Original subtitles

[MUSIC PLAYING]

It hasn't been all of that long

that I have been willing to claim the title storyteller.

It's something that I believe that I

have grown into over time.

There are so many different ways of storytelling.

In my own career, I story tell as an actor, as a director,

as a writer, as a producer, as a podcaster, as a public speaker.

There's storytelling through dance, through music,

through painting.

What being a storyteller means to me

is one who is willing to take on the responsibility of bringing

stories to the people.

I believe that the stories that we tell one another

are the foundation and set the parameters

for who we are as people.

We are continually telling each other our stories.

What I do is tell stories on a conscious level.

I'm always aware of the audience that I'm in front of and what--

what the message is.

What's the purpose for the story?

Is it to inform?

Is it to educate?

Is it to entertain?

Is it to enlighten?

There are so many different outcomes

we can point ourselves to in the process of storytelling.

But I think always the--

the uber purpose is for us to gain some sort of information

mostly about ourselves and the human condition.

Self-knowledge is key to finding your authentic storytelling

nature.

Because you know, they say as a-- as a writer,

write what you know.

As a storyteller, it is essential to know oneself

in order to have that authentic place

from which your story flows.

And the-- the good ones, the great ones,

all know themselves incredibly well and spend the time,

put in the work necessary, to discover

all aspects of who they are, the light as well as the dark,

right?

We have to be willing to go on that journey

and discover things that we may not like about ourselves,

but they are also a part of who we are.

And we have to honor those dark impulses as well.

There's shadow in everyone.

And storytellers know that.

They know that-- that the dark is as important as the light.

And the journey of humanity is about finding our way

through the darkness toward the light.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The story of my life and--

and how it has shaped the storyteller in me

I think is an interesting story.

Because if you look at my career,

I've been able to portray human experience through these vastly

different characters in hugely disparate circumstances.

And being able to play those characters successfully,

authentically, is where the rubber meets the road.

What makes the difference is the intention behind the story,

right?

What is it that you want to say?

And-- and where is it from your personal experience that

lends credence, that lends weight, gravitas,

reality to the story that you're trying to tell?

Allowing your personal experience

to be a part of your storytelling

is what helps round out your storytelling persona

because that's coming from that, again,

that authentic place inside.

And authenticity is-- it's not automatic.

For most of us, discovering our authentic selves

is, in fact, something that we must practice.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I discovered theater arts in the seminary at St. Pius.

We had a very strong program for theater arts.

And the first play I auditioned for

was Mister Roberts, play that takes place on a Navy ship.

And I had one line.

My character's name was Reber.

And-- and it was only one line, but I was hooked.

I was hooked by the atmosphere.

There was something about the vibe

that was intoxicating to me.

It was all these people coming together

from different disciplines, right, sets, lighting,

costumes, props.

All of these different disciplines

came together in the service of telling this story,

and that's really powerful for me.

And then, you know, when I started my professional career,

I realized that as--

as a Black man, I couldn't just make my living doing one thing,

right?

I'm not the sort of guy who can do anything that he wants,

you know.

You look at, I don't know, but people like Kevin Costner,

you know, white males who just have

all of the opportunity in the world.

I'm not that guy.

I've been able to develop other skill

sets, other methods and methodologies of storytelling.

It was on "Star Trek--

The Next Generation" that I became

a director, a writer, and then a producer, a public speaker.

I have developed all of these modalities of storytelling

in part out of necessity because I couldn't just do one thing

and make my living.

I had to diversify.

And I think that-- that artists these days are aware of that,

that they need to do more than simply be an actor, right?

Because as an artist today, you have

to handle your own social media.

So you're telling stories there every day.

I have been purposefully exposed to all kinds

of stories throughout my life.

And I'm happy to say most of them live inside of me.

And that's, you know, that's sort of the magic of stories

that--

that we take them in, and they become literally a part of us.

That's a really powerful influence.

There-- there are few influences that can

have that sort of impact on us.