Check Out Kelvin Carter’s Story

Kelvin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
“It was all a dream” – I’m from a small town called Brunswick, GA and television/movies was my escape. It wasn’t that I had a bad childhood but I never thought leave and doing something; I thought, at the time was farfetched. Watching the TV shows/ movies gave me a sense of joy and at 16 years old, I knew acting was a passion that I wanted to pursue.

Being in a single-parent household and neither parent could afford acting classes nor a direction to help achieve this newfound dream career. The place that I called home couldn’t prepare or equipment me with the necessary skills to gain access to the industry. I soon discovered that money and opportunity wasn’t on my side. I had resulted back to my original thought that acting was a farfetched dream and It wouldn’t happen for me.

In 2008, I moved to Savannah, GA to change my surroundings and my mindset for new opportunities. After a year, I learned about TV extras from Facebook groups and how to submit for them. A fire re-ignited the passion that I had buried away for years. In 2009, I got my first few opportunities to do extra work in Atlanta for CW’s Vampire Diaries and I fell in love with the industry.

Shortly afterwards, I gained more extra work for films and music videos in both Savannah and Atlanta. I was learning a lot about the film industry and networking. By networking, I learned about free acting classes because I couldn’t afford them. During this time I gained an opportunity to do Stand-In work at Tyler Perry’s studio for House of Paynes. It blew my mind!!! I was on the set of another TV show I was watching every week.

Once I moved to Atlanta, I had to switch focus because life started “life-ing”. I had to focus on work and figure out adding school in the mix. I met a friend (Miracle Sims of Miracle Plays) along my acting journey and we decided to film something of our own called “The Oldies”. It’s a hilarious show about two older people trying to find love in the new age of social media. I learned that I can play a really good old character. I also did gigs for Miracle Plays here and there.

In 2018, I was asked to join a table read audition in North Carolina to portray a 70 character in a stage play. No official headshots or audition; I got the part. Can you imagine still being fairly new to acting and now leading in a stage play. I was excited and scared at the same time. The playwright and director, Dee James (MPactt Production) trusted me with her vision and knew I had the skills to pull it off. We had a sold-out show, and I rocked that stage.

Covid happened, and everything changed for me… I just focused on what I could do, which was work and school. I gained two associate degrees from Georgia State University during this time. Since virtual was the new norm, I had enough time to find a free online acting class out of California. Honestly, I got the acting class because the owner was giving out free sessions and I was selected due to someone else dropping out. God has opened so many doors for me along the way and I’m grateful of the people that listened. Thank You “Respect For Acting Academy” by Jossie Harris of LA.

2023 has been an awesome year, I started acting classes at The Alliance Theater to continue to perfect my craft. It’s important to keep learning and growing so you can be ready. I was casted by another local artist to join her talented cast in a Podcast series “Story Chronicles” by LucyLu Films. Miracle Sims and I released a movie, “The Cast”. We produced, acted in, and directed the film, and she wrote the script. Please go support us by watching the film http://thecastmovie.com/. Dee James provided me another opportunity to act in another play in North Carolina called “Foster”. Which gave me a chance to play a younger character and now I have what they call “range” in the industry. When I’m not acting or working; I run a small business called Chapter’s LLC, where I help entrepreneurs on their journey of becoming business owners.