The White Moves
Not enough hours in the day for this rising Hub star
December 19, 2010
Brian White could make the busiest person feel lazy.
The 35-year-old Newton native just wrapped filming his second season as Marcus on TNT’s “Men of a Certain Age” (Mondays at 10 p.m.).
Next year, the actor pops up on the big screen in the Joss Whedon film “The Cabin in the Woods”; “Politics of Love,” about a romance during the 2008 presidential election; and the health-care drama “The Heart Specialist.” Every year, he organizes Helping Hands Celebrity Weekend to benefit various charities. He also puts out a 16-month calendar and donates the proceeds to charity. Early next year, he launches his youth development program called Black Carpenter, which includes a book, a documentary and a speaking program.
The Dartmouth graduate credits his father, former Boston Celtics [team stats] player Jo Jo White, and his mother, Estelle, for his busy schedule and philanthropic endeavors.
“So much has been given to me,” White told the Herald in a telephone interview last week while driving to his home in the Hollywood Hills. “I was raised by my father, and he had to juggle family and sports and his pursuits outside of sports, like philanthropy and entrepreneurship. So I was raised with role models like my dad, (former Boston Celtics coach) M.L. Carr and my mom to learn how to prioritize, segment and compartmentalize my day to maximize everything I wanted to do.”
White played for both the New England Patriots [team stats] and the Boston Blazers lacrosse team until a hamstring injury sidelined his sports career. He became a stockbroker and then moved to Los Angeles. One night he was approached by a casting agent, who helped him land a role on the UPN comedy “Moesha.” With that, his acting career was launched. Most notably, he had a recurring role on FX’s acclaimed cop show “The Shield,” with Lowell native Michael Chiklis.
White was attracted to the role on “Men of a Certain Age” because of what it represents. His character Marcus is the top-selling salesman at a car dealership managed by Owen Thoreau (Andre Braugher).
“The most together family (on the show) is the Thoreaus. I hadn’t seen or read or heard about a minority family that was that aspirational, that upper middle class on TV. They’re business owners. The grandparents are married and loving. The parents are married and have smart, well-to-do kids. I hadn’t seen a lot of examples of that and I just really wanted to be a part of a series that puts that kind of messaging out in the world.”
He noted that this week’s Golden Globe nominations included few nominations for actors of color, and said, “The opportunities are fewer and farther between. I think we still have some fighting to do, and it’s exciting to be part of the fight.”
He counts his onscreen work with Chiklis and Braugher as career highlights.
“Those two, there’s nobody better at acting and carrying a show,” he said. “Every single day is a learning process. You can never master it. Acting is like football. If you ask Tom Brady [stats] or Peyton Manning, can they get better even with all the Super Bowl rings, all the trophies and all the accolades, they’ll say, ‘Yes, every single play I can get better.’ That’s what the process of acting is like. Andre is a master. As long as ‘Men of a Certain Age’ shoots and is on the air, I will act like a sponge and try to soak up every pearl of wisdom that I can.”
Courtesy of The Boston Herald
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