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Rick
Fox: Mastering The Art of Reinvention
From
basketball superstar to emerging actor, Rick Fox keeps his
eye on the prize and his ego in check to score big every time.
Rick Fox is not
afraid to fail and views every bump in the road as an opportunity
to grow, so for this very reason, he continues to succeed.
From his 14-year basketball career in the NBA where he distinguished
himself as a top player, to life as a father of two, his divorce
and reconciliation with actress Vanessa Williams to even his
seque into a budding acting career – Rick Fox keeps
it moving. Forward.
Always
one to defy the odds, Fox came from humble beginnings. He
grew up in the Bahamas of mixed ethnicity with a Bahamian
father, Canadian mother and three siblings. With the dream
of financing his college education through sports, as a teenager
Fox left home, traveling to Indiana where he attended high
school while living with a family under a guardianship. There,
he methodically went about accomplishing that goal –
first by attending The University of North Carolina where
he honed his ball playing skills and then by being signed
as a first round draft pick to the Boston Celtics. He would
later play for Los Angeles Lakers, helping them win three
NBA championships.
Four years
ago, at age 36, Fox retired from professional basketball with
his eye on another prize….to become a actor. He has
since appeared on such television shows as “Dirt,”
“One Tree Hill,” “Ugly Betty,” “Love
Inc,” and Spike Lee’s film “He Got Game.”
MEET THE BROWNS opens nationwide in theaters on Friday, March
21st and stars Angela Bassett, Jennifer Lewis, David and Tamela
Mann and Tyler Perry, who reprises his beloved role as Madea!
What
advice would you give someone on choosing a career?
Pursue the career you’d do, even if you couldn’t
get paid.
What
was your favorite memory of working on Meet The Browns?
The time I spent with Angela (Bassett) off the set running
our lines and working together. I jumped ahead in terms of
my understanding of working with a fellow actor because Angela
grabbed me and pulled me forward. Angela and Tyler (Perry)were
like blank canvases. They were open to what I brought to the
table and what I had to offer. The experience was invaluable.
You’re
Bahamian and Canadian. How did it feel to have that background
growing up in the states?
My mom raised my two sisters as Black women (she’s a
white Italian woman) and has lived in the Bahamas for the
last 35 years. I consider myself of mixed heritage and growing
up in the Bahamas, race was not an issue because it was a
mixed country. Here in the states, I saw how important it
was for people to define themselves as part of a specific
group…I felt like an outsider in that respect.
You’re
a dad with two children. What’s the most challenging
part of parenting?
As a parent, I think you’re tested daily, but I always
try to stay in communication with them about the things in
my life that weren’t great choices, that made my life
more difficult. There nothing too sacred to discuss. I’d
rather it be too soon to discuss something than too late.
How
did your career as an athlete shape who you are today?
My experience as a ball player was all or nothing, win or
lose…that’s what everything came down to. So I
try to share with my son and daughter that the colors in between
are beautiful also…..that there’s value when you
come in second or land in the middle. Otherwise the value
of things get lost when winning is the only focus.
What
has failure taught you most?
What failure showed me was how to move forward more intelligently.
There are always more wins in my losses because I always come
out so much wiser about how to approach things better the
next time.
You’re
a new actor. How do you approach this new career after being
a seasoned veteran ball player? Is it tough to star over?
People get paralyzed because of the fear of beginning again.
You’re a rookie, so you’re not as good as you
want people to see you. I say, allow yourself to be a beginner
and allow yourself to grow. I had a 14 year career as a ball
player – won 3 NBA championships, made a great living.
Retired at 36. Now I have to begin my career again. A lot
of athletes struggle because they wonder a) do I have enough
time to be great again? b) what happens if I fail? Am I willing
to face the criticism and go back at it again and again and
again? Truthfully, the thing that helped me was examining
why I wanted to act. My answer was – to be expressive
and create a message. So I accept this as a marathon, not
a sprint. And when I look at actors I respect, the Morgan
Freeman’s, the Denzel’s, Samuel L. Jackson and
I looked at their ages, I said ‘if I’m 36 now,
twenty years from now would I be unhappy to look back and
reflect on having had to begin again? The answer is no.
Who
are your favorite athletes?
Serena Williams, who I’ve watched grow as a
tennis player and have taken my daughter to see a number of
times. Kevin Garnett to whom I wish nothing but the best.
I truly love his approach to basketball. He really transcends
generations, he’s about team sports. And Tiger Woods,
I appreciate him for his consistent improvement above and
beyond his dominance of the sport. He begins every year with
the things that he can get better at. It’s inspiring
for me….he’s about constant and consistent improvement
in life.
What
are your three favorite books?
The Four Agreements
Respect for Acting (which constantly reminds me of why I’m
acting)
Proverbs
What
about your favorite films?
“Love Actually” (I loved the Christmas element)
A number of Penny Marshall films – I really like “A
League of Their Own”
“Hoosiers”
You’re
a very handsome man. How was it growing up being a pretty
boy?
I felt objectified. My mom never cut my hair, so
I had long curls and the guys were envious because I got attention
from the girls. So I found myself always apologizing and diminishing
it and I later learned to stop doing that. I realized I was
conducting my life by not wanting to be “too much.”
But you’re supposed to use the tools you’re given
in life, all of them.
What
kind of things do you do with your kids?
I took my son to a Kanye West concert for New Years and it
was our first concert together. We experienced something special
together while watching and enjoying someone perform at their
best. On the way home, we talked about being at your best
and not being at your best sometimes. We looked at the speedometer
and I said sometimes it’s on O and sometimes it’s
at 100 --- and sometimes at 5 miles per hour. You have to
adjust.
You
work with your ex-wife Vanessa Williams on the show “Ugly
Betty,” so obviously you two must have a good relationship.
How did you achieve that?
We were married for six years and I was on the road 10 months
out of the year, so our communication was tested with our
busy schedules and ultimately, both parties developed resentment.
But we have great communication now and I’m proud that
we have a beautiful daughter together and we’ve had
a lot of joy in co-parenting her. Outside of that, we root
for each other’s professional careers. There would be
no Rick Fox on “Ugly Betty,” if Vanessa hadn’t
said ‘I’m alright with that.’
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