Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucius Baston.
Lucius, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am the youngest of three boys born in South Richmond Hill Queens, NY. I come from a military family. My father, Lucius Sr., was an Army veteran, turned transportation (train) conductor and my mother was a nurse and homemaker. At 11 years old, I became disk jockey (DJ) in the early days of Hip-Hop after watching my brothers spin records. I had soon become the featured act of our crew.
Following grade school, I followed in my father’s and big brother’s footsteps and enlisted to the United States Air Force where I was active duty for 11 years. Soon, following my military stint and a career working in the computer chip industry, my love for music would lead me to fun times in radio broadcasting. First, co-hosting a live hip-hop show with friends on a local public station. Next, as a guest DJ performing a LIVE mix show for the oldest black-owned radio station in Tampa Bay at the time WTMP AM 1150. Finally, producer for the “The Street Party” & “Love Train” for the same station. The spark for acting was cultivated when a friend showed me a set of head shots and said she was an “aspiring actress”. That hit me like a lightning bolt! I had never felt so compelled by anything like this before, so I immediately set out to pursue it. I asked around a bit and it wasn’t long before a photographer referred me to a prominent acting class where I studied for over four years. I have since built a body of work that I still pinch myself about. Mostly, I am sincerely grateful to all the people to have worked with, both in front of and behind the camera. It’s been a remarkable journey thus far. The future looks bright!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Is it ever smooth? Haha! Nothing that is worth anything will go smoothly. My biggest challenge, as with most artists with a regular job, was maintaining an income while taking on an acting career. Let’s face it. Who cares to be a starving artist? I’ve been very fortunate to be able to pay my bills while taking on this next chapter in my life. We learn and grow from the challenges. Without them, I don’t think we’d appreciate all that we work so hard for.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I started off as an actor, but quickly knew that I needed to eventually create content as a way to dictate my own destiny in this business. Being an actor is much like being in the corporate world. You’re simply a work-for-hire. I wanted more than for myself, so I founded Baston Pictures on the premise of developing high-quality content with more positive images of people that look like me and the world I see when I walk out of my front door. Our latest project, 83 Days, is the first in our slate of projects that we’re pushing right now. It’s doing very well on the film festival circuit with plenty of award nominations and wins thus far. Being my first major project as a producer, I’m very proud of the reaction we are getting from it. Usually, there’s not a dry eye in the audience after a screening.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would’ve invested in real estate and stocks early on to have the financial means to live out the things that I am passionate about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.83daysmovie.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/luciusbaston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLuciusBaston
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/LuciusBaston
Image Credit:
Jackson Beals, Roy Bailey
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