoid that have some type of emergency from things all of that smarter you know i.
00:37:38
Speaker
I did a lot of things to earn a couple of bucks from, you know, driving rideshare to delivering food to like doing little catering, one off gigs to, you know, I did some, some years were okay. Modeling and commercially some years weren't as great. So it was like when good, when I had some good commercial years, I was actually making decent money, but it was inconsistent because in some years I wouldn't have any commercials and then it's a couple of modeling jobs trickling in.
00:38:07
Speaker
So yeah i mean that money and i was in the reserves which is like part time military so i had that as a supplement as well so you know who's like it's rubbing a lot of nickels together trying to make times. I was able to sort of live that lifestyle because i didn't have a wife or kids so i could sort of stay in that juvenile mindset of like i'd be alright like i'm not gonna starve figured out which is true but it's also.
00:38:35
Speaker
Stressful way to go on so yeah try to avoid getting into that try to keep some flow of income to work through some stream so we start again that paycheck for bra you actually were able to completely wipe out the credit card debt yes.
00:38:53
Speaker
And then as you continue to film additional seasons, you continue to get paid. So first off, can we talk about what ways an actor can get paid? And then second, once you do start getting constant influx of money, how do you, let's say above of what your living standard is, how do you then invest for retirement? Because that's not a traditional type of job.
00:39:19
Speaker
So, first, let's talk about the ways actors get paid, and then two, how do you actually plan for long-term growth, like retirement planning?
Financial Planning for Actors
00:39:30
Speaker
Right. So, I mean, generally speaking, as an actor, when you're booking
00:39:36
Speaker
A job but said tv show or movie you get paid for filming it the session fee so maybe you'll do a weekly if you don't week order just do one day you can pay that daily rate handful of days or couple weeks or whatever maybe.
00:39:52
Speaker
And then that's the first pay that you'll get. And then you'll get some residuals, most likely, depending on how the show, you know, residuals are always hard to calculate, especially streaming these days. And it's kind of part of the reason of the strike used to be like network airs and advertisements and all that were paid.
00:40:15
Speaker
residuals will be paid differently now with like a streaming world the money residual is not as long as you have kind of only been around in the streaming world in the transition time.
00:40:27
Speaker
So I don't have it to compare to like these actors who were in that sitcom era of like Seinfeld and Friends and Cheers and like all of that when it was like a network television and then all of a sudden it goes into syndication and now it's on Fox five nights a week and that's a whole new set of money that they're getting and you know that
00:40:48
Speaker
was kind of that was an era you know as the marketplace has shifted now it's not quite like that but you know you still get residuals based on how it sort of distributes after the initial filming of it um you know and movies that are still released in the box office you still get you know a portion of that and then after the box office where does it go and
00:41:14
Speaker
So this is all ways that money can come from television and film now we never know what a show or movie is going to do which is why you can build wide so it's like body of work.
00:41:31
Speaker
is always gonna serve you because you build a body working done a lot of shows a lot of movies some of them are gonna hit residually harder than others you can't really predict that but if you just have even a small part in a movie that does great at the box office you're gonna see some of that and you know you'll see that continually continuously so yeah that's why it's like if you build a big enough large enough body of work.
00:42:00
Speaker
Well then money will come to you when you didn't exactly know what's gonna come to you so it's like oh you've worked so much that all men strike and worked all year no sudden you know you check your residuals track or no i gotta check for fourteen grand coming.
00:42:15
Speaker
That's that's cool you know what i mean what again the tough part is if you're just relying on that income you know what you said planning for time and all that so about a steady work as you can get is being on a show and having that show go multiple seasons that's about as sure as you'll ever be in the acting work if you have that.
00:42:39
Speaker
then that's when you have to start kind of stacking and putting away that's, you know, any financial training. I remember I kind of did some basic, you know, started out with the basics after, after season one, because I didn't, I sort of avoided money management for most of my life because I didn't really have money to manage. So that was my cop-out excuse to not doing it.
00:43:03
Speaker
And then after season one, I was like, well, let me, maybe I should start doing a little research and figure some stuff out. You know, starting out with like a Dave Ramsey. Obviously that's like bare bones for a lot of people. Um, and getting out of debt. It's first thing, having a little emergency fund and all that.
00:43:19
Speaker
I would say for an actor in the emergency fund as they say the emergency fund should be based on kind of your ability to replace the income ability to replace the job so if you're a nurse you might not need as big of an emergency fund because everybody needs nurses if you're an actor and the industry might go on strike and.
00:43:39
Speaker
you might just have a long and you might not book for a while three months is probably not sufficient for an emergency fund you know what i mean i can get it is hard to build but ideally you probably want to have like at least a year back and you can cover your full expenses as you know the bare bones expenses like living expense eating all that stuff i'd say try to have at least a year because get covid shut the industry down.
00:44:08
Speaker
And then you're not two years later strike you just kind of subject to like, oh, there's not even the opportunity for work because the industry should not audition. I'm auditioning i'm not booking it's like there is nothing so unless i have a ton of residuals coming in like my income earning potentials limited so having a question is going to do you a favor.
00:44:31
Speaker
Let's assume my acting career has started. I've gotten some residuals, but it's not, I don't know, maybe half the bills, my routine bills, and I've got an emergency fund and I'm looking for the next step. I want to, let's say there's no strike, things going well. That's why you have the emergency fund that mitigates that downside risk.
00:44:51
Speaker
but I want to go to the next level with my money. I just don't want to watch my money keep just piling up in a checking account. What do I do with it next? Are actors considered contractors? I'm trying to get into the technicality of like, do you start a solo 401k? Do you do a SEP IRA? What are your options as an actor?
00:45:09
Speaker
Yes. Um, so I think the threshold and it may have changed based on different tax implications at the time when I started my S corp, um, as an actor. So essentially, yes, you are a, you are a small business and what your business is, is contracting acting services for yourself. So it's like a single person S corp. Um, so you're an owner and employee of an S corp. Correct. Okay.
00:45:36
Speaker
Correct. And then when you are hired for acting work, they're essentially paying your court for your services. And, you know, then you got a salary yourself and all that. So that's, that was what I did at the time, the threshold and, you know, different calculators, right? I mean, a lot of different experts, but at the time it was sort of like if you were making over 119 K, I think based on the tax, I think it was based on like the standard deduction at the time. Um,
00:46:07
Speaker
being earners over that. But if you were making over $119K, it was probably smart to be an S-Corp as an actor. If you make it under that, you can just be a sole proprietor and they're just paying you and your taxes are being withheld. As an S-Corp, there are no taxes withheld, they pay you the full amount. So that's what I did and then I started
00:46:32
Speaker
But to be clear, if you're an S-corp, sorry, an S-corp would still have to pay taxes later. Like, you don't just get away from paying taxes, but your S-corp will be responsible for paying taxes. Right. It's not always held from the paychecks from the production company. If I'm listening to that, I just heard S-corps are tax-free the way you said it. So I just want to make sure that if anybody's listening, S-corps are free. That would be great, but no, it doesn't work that way.
00:46:53
Speaker
Right. Yeah. They don't withhold the taxes when the payroll company pays you for your acting services, but then all the taxing, all the taxation responsibilities on you no longer the payroll company is paying. So yeah. And then I started off solo 401k.
00:47:11
Speaker
Now, is that you personally or under the S-Corp? Did your S-Corp start the solo 401K? So my S-Corp started the solo 401K. It's weird because at the time, a couple of years ago, I was doing all the sort of pros and cons between a SEP IRA and a solo K, and I came up with a solo K, and now I don't really even remember all the reasons why that was the best. You probably tell me better.
00:47:38
Speaker
But i think it had something to do with the fact that like based on how much you salary yourself you can match so you can for your contributions i think with a set. There's like a maximum of what like twenty five percent of something i don't remember i don't wanna quote nothing cuz now i'm not.
00:47:59
Speaker
But I feel like somehow based on the salary that I salaried myself, I could match that percentage amount as my S-Corp as well as I can max it out as a personal. So somehow contribution limits were a little more favorable with the Solo 401K. But again, these are all going to be talked to a tax professional about figured out.
00:48:23
Speaker
Yeah, so I just looked it up. I'm looking at kibblinger.com and I'll put this in the show notes below. It says, what is the maximum SEP IRA contribution for 2024? So for 2024, a self-employed business owner effectively can
00:48:39
Speaker
Put away as much as sixty nine thousand dollars a year but no more than twenty five percent of their compensation and that's from a set by array and it doesn't say anything about matching so i'm i believe for one case matching a separate maybe not be but again will twenty five percent of your compensation so you have to be salary yourself so if you're salary yourself a hundred k. You can only donate or contribute i'm sorry twenty five.
00:49:10
Speaker
So, let me look into the 401k. It looks like the contributions are similar. Contribution limit is up to $69,000 in 2024. Obviously, just like many of the other retirement accounts, if you're above 50, you can catch up contributions. Let's see.
00:49:28
Speaker
But you're right but as far as the difference and i'm not seeing it quite yet but yeah we'll take a look at that and maybe i'll put a link in the comments that talks about the difference between sepp ira and 401 solo 401k and why you know the pros and cons or something like that yeah it's a good yeah there's something about the fact that you can um something about the fact that you can contribute
00:49:50
Speaker
as the C Corp and as the individual in a 401k, right? Yes. Yes. Like you, like you can't incorporate like, and if you're like a regular based on your salary, what you, what you salary yourself, that's how much you can max out. Whereas like solo K there's a portion, the matching I think is based on the, the, the, the, the Corp can only contribute a percentage of the salary, but then you as the individual can,
00:50:18
Speaker
like contribute a certain amount as well so you have like a little more space there remember correctly and then what's in that vehicle is just like anything else you can select whether vanguard swab anybody else you can have that vehicle with any of these companies and then select your investments from there whether be market index funds or individual stocks anything like that correct.
00:50:40
Speaker
And I just followed your advice on that, actually. Yeah. If you're listening, I'm not giving formal advice as a paid advisor. It's just my opinion as a friend. Yup. Don't sue me. You can't sue me either, man. You can't sue me either, but it's worked out for you well so far, I think. I think so.
00:50:58
Speaker
Yeah, I think so too. I mean, I got more in there than I contributed, so. All right. All right, so Marty, what do you have coming up that we can find you in? Well, we filmed season four of BRUH on BET+.
Upcoming Projects and Reflections
00:51:13
Speaker
I believe that should be coming out within the month on BET+, streaming app.
00:51:20
Speaker
I filmed just recently an episode of the miss pat show which is like a sitcom it's a traditional sitcom live studio audience that's the first time i've had that experience pretty pretty cool right this is like i just read will smith's book to me talks about how great it was filming from a live studio audience when they do fresh prince and for the most part that's kind of a relic of the industry they don't.
00:51:45
Speaker
There aren't many anymore in existence traditional sitcom in front of a live studio audience and this patch of the film from live audience and it was really a fun experience everyone on the show the cast and crew was super nice and then just like.
00:52:00
Speaker
So I could play, perform it live in front of people. So it's like a play and TV at the same time is very, very cool. I don't know when that season four, I think episode eight or something that I was in, I don't know exactly when that's going to release, but you keep your eye feel for that.
00:52:15
Speaker
I will know that you're in la you're back in la from atlanta and i visited you a few times and you're in atlanta and a few characters as well that you introduce me to a good guys it's always great to follow what you're doing and not only from a.
00:52:31
Speaker
like a fan perspective, but like as a friendship perspective. And I'm glad that you always reach out to me when you think I can help in any way. And of course I reach out to you, uh, just so I know what streaming service to start renting next month so I can keep track of you. And now that you're in LA, you're going to have to come back down to San Diego or I'll come up and visit you. And I really do appreciate you taking the time today. We do this every, I don't know, probably have conversations like this on the phone on what once every quarter, maybe, maybe once every six months.
00:53:00
Speaker
But we're fortunate to get to videotape this one and we get to share it. So again, thanks, Mati. I look forward to probably coming up to LA and hanging out with you up there. Hey, anytime, man. You're welcome, brother. Thank you all for listening.