Marcus Murphy Discusses Landing Acting Roles Based on Best-Selling Books


Veteran Actor Marcus Murphy has a lot of amazing roles coming up in 2023. In March he began production on the episodic short film series “We Want Justice: Living In A Country Influenced by Hate” by Marlon Reid, and Directed by KaZarr Coleman. His character in the project name is Derrick. Derrick is pro-black and the voice for the people in his community. The way Marcus is preparing for the character is by reading the book to grasp a better understanding of the character.

The next project Marcus is working on is “Tales of A Grown Girl” written by Award-Winning Author Yolanda Brathwaite. The stage play will debut on August 25 and 26 at the Silver Blackbox Theatre. Marcus’ character in the play name is Gary who are cousins with the lead Marshall. Marcus is reading that book as well to prepare for the role.


Marcus has been featured in Fashion GXD Magazine, The Grind Magazine, Soigne’ + Swank Magazine, The Hype Magazine, and many more!

Hi Marcus, before you picked up a script would you have called yourself an active reader? If, so what books do you recall burying your head in prior to pursuing acting?

Marcus: It is amazing how you can have an outline for your life and one great experience can shift your plans. Prior to embarking on an entertainment career academia was my only focus becoming a lawyer and then a judge like Greg Mathias. My reading selection varied from fiction, politics, and urban dramas. My top three books I have read are Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Green, and Assata Shakur Autobiography. The writer’s approaches are different in style but forever changed my thinking.

You have some upcoming acting roles based on best-selling books. Please tell us about these roles and how you’re preparing for each.

Marcus: Acting has become my normalcy and as I continue to grow in my craft accepting roles has been beneficial that has substance. My mentor told me years ago not to accept opportunities just because they are presented. It is important to understand the end goal you want to achieve. Therefore, the roles I am preparing for based on the books have been amazing. The Diary of A Change Man and We Want Justice: Living In A World Influenced by Hate by Marlon Reid. The book was well written to learn more about my character nuances and portray the roles to the best of my ability. In addition, working closely with my acting coach, and my peers, and having a dialogue with the writer and director has helped me prepare. The same preparation goes for Tales of a Grown Girl by Yolanda Brathwaite.

Have you ever seen anyone else portray the acting roles that you are about to obtain or are you the first to fill these shoes?

Marcus: The benefit of my upcoming work has allowed me to be the first to portray the characters. It is a blessing because it is a responsibility to set the tone and anyone else who has the opportunity to portray the characters can bring their own style to the role.

Have you got your rehearsal and production schedules yet? When do you start fully diving into these characters for stage or film?

Marcus: The production schedules vary depending on stage and film due to the logistics of the director, writer, and creative team. Nevertheless, I have my schedule for my film projects and upcoming stage opportunity this summer. I am a workaholic so having the schedules ahead of time plays a tremendous part when making time to invest in reading the entirety of a script a few times before character development and studying my lines. In addition, having months spaced out before my next projects allow me time to focus on more precedent scripts than others.

How do you learn your lines? Do you need to be alone, or with someone? Do you look in the mirror? What line of studying practices have you acquired?

Marcus: As a talent the more you evolve in your career the different behaviors changes. Initially, when I started acting a decade ago studying my lines was a struggle because I didn’t master what technique works for me. Be there as it may, having great memorization worked in my favor until I found a technique that works for me. The technique I use before studying lines is meditation because my mind and body must be in a calm space because if it isn’t focusing becomes unclear. Afterward, I study my lines solely by myself in the mirror, replaying my lines on a voice recorder to get a rhythm, and calling my peers and acting coach.

What else would you like our readers to know about you and the acting roles you currently are gearing up for?

Marcus: One thing I would like my readers to know about me is that I am no different than a person outside of entertainment. I chose to embark on an entertainment career but once the job is done going back to my day-to-day life is essential. It is a blessing to have a balance between entertainment and regular life, so I do not get to big headed. Nevertheless, I am preparing to shoot a short film We Want Justice: Living In A World Influenced by Hate by Marlon Reid. I can’t wait to start production because the project’s subject lines express what human beings are experiencing daily. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to portray a powerful character. Also, I have the opportunity to star and executive produce my first film Greed and Loyalty by DeWayne Etheridge. My character in the film is Ant, and as we follow the story of my character you will learn the many colors he has. The character is completely different than me but excited to develop and portray his story. In final consideration, preparing for Tales of A Grown Girl stage play by Yolanda Braithwaite premiering on August 25 and 26 at Black Box Theatre in Maryland.

Keep up to date on social media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SupermanMarc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollywooddevon/

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