I credit most of my career to the training I got on the stages in Chicago. I wanted to learn to push myself to affect people like the actors I’d watched onstage affected me—and I did. I learned an August Wilson play can prepare you for anything. I learned to develop characters and sustain their specificity throughout a run. Theater developed my discipline of listening and reacting, and it fed me in the early days of my career.
While they’re different animals, the stage and screen inform one another, and all the tools I’ve developed in the theater have been instrumental in my screen career: improv, listening, character development, focus, stamina, passion, and nailing the performance in one take.
TV and film are intimate mediums, whereas in the theater, you’re projecting your voice to reach that person in the back row. With the screen, you have plenty of takes to get it right. You have to make fast choices and develop that character truthfully, because the camera will not miss the blink of an eye. You have to learn to internalize on-camera; if you feel it, the audience feels it, too, but differently than when watching you in a theater. The eyes onscreen speak volumes, and when you live in it, it shows.
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When the role of Tariq on the Chicago-based “Empire” came along, I was ready. The breakdown said he was from Philly, that he grew up with Cookie and Lucious Lyon, and went on to be a cop and eventually an FBI agent. For my audition, I made it my own: I took the liberty of changing some words—I replaced “brother” with “brethren,” added some “My dudes, my G,” and other details to put some East Coast on him.
When auditioning for TV, learn the tone of the show—and about the people—you’re auditioning for. Each show has its own style. “Empire” is way different from “House of Cards” or “This Is Us.” Do your homework, because the work ethic you develop in class, in theater, and in film will pay off eventually.
Never stop sharpening your craft. I still make an effort to do a play once a year to stay sharp; TV and film can make you lazy, especially if you’re only shooting two to three pages a day on set. No matter where you go in your career, the focus and discipline you develop in theater is great to have on camera, and you will never stop using it.
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As far as longevity in the business is concerned: stay focused, keep walking forward. Don’t take things personally, stay humble, enjoy the journey, don’t let success go to your head or failure go to your heart.
Create your own content. As actors, we’re storytellers, so write. Learn to direct, edit, color correct—anything. Watch the great ones. Watch film scenes on mute, and it will heighten your awareness. We are our own instruments, so we adapt and morph to the specifics of the characters we portray. Stay on your path. And remember, everyone’s path is different; some will hit faster than others, but this game is a marathon.
Omari has been on Chicago’s theater scene, performing at the Goodman Theatre. He’s currently starring opposite Taraji P. Henson on Fox’s smash hit “Empire.”
Inspired to kick off your own career? Check out Backstage’s Chicago audition listings!