Shameik Moore: Meet Hollywood’s next triple threat

This feature is taken from Grumpy Magazine’s ISSUE NO.15, available now

It is somewhat hard to track Shameik Moore down, as he seems to always be on the move. After completing our photoshoot in November at The Hollywood Hotel, and doing some press in Los Angeles for a Netflix Christmas rom-com he starred in, he immediately flew back to his home city, Atlanta, to focus on his music project. Therefore, it is not surprising that when I spoke to Shameik over the phone, he was in the midst of a pretty intense recording schedule. While work is more personal than ever for the 24-year-old multitalented and gifted artist, he makes sure to take advantage of every opportunity he gets in order to be where he wants to be and break barriers.

We’re not done yet, we’re in the process of this success story. We’ve got some accomplishments on the journey so far

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Shameik Moore is one of Hollywood’s busiest young actors and most refreshing figures on the rise. His dance, music and acting skills make him quite a triple threat to watch out for. He started making a name for himself by uploading singing and dancing videos online. ‘‘I thought I was going to be a musician first,’’ he confesses. ‘‘But now that I’m here and I’m able to do this, I have these eyes open.’’ After a breakout role in Rick Famuyiwa’s Dope when he was just 20, Shameik kept carving his path through the arts industry. ‘‘My evolution has been humbling,’’ he says, calmly. ‘‘In Dope, the challenge was behind the scenes. I didn’t have any real experience like I do now, to take on a role like that. Because I did the very best I could, things were moving in the right direction, and I exceeded expectations.’’ 

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Following up his feature-film debut, the actor joined Baz Luhrmann’s The Get Down on Netflix and delivered an appealing performance as Shaolin Fantastic. ‘‘We ended up shooting for two years so there are opportunities I couldn’t take on, because of my obligations to Netflix,’’ he tells us when asked about the challenges that occurred with this project. Last year, Shameik’s journey was taken to another level as he was a part of Sony Pictures’ animated movie Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which gained worldwide recognition and attention. Introducing Miles Morales, the first ever black Spider-Man voiced by Shameik, the critically acclaimed film came home with a Golden Globe and an Oscar. For the actor who remains humble and easy-going, this success was possible due to the team that was put together. ‘‘It was a blessing to be a part of that,’’ he recalls. ‘‘I’ve always wanted to be a black Spider-Man, but it was animated so the challenge [with Spider-Man] was to do the best that I can vocally, to bring this character Miles Morales to life.’’