Belmont Cameli Took the Biggest Risk of His Life—and Ended Up on ‘Saved by the Bell’

The following Career Dispatches essay was written by Belmont Cameli, who stars on the hit Peacock revival of “Saved by the Bell.” 

I wanted to be a lot of things growing up. For a long time, I foresaw careers in architecture,  marketing, actuarial science, finance. I always thought I’d make a great rock star if I wasn’t  such a lousy musician. I may have even briefly succumbed to the delusion that I should be a  lawyer until I realized my appetite was solely for argument, and certainly not the law. I was in  plays as a middle schooler but I never considered someday I might make a career out of  anything artistic. 

I think I probably only participated in the local productions of “Footloose” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” because I thought all the hours of rehearsal would afford me an opportunity to finally convince my childhood crush that I could be a suitable boyfriend, unfortunately to no avail. (This would be my first encounter with rejection as an actor, probably a benefit.) 

The ninth member of my family to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (the  number is now 10), my future could not have seemed more linear, and from Day 1, it was  mightily troubling. Four years, graduation, an entry level financial position, masters degree,  40 years reading investment journals and playing golf (a game I have zero patience for), wife,  kids, grandkids, 401(k), call it a day. I do believe I could have found meaning in a career like that eventually. 

But if it weren’t for the tragic and sudden loss of my father just a couple months into my first term, upturning my reality and reshaping my perspective in instant, extraordinary fashion, I might have a college degree. Of course there’s no way to know, but I’m certain I’d be miserable. 

I had a really hard year at college, so I suppose it could be said that when I left after only my  second semester in business school, I was already engaging in peak risk-taking behavior. But the decision to leave a good school in pursuit of a career, and more importantly a craft, that I knew nearly nothing about outside of my casual lifelong cinephilia, never for an instant felt  like a risk. I don’t even remember how it occurred to me that I wanted to be an actor for the  rest of my life. It wasn’t something I had long been ruminating on—it was just suddenly an undeniable truth in my mind and in my heart.  

It’s funny, I remember I was instantly thrilled to be rid of school and authority, only to find  myself immediately thrust back into the life of a feverish student, only this time somewhat  autonomously. And also this time, the wealth of knowledge was endless, and desired. I had, then, an insatiable craving for learning again; goals—concrete, actionable goals—that I was eager  to actualize. Ultimately, I think I found my purpose, at least for now. During that year of school, it became abundantly clear to me that to know your purpose in this life is not a guarantee, and to spend a life fulfilling one is even more uncertain. It is something I feel very, very lucky to have realized when I did, and I am incredibly happy to be committed to something that I absolutely love doing.