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Feature
Native Of Tampa Cast In The New Season Of Tyler Perry’s ‘The Haves And The Have Nots’
Tenacity, perseverance and consistency are just a few words to describe Tampa na- tive J. Oscar Simmons. Un- like many young hopefuls moving to New York, J. Oscar Simmons stayed focused and committed to his dream of be- coming a television and film actor. And it is paying off!
In the new season of Tyler Perry's, The Haves and the Have Nots, Simmons will appear in three episodes.
Everything began moving very fast from the moment he received the call for the audi- tion from Kathleen Schultz, his Atlanta Agent. She submit- ted a video tape of Oscar's work to Tyler Perry Studios. They were looking for some- one to play a funeral director. A week after submitting the video tape online to Tyler Perry Studios, he received an offer for the role from Tyler Perry's casting associate, Rhavynn Drummer.
Mark Swinton, one of the producers of the show which appears on the OWN Network, expressed confi- dence that they had the right person upon viewing the tape. He will appear in three episodes as Jonathan Wil- son, a funeral director. The show airs at 9 p. m. on Tues- days.
For those who have not seen the show, there will be a "binge-a-thon" of episodes starting with the very 1st episode beginning on June 18that10p.m.Itwillleadup to the June 21st episode where Oscar will make his debut on the show.
Simmons also has a Net- flix Original Film coming out
J. OSCAR SIMMONS
July 29th titled "Tallulah." It stars Ellen Page (Inception and X-Men), Allison Janney (The Help and American Beauty) and Uzo Aduba (Or- ange is the New Black).
"Tallulah" is a feature film written and directed by Sian Header. Header is a writer on Orange is The New Black. It is her first feature film. The movie was picked up by Netflix even before the Sun- dance Film Festival started.
"I play the valet in the hotel. It's a very small part, but it's a scene with the star of the movie, Ellen Page," exclaims Oscar. For more information: https://pro- labs.imdb.com/title/tt163908 4/?ref_=sch_int.
"Acting is so many things to me right now. It's extremely challenging. It always has been and always will be. It is a pro- fession in many ways. You are asked to create a life from scratch (develop a character) or to portray a life that has been lived or is currently being lived. All one has to do is think about the unlimited amount of layers that goes into an actual
living human being and be able to capture all of those lay- ers.
“You must be able to por- tray those layers convincingly on film and television. Know- ing that they are not your own God-given layers, it is a te- dious, but very possible task. Achieving this change or meta- morphosis within his or her body, that is sometimes scary to me because it's not me.
“A magical thing happens. Some of the best actors Don Cheadle, Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman are masters at this metamorphosis. I am still learning and will continue to learn new ways to approach mycraft.Ihopetogoontodo bigger films, bigger roles, more television, more the- ater. I want to continue pro- ducing. I'm auditioning every
THE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS CAST
day for commercials, film and TV. Out of all the parts I do book, there are many that I do not book.
“I would like to say to those who are interested in pursuing acting as a career, never ever give up. If you truly are an actor, there's no way you'll be able to. I will be doing this for the rest of my life."
J. Oscar Simmons
started his career in theater here in Tampa Bay as an actor with Bay Community Players under the direction of Geri Kelly. He appeared as Junie in "Happy Ending," and in "Can I Speak For You Brother" as Haki R. Mad- hubuti and as Theo Parker in "Ceremonies of Dark Old Men."
An accomplished singer, Oscar has performed around the Bay Area, including the an- nual Dr. Mr. Luther King Showcase.
Mr. Simmons, the son of James Oscar Simmons and the late Altamese Harvey- Simmons, attended Brandon
High School and sang with the Aquilla Singers. He is also a graduate of Florida A and M University and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Oscar's career that pays the bills for now, is Pharmacy. He has been a Pharmacist for over 20 years, having started in his family business known as the College Hill Pharmacy.
Although Oscar's first love is acting he realized early that being able to live comfort- ably on an acting career may take time. In the meantime, he had to eat. When asked how his father felt about this mile- stone, he said, “he expressed pride in the fact that I have re- mained committed to my dreams of an acting career. This may be a small role, but it's a beginning and I am ex- cited, yet not overzealous."
Oscar will make his debut in this season of The Haves and the Have Nots, which be- gins June 21st.
(Article written by Yolanda Ervin)
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