Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Horton.
Hi Julian, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story, wow… so much to say really. First off, God is the Greatest, Yeshua is King. I am nothing without the Most High.
Born in Philadelphia, PA—I was raised in Atlanta, GA… my parents had moved me when I was a newborn. The south had more hospitality and was less rough than up north in Philly. I grew up in Riverdale, Lawrenceville, and ultimately spent most of my adolescent and teenage years in Duluth and Suwannee, GA. I played sports all of my life—football, basketball, baseball, track… anything that involved sports, I was involved in it. From an early age, I knew I could excel in sports too. I was very confident. As I grew up… the two sports that stuck to me the most was football and basketball. I lettered in both sports at the great “Greater Atlanta Christian School.” I went to GAC from first grade til I graduated high school. I still have many best friends from GAC and without GAC, I definitely wouldn’t be the man I am today. But back to the sports… I lettered in both sports like I aforementioned. But football was the sport that I was blessed to really excel at. My sophomore year was the year that gave me the confidence to know that I could play football at a collegiate level, and not just at any college but a major one. Fast forward a few years, my dreams came true and I was blessed to commit to the University of Arkansas.
Now, while at the U of A, that is the place where a lot of God-given lessons were learnt. From figuring out how to deal with people, football, classes, so many lessons were learned once I went to college. Why wouldn’t there be lessons learnt… this was the first time away from the parents—so there was this expanded level of freedom that I got once I got to college. Being that I was feeling this kind of freedom for the first time, that also meant I was prone to making mistakes. Whether that was dealing with the ladies, not taking football serious, or getting in trouble with the team. You could say that my ride at the U of A was a fun one but also a tumultuous one at times. I got to play early under Bobby Petrino but some things happened and he wasn’t our coach anymore… so we got two new head coaches before I left and graduated. Being that these head coaches were different than the ones that recruited me, that meant that the attention to me and how I developed was kind of dissipated a little bit. Since it seemed like the attention was off of me more, it made me care a less a little more and that affected my play and my playing time. I learned a lot of lessons in the later years in college… not just on the field but off the field. Certain situations evoked different emotions that I knew I never even had before. It was real life. Fast forward a little bit, I ended up finishing my senior year strong. I didn’t start it well but I ended up finishing it strong and by the grace of God… was able to make the NFL as an undrafted free agent. I was picked up by the Tennessee Titans and was blessed to play for their organization for six months! After the 6th month, they cut and let me go. I was devastated because I really didn’t know what to do after that. I decided to go back to school and get my degree. After getting my degree, I still didn’t know what to do. I was going through a lot during these times when I had come back to finish my degree. I was going through a messy relationship, I was broke (ended up homeless at one point), friends had turned their back on me, I was having an identity crisis… I just didn’t know what to do. It was a rough time. It was so rough that I just ended up moving back to Atlanta to stay with my mother. I had to put my pride to the side and move back home. Didn’t want to but did it because it was the only choice I had really.
While at home, that left me with a lot of time to reflect. “What did I want to do with my life?”
I thought I have to do something major… it’s always been indebted in my soul to do great things. Always, it’s never been a doubt. Might have not known what but I’ve always known that God is the Greatest and he’s with me so therefore I’m great. After long thinking… I decided that I wanted to become an actor. I was nervous. How would I change paths so suddenly? How would I go from one form of entertainment to a whole different form of entertainment? I mean, I did a little acting in high school, made some homemade vids with my friends and family but acting? Really? What else was I gonna do? I wanted to do something that I liked, that I enjoyed, something that awakened my soul. Movies and cinema had always done that for me. I’ve always had an immense respect for the craft so after deliberating with myself… I went full force in. I got headshots, got in acting classes, became an extra, submitted my portfolio on casting websites, the whole 9! After some time training and going to class, I finally got some opportunities. My first major role was “Barry” from the Amazon Prime movie, “The House Invictus.” The movie was a dark psychological horror suspenseful film but what it made me realize is that I could act. I could hold my own. It motivated me. It gave me confidence. It started to truly turn things around for my psyche. God was working and I could tell I had found my new love. After that movie, I carried on and landed some more parts, Legacies, Homicide Hunter, some more independent joints. Then a few years later, I got booked on Tyler Perry’s show called “Bruh.” So from going to football, playing in the NFL and then working with Tyler Perry was such a blessing. I knew all the mistakes and lessons weren’t in vain. I knew God had allowed for things to happen to mold me and to allow me to use the things I went through for my acting purposes. Fast forward to now, I have a movie in theaters, a national commercial, and a movie coming out to Netflix soon! National Champions is in theaters now and will be coming to streaming soon!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I explained a lot of that in the previous post. There were obstacles though. Being broke at one point, anxiety, depression, but faith carried me on.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Actor and Music Producer. What sets me apart from others is my resilience, faith, and drive. I thank God for everything. Thank Him for my talent but what true gift He has given me is the drive and faith to keep going no matter how grim things may get. There’s this knowing in me that I can, I will, I must do great things for God, my family, my friends, and myself.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Yes… to have deep empathy for others. Just because you might not be affected drastically doesn’t mean others won’t be. I learned that we are all human. We all have needs, concerns, anxieties that we are going through. So just learning more to love, to have empathy, and to be more compassionate and understanding towards others.
Contact Info:
- Email: Julianhortonacting@gmail.com
- Website: Julianhorton.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/julianhorton12
- Twitter: Twitter.com/julianhorton12
