Ro sits down with Dorian Missick a Hollywood actor, husband, father and spiritual man.
This episode of The Soul Centre Podcast was made in partnership with Scotts House Media & The Dilly Club in Nassau Bahamas.
Ro sits down with Dorian Missick a Hollywood actor, husband, father and spiritual man.
In this episode they discuss:
- Bahamian Roots:
- Dorian shares insights into his cultural background and roots in The Bahamas.
- Navigating Manhood:
- Explore Dorian's perspectives on how men cope with the complexities of manhood.
- Marriage, Family, and Career:
- Gain valuable insights into Dorian's views on marriage, family dynamics, and balancing a successful career.
- Power Couple' Dynamics:
- Get a glimpse into Dorian and Simone Missick's life as a 'Power Couple' navigating successful careers.
-Career Highlights:
- Recnt Projects "The Burial" with Jamie Foxx & the upcoming film "Shirley" with Regina King in 2024.
Hosted on Simplecast. See simplecast.com for more information.
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>> Missick: Nobody’s going to prison but you’v got to be cool, you understand
me?
>> Rowena: Born to a Bahamian father, raised in East Orange, New Jersey,
Dorian Missick has captivated audiences with undeniable talent and versatile
performances in memorable roles. You think that it is important for an actor
to have theater as a foundation? Has that been beneficial to you?
>> Missick: Thing is about mentorship is that people don’t really think about
is that you kind of need it throughout your whole life.
>> Rowena: Pause, we got to talk about Denzel. Hi, you’re tuned in to the
Soul Center Podcast. This is the place where you get centered. Today I’m here
with actor, producer, DJ, awesome person - Dorian Missick Hi, Dorian.
>> Missick: Hello.
>> Rowena: How are you?
>> Missick: I’m good.
>> Rowena: Thank you for being on the Soul Center.
>> Missick: Ah, thanks for having me.
>> Rowena: Yeah, we’re here in the Bahamas at the Atlantis resort. . .
>> Missick: Beautiful.
>> Rowena: . . . at the beautiful Dilly Club. And I want to talk to you about
your origin story. So I ask every guest this. What was that moment that set
you on your path and kind of defined who you are today?
>> Missick: Hmm, good question. I don’t think it was a specific moment per
se. I mean, it was like a period of my life. I think like early, early childhood, like
roughly around like four or five years old. When I started realizing how good of
storytellers my family members were. You know, anytime we all get together,
you know, everybody’s telling stories, making each other laugh and, and there
was a moment in there where I think I’d retold something that happened at
school and realizing that my family was really like listening and was enraptured.
And they were laughing and stuff. And I thought “that feels good. I might be
able to do this.”
>> Rowena: Yeah. And I know that you have a Caribbean influence. So you
grew up in East Orange, New Jersey.
>> Missick: Yeah.
>> Rowena: And you have a Bahamian lineage. So tell us about that.
>> Missick: Yes, my father Crossmond Missick, he’s, you know, was born,
raised here on Mini street.
>> Rowena: Ew. . . .
>> Rowena: So where is here for our listeners and viewers?
>> Missick: Raised in Nassau on Mini Street. So I spent so much of my life,
childhood, coming here for holidays and for summers and things like that. So
this is my second home. No question about that. My mother is. . . her dad is
from. . . is from here as well. And where I see related to Timothy Gibson.
>> Rowena: Stop it!
>> Missick: Yeah.
>> Rowena: Please tell the people who Timothy Gibson is.
>> Missick: Well, he worked at the Bahamian National. . .
>> Rowena: Hello, somebody.
>> Missick: We got music in our blood.
>> Rowena: You celebrity on level?
>> Missick:I mean, it started out I was bound to do.
>> Rowena: Yeahn. So you’re in the Bahamas for a very specific reason.
>> Missick: Right.
>> Rowena: You’ve come to be a part of this program called The Mirror Mirror
Program, which is a three year mentorship program for boys ages 11 to 15 years
old. That’s quite a commitment. So what is this mentorship all about? And
why are you doing it?
>> Missick: Well I think, you know, the biggest thing I find for mentors,
especially for young boys, right now is a lot of situations where the father is
not in the home. Male role models might not be the strongest. I think, it’s just
important to kind of have somebody to help you on that journey. You know,
especially those are like really imperative years 11 to 15. You know, that’s when
your mind is really developing. And so what kind of man you’re going to be,
kind of human being, an adult you’re going to be at. . . sometimes if you don’t
have examples, the right examples, or you haven’t seen success, or you haven’t
seen someone just basically functioning through life in a..in a good. . . in a good
way, you turn to other things. So it’s like kind of that moment when you really
need to be caught. And I think it’s important.
>> Rowena: Did you have any of those moments where you needed to be picked
up? Where you fell down? You got trapped?
>> Missick: You know, thank God not. . . not so much. I mean, I got into the
regularly trouble stuff that young men can get into. Particularly in America,
when you’re young and black. Just general, small trouble, it can also lead to,
you know, police intervention, even though if I was white or someplace else, it
wouldn’t be that big a deal. But, uh, so yeah, I’ve had my run ins, you know,
nothing major at all.
>> Rowena: Okay, okay.
>> Missick: But mainly because I had, you know, I had a lot of male, strong,
strong male. . .
>> Rowena: I was gonna ask you about that. Who were your models, who
mentored you?
>> Missick: You know, I had my father. You know, for. . . for the majority of
my childhood my dad was around. My uncle, my mother’s brother. He was. . . he
was definitely like, my biggest guy who I looked up to, my uncle BJ. He’s 10
years older than me. But uh, so he’s kind of like a big brother. So he was a
perfect example of somebody who kind of looked up to. My grandfather Snooky
he was. . .
>> Rowena: Yeah. Snooky!!
>> Missick: . . . he probably was the most influential on my life. That’s my
mother’s stepfather. . .
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: . . . but he. . . watching him dealing with my grandmother and, and
like, you know, being like the head of the household and just having a very even
keel personality really taught me a lot about, you know, problem solving and
what it means to be a man.
>> Rowena: So who was the greatest influence in your life - male or female?
>> Missick: Wow, uh, God. God is definitely my strongest, because that’s who
I talk to the most. But I also have, I’m part of. . . the thing is about mentorship
that people don’t really think about is that you kind of need it throughout
your whole life, you know. There’s always going to be somebody who’s walked
the path that you’re walking on right before you. There’s always going to be
somebody no matter what age you are. So right now I’m a part of what kind of
like, what I would consider a mentor group it’s, we call it The Growth Group.
And it’s a group of men, it’s Christian based. And we meet once a week, matter
of fact we meet today. We meet once a week, and we talk about our how our
week is gone, and we pray together. We bounce issues off of each other. We
do, you know, once a week. I’m on the younger side of that. So most of the
men in the group are significant, you know, have me by significant years. So
they’re kind of my mentors, you know. They keep me on the right path. And I
keep them cool, I guess, because I’m young. . . in their eyes, yeah. So you know,
the mentorship doesn’t stop, you know. It’s super important for me, you know,
that they, I kind of call them my think tank. Like if I’m kicking off. . . kicking
some issues around in my head. I need somebody to help me figure something
out, you know, whether I should take this role or not, you know, or something’s
going on all at home with the wife or the kid or something like that. They’re
very instrumental to help me with that.
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: So. And that’s something that’s continued. That’s something that
I had to continue. Because I had been doing it from the time I was younger.
I always sought out mentors, even people who thought they wouldn’t maybe
necessarily call themselves my mentor. I looked up to, ya know.
>> Rowena: Yeah, that’s good to have that kind of support system.
>> Missick: Yeah, yeah. Because the thing about is when you, having mentors
my whole life, I have people I could look up to it, it opens you up to being able
to ask questions, and feel free to ask questions and not be embarrassed about
it. Because you know there’s a lot of things we just don’t know. And so. . .
>> Rowena: You don’t know what you don’t know.
>> Missick: Exactly, exactly. . . so I ask questions. You know, if somebody
seems open enough, and they’ve been someplace I haven’t been before, and I’m
going there, something like that, I’ll ask a question about it.
>> Rowena: I hear that. So you mentioned the wife and the child, right? So
you’re a father, you’re a husband, you’re a producer, you’re an actor, you’re a
DJ. This show is about sharing some life hacks with our listeners. How do you
do all of that and be successful at that?
>> Missick: Biggest thing for me, to keep me engaged in life is you have to stay
curious. So what feeds my curiosity is doing something. . . something challenging,
something I haven’t done before, you know, um. So that keeps me engaged in
life, you know. I think a lot of times your brain gets turned to mush when you
just start to get into a routine and ya feel like you don’t need to learn anything
else. You don’t need to do anything new. You like the way things are going.
And then next thing, you know, you look up and you just life just kind of passed
you by. So I’ve always been an advocate for. . . for challenging myself. And so
there’s nothing more challenging than, you know, new fatherhood. Next to that
is being a husband. That’s very challenging at times. I mean, you know, not
not necessarily in a bad way, but it challenges you as a human being. . .
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: . . . sharing the space with someone every day.
>> Rowena: Sharing life, It is true partnership, you know, I have a husband as
well. So I know, I know about that journey.
>> Missick: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s not something that’s not just,
you know, do we get along? It’s really, like, do we agree on these things? And,
you know, making moral decisions and things like that, you know,. It’s, it’s a
big, it’s a big thing. So that’s kind of how I keep my brain still going to stay in
focus. And so when I start feeling complacent, I look for someone else to do.
>> Rowena: Yeah,
>> Missick: You know, I’ve taken up golf. That’s gonna keep me busy for the
next 20 years. I can see cuz I’m not good at it.
>> Rowena: Wow, at least you’re honest with yourself.
>> Missick: Rightc! Yeah, it’s a challenge, you know. I have a tendency to
find something to challenge me and I do a, you know, take a deep dive into it.
And it keeps me engaged. You know, and then it helps you find other avenues
- the way to apply it to life. I’ve been boxing my whole life. You know, not
competitively. No, but I just train, but I train like someone who’s training
competitively because boxing it can be, it can translate so well to life into the,
into the, to the things that we need to do every day in life. And so I look for
those kinds of ways to tie things in, so that way I’m always engaged.
>> Rowena: Yeah, so I want to say a shout out to Simone Missick, my best
friend and we’re not really best friends yet because we technically haven’t met.
That’s his beautiful, amazing wife who is also an actor. You guys are a power
couple. So how do you all approach the work and being a family unit?
>> Missick: Um, you know, what’s funny the thing. . . being back to mentorship
in a strange way, our relationship kind of reflects that, like, we just saw each
other, you know. When we were, first when we first got together, you know,
obviously we were both artists. And so when we’re kind of like, what I call acting
geeks, like we, you know, we like write down scripts together, they, we. . . we
bounce ideas off each other, we’re like, the worst people to watch movies with.
But that’s, like, part of our, you know, our two step. But, um, one of the things
is, when we first met, you know, Simone was in a, she was kind of the starting
off space, in her acting career. And I was eager to kind of, like, I give her
pointers on her acting, because her act is incredible, but like, things don’t just
how to navigate the business, you know. Like I would tell her like, listen, babe,
you know, I’m working with actresses, who you look up to, and your work is
no different. It’s just about somebody seeing you. So you know, stay in it, and
stay focused. And, you know, these are the, these are the steps you need to take
to get to where you want to go. And it’s not a mystery. I’ve been there. So I
can, I can point you in the right direction. And it was, it seemed, it was very
helpful for her. And she always talks about that. How, like, it really helped her
to keep going. Because sometimes in this business, you can feel like. . . like, no
one’s listening, and no one’s noticing you, no one’s acknowledging, you know,
anything that you’re doing. You know, by me telling her, like, “look, you’re
going in the right direction,” it gave her that extra push. And then for me
from a spiritual level, you know, we’re both Christians. She was way more well
versed on her bible than I am. And so she was very good at helping me, you
know, getting in and interpreting the Word and, and she kind of, like, pushed
me in that direction, you know. So we were able to balance each other out in
that way. You know, and so, that kind of makes it. . . it makes it easy. I mean,
we’re faith based, we’re a faith-based marriage. And so if they we don’t, you
know, that the way we solve our issues is through the Word. So she might have
an opinion. I might have an opinion. And if we find ourselves butting heads,
and no one wants to, no one wants to give, we say, “well, you know, what does
the Word say?” And that’s the final. That’s it, you know, that’s, that’s how we
end our arguments. You know, um, so that way, it’s kind of like, we have some,
we have a determining factor in how to solve our problems, you know, and so
that’s, that’s always helpful, because that always bases us, keeps us grounded,
you know, with parenting, with dealing with the industry, making decisions
about, you know, a lot of things in life, you know. We find ourselves bucking
up against things. We always ask, the question we ask ourselves is like, well,
you know, “what does the Word say?” And then, that kind of makes us double
back, you know.
>> Rowena: Okay, that’s awesome! I mean, yeah, that’s a great middle ground,
you know, to have that foundation, and always going back to that foundation.
>> Missick: Right, and I think, you know, I think any relationship kind of
needs that. I mean, you know, for us, it’s Christianity and it’s the Bible. For
anyone else’s it can be whatever it is, but it’s like, I think that there’s like a,
there needs to be like ground rules, you know, that are set that you like these,
these are hard and fast rules that we stick to. So as a couple and as. . . as a. . . as
a partnership, this is. . . these are the things that determine how we make moves
and make decisions. And then it kind of like, it eliminates all the guesswork.
>> Rowena: Yep.
>> Missick: You know, a lot of the guesswork, it eliminates it. And it helps
you to talk to each other in a, in a gentle manner. And that kind of thing is, it’s
a, you know, it’s tough, because we’re human, but it’s definitely like necessary.
>> Rowena: Yeahn. Okay, and jumping into the industry side of you, I might
get you in a little bit of trouble. But what’s your favorite production that you’ve
worked on? Or like, who is your favorite actor that you’ve gotten to work with?
>> Missick: Oh, man, favorite production. My favorite production is my next
one.
>> Rowena: Ah okay, okay.
>> Missick: Whatever the next job is, is like you do it, you know? Because it’s
the thing is with with acting, I’m always in, in the process.
>> Rowena: Looking forward.
>> Missick: Yeah.
>> Rowena: Next challenge. Like you said, you like challenges.
>> Missick: Right, and so you know, once I’ve kind of finished one project it’s
like, alright, that’s one thing that’s done. Let’s, let’s, let’s see what the next
adventure is. Um, so it’s like, you don’t really look at your kids and say, you
know, which one is the best. But I mean, you know, what, what I’ve found is,
I’ve learned a lot more from projects that I didn’t do, then from projects that
I did do. And that’s something that people don’t talk about a lot is like, when
I say projects I didn’t do like maybe something I was up for, something that I
met a director on, and I walked away with the jewel face or something from our
meeting or something like that. And I think a lot of times we miss that in life.
You know, we just think about the victories and like, well, what did you get?
>> Rowena: Not the process?
>> Missick: Right, right. Yeah. And I found that I’ve learned a lot more in
that way. You know, I mean, there’s definitely some actors that I would like
to. . . to work with more in depth. We, you know, like I’ve worked with Jamie
Foxx. I love working with Jamie Foxx. I think he’s like incredibly talented.
Denzel Washington - incredibly talented.
>> Rowena: Pause, we got to talk about Denzel.
>> Missick: Yeah. . .
>> Rowena: We got to talk about Denzel.
>> Missick: Denzel as we call him.
>> Rowena: Please, what was that like?
>> Missick: I mean, I was amazing that. . . now he’s a perfect example of somebody who I learned more from him outside of work than actually working.
Because I, I worked with him on Manchurian Candidate. So we did, we did a
film together. And I was great to kind of work closely with. . .
>> Rowena: I love that movie.
>> Missick: . . . uh, thanks, yeah, it was a lot of fun to make. So it was good to
watch his process up close. But prior to that I had gone through the audition
process for the. . . his first film that he directed - Antoine Fisher’s story. And that
was at a moment in my career where I was doing theater, and doing commercials,
and I was trying to push through into the film space. But it just felt like I was
just hitting the ceiling, like, I wasn’t getting the parts, and going so far through
that process really pushed me forward. Because it was like, you know, Denzel
told me, you know, while we’re going through it, just like listen to you know,
your work is great. It’s so strong. And he had like a lot of positive things to say
about it. And then, even when I didn’t get it, you know, he called me personally,
that’s led me to, you know, give me to deliver the bad news. However, it was
just what I needed to push me to the next thing because I knew that I was
moving in the right direction. You know, I didn’t feel like I was just kind of lost
in the ocean. You know, I was like, Okay, well, if here’s somebody who, who I
hold at high esteem, he knows good work. And he’s telling me, I’m delivering.
I was like, it’s only a matter of time. And it wasn’t long after that and maybe
like three months later, before I got my first big film. And so he was right. So
like that, that’s that was like a great lesson for me. And I find I learned a lot
more that way than off the jobs that I get. Because when someone tells me
yeah, you hired and I’m like, into the process of working. Yeah, and you know,
you learn things. You obviously learn something new on every single project,
you know. But definitely, the as the law says, you have more time to kind of
think about it, ruminate, and or the lessons as people say to say don’t won’t
call our L’s losses, we call them lessons that you got to think. . .
>> Rowena: I like that L.
>> Missick: Yeah, right, right. And it’s so good. And it’s like I said, somebody
you could apply to life. Like, alright, well, you know, what did I learn from
this? You know, what went wrong here, or what went right? You know, it just
depends.
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: Yeah.
>> Rowena: So do you think that it is important for an actor to have theater
as a foundation? Has that been beneficial to you? What are your thoughts on
that?
>> Missick: Yeah, definitely. I guess it is, like, um, you know what look, it
depends on what your goal is. Like, I can’t tell somebody what their goal needs
to be in life. For the type of actor that I deem myself to be in that I, you
know, like to continue doing theater is. . . is a necessity. It is like this, it’s the
air I breathe, you know. However, there are many people who come into the
business from different angles, you know, who have different goals, you know.
Some people just, you want something different. And so depending on what
you want, you know, you figure out your best charity, and you and you, that’s
another place where mentors come in handy. Because if you’re not interested
in doing theater, you might want to look at somebody who’s made it in the
industry without doing theater and figure out what steps they took, and, you
know, maybe model what they did. Myself personally, I grew up going to the
theater. And so it was, that was the beginning of my love for this game.
>> Rowena: Yeah, so what’s, what is your message to young people and to
young men in particular, about getting into the business and about life and
how to thrive and succeed?
>> Missick: So many ways to get into the business is, is it’s tough now, like,
you knows it, which I think is beautiful with the internet and with Tik Tok and
with YouTube and all that. There’s like, there’s not the gatekeepers are not, we
don’t. . . we’re no longer stuck to having to depend on the. . . the gatekeepers at
this studio or this place to give you a shot, you know. So I think now, I think
young people could probably tell me more about how to get into the business
than I could tell them. You know, because I got into it very traditionally, you
know, doing theater and someone saw me and, you know, introduced me to an
agent who, you know, and that’s the kind of thing that you hope happens, and
it takes a lot longer than if I had just, you know, if I just had the opportunity
to just make a movie. . .
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: . . . you know, on my own on my telephone and then put it out into
the world.
>> Rowena: Such a powerful tool.
>> Missick: Yeah, yeah. So I mean, the thing that I would tell people is just
keep doing it. Keep working at it, like at every opportunity you have sharpening
your tool, you know, because we have a thing we say in a boxing’s and when
we say “You know, you got to stay ready, so you don’t have to get ready.” You
know what I’m saying?
>> Rowena: Yeah.
>> Missick: And so if you’re always sharpening your tool, when an opportunity
comes, it’ll just be a part of the process. It won’t be like I’ve been waiting
for this moment. He won’t be nervous and all that, you’ll have been doing
it. You know, because a lot of times your biggest opportunities come when at
unexpected moments. You know, somebody might offer you an opportunity and
say well you got, you know, come tomorrow and do this thing. Well, you know,
if you’ve been rusty, you might not be able to show up tomorrow and be that
good. But if you’ve been doing it, it’s just like, you know, this is something,
it’s like breathing, you know, and you’re ready. And so that’s the thing that I
would say is just continue to do it as much as possible and make your own stuff.
Stay focused, do not look at other people’s journeys in terms of comparison, you
know, because, you know, God has put us on this earth to do our own thing,
you know. It’s already been written. So we don’t need to look at somebody else
and compare what they’ve done by whatever age, you know. Like, “oh I’m 25,
and I should have done this by 25.” You know, you don’t need to worry about
that. All you need to think about is putting one foot in front of the other, and
continuing to get better, you know, and work on yourself too. Yeah, because I
think that self work, makes you a better artist, you know, the people who have
the work that tends to get stale, are people who, you know, live in bubbles, and
don’t have an opportunity to experience the world and have new experiences.
You know, we were and so then they kind of just repeat what they’ve already
done. You know, because they’re not out experiencing things that are improving
on themselves. You know what I’m saying? So, yeah, life, life feeds your art. It
should at least, yeah, you know, I’m a different artist now now that I’m a dad.
You know what I mean, then I was prior to it.
>> Rowena: Speaking of being a dad, there’s something I’d like you to do. I’d
like you to look at that camera and talk to your son. What do you want him
to know? Give him a message!
>> Missick: I told him the same thing I tell him every day. Listen man, you’re
a champ. You’re tell him every day you are a champion. You’re a child of God.
And you are a Missick, and that means something.
>> Rowena: Wow, thank you, Dorian. This has been such a wonderful time.
>> Missick: Oh, yeah, that was quick, that was good.
>> Rowena: That was quick. Yeah, until next time, I hope to have you back and
thank you for sharing your words of wisdom. This is the Soul Center Podcast.
Hopefully you got centered.