Actor Vaughn Hebron chatted with Digital Journal’s Markos Papadaots about “The Game Reboot” on Paramount+ and being a part of Tyler Perry’s “The Oval” on BET.
Background on Vaughn Hebron
Hebron was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, as the oldest of nine siblings. He attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania on a partial scholarship for Division 1 Football Athletics. While in school, he became an active member of the great Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated in Spring 2012, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Business and a minor in Africana Studies in 2013.
After a short career in pharmaceuticals, he would later move to Los Angeles where he pursued a career in acting. Soon after, he would book various commercial and new media spots, leading up to his major starring role in “Tyler Perry’s The Oval” on BET.
‘The Game Reboot’
Hebron may be seen as the new male lead of the uber-popular dramedy, “The Game Reboot” on Paramount+. In the show, Vaughn plays the lead role of Jamison Fields, an undrafted free agent who brings the heat to the San Diego Sabers. “‘The Game Reboot’ is literally going amazing,” he said. “It is going to be so fun and it will be so well received. I’ve been loving it.”
The show brings back some of the favorite characters from the original cast, but leading the new class, is Hebron. It premieres on Paramount+ in November of 2021.
‘The Oval’
In “The Oval,” created by Tyler Perry, he plays the role of Barry Hallsen, the son of the White House butler Richard (played by Javon Johnson). “The Oval” is the No. 1 primetime show on cable. “The cast has become such iconic characters,” he said. “My character has put his life on pause to find his daughter on the show, and that shows how much Barry loves her and cares for her.”
“‘The Oval’ has been an extreme life lesson for me. It has incorporated many industry and life lessons that I have used in so many other productions. It’s an honor to be on there and I just learned a lot. It was such a blessing to have my start there with Tyler with such an iconic director, writer, mogul, and producer. I am so appreciative,” he said.
‘King Richard’
In addition, Hebron is also set to appear in a small supporting role in the upcoming Venus and Serena Williams feature, King Richard opposite Will Smith in theaters, just time for Thanksgiving. “It drops on November 19, and it looks like it has a lot of Oscar buzz for Will Smith, which is great. I think it has the same vibes as ‘Pursuit of Happiness.’ I can’t wait to see what happens with that. I hope he gets an Oscar for that,” he said.
‘The Devil You Know’
Vaughn recently landed a supporting lead role in the motion picture thriller, “The Devil You Know” opposite Omar Epps and Michael Ealy. The Lionsgate and Command Films thriller is written and directed by Charles Murray. “This one will be a conversation started with Michael Ealy and Omar Epps, they made sure it was done really well with Charles directing it,” he said.
The story follows the Cowans’ family. After the Cowans’ family rallies around the black sheep of their family, Marcus (Epps), to pull him out of a dark place in his life, he learns that one of his brothers may be involved in a home invasion that’s left another family dead.
Driven by his desire to try to protect his brother, Marcus finds himself at odds with his brother, and maybe their whole family. In the film, he plays Terry, the youngest son of the Cowans’ family. He’s a teacher by day, a preacher in training, and the sensitive one in the family. “The film touches on a lot of important issues. It will raise a lot of people’s eyebrows,” he said.
The digital age
On being an article on the digital age, he said, “The digital age is all I’ve ever known. I didn’t have any experience before that. I love it since there is so much content out there and it’s great for actors now. There is so much more diversity and many more opportunities. It’s great that there is so much content out there but it means that your show needs to be great to be able to stick out.”
Advice for hopefuls in acting
For young and aspiring actors, he said, “If you have a dream and a specific task that you want to accomplish, then stick to it. Find out how to achieve it in the best way possible, and don’t let yourself be distracted from anything else. Also, don’t get discouraged, find a way to get it done, and go for it.”
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “The Metamorphosis.” “This is my transformation chapter, that would be it,” he explained.
If he were to do any track and field event, he revealed that it would be the hurdles. “I did run track and field back in the day. The hurdles are the funnest race since you are not only running straightforward, you have hurdles and you have those in life as well,” he said. “You need to pace yourself and understand that these hurdles will come up and you need to see them coming. You have to adjust your strategy on how to overcome them and how to keep your speed and your momentum. The hurdles for me as a metaphor for life.”
Hebron listed the “freestyle” as his favorite stroke in swimming.
Hebron defined the word success as “true happiness.”
For his fans, he said, “I am still a baby in this industry. I appreciate the fans that have stuck by me and are on this journey with me. It’s a learning experience and you get better. They inspire me to be better for them and to bring them better content.”
To learn more about Vaughn Hebron, follow him on Instagram and check out his IMDb page.
