Actor and former football player Julian Horton chatted starring in the Netflix Tyler Perry drama series “‘Beauty in Black.”
How was your experience in “Beauty in Black”?
Beauty in Black was an incredible experience, an experience that I’ll forever be grateful for. There’s so many reasons on why it was a great experience but the main component came down to the people who I got to work with.
From the barbers, PA’s, wardrobe, crafty personnel, my castmates, and all the way up to Tyler Perry… the people made this experience a beautiful one that I will cherish forever because of the support, love, and camaraderie that we all shared.
This show was intense to film at times, maybe even crazy… but the teamwork that everyone put in to make this show what it has become is something I’ll never forget.
What was it like working with Tyler Perry?
It was amazing and enlightening to work with Mr. Perry. Tyler is very welcoming, loving, funny, engaging but also a boss that is revered and respected… and rightfully so.
His efficiency and ability to write, produce, and direct is already a feat of its own but to witness it in real time, and to be apart of it was a whole different phenomenon.
Mr. Perry is a genius, beast, revolutionary, and a savant for black culture and to be able to work with him on his first Netflix show is truly a blessing.
Can you talk about your transition from football player to actor?
The transition from football to acting was a seamless but also a stressful transition. So how can something be seamless and stressful? Reason for that is because it was only stressful when I let my mind interfere of what I wanted to do. I think fear, anxiety, stress, and worry are only as big as you make it.
These emotional elements can and have been daunting in my life but with prayer, meditation, and truly combating the mind… I became better. So that’s how why the transition was stressful and seamless. It was stressful because you’re going from one form of entertainment to another and that can be fearful.
To step into something brand new after playing football for 17 years, that can be scary… but I always knew the arts and this craft was something that I always took interest in and knew that I could do it at a high level if I ever beat the fear of not worrying about what people think and being confident.
Once I beat the fear and really honed in on making the decision of really making the move to acting, it started to become seamless.
The fear and low frequencies started diminishing and with time, came confidence and ever since I’ve defeated my own mind, it’s been blissfully seamless.
What do your plans for the future include?
My plans for the future is to keep trusting God and to keep allowing Him to curate and guide me to more opportunities where I can keep shining my light as a human being and as an actor.
How does it feel to be a part of the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent)
You know, it’s a gift and a curse now a days with the digital age. Social media and streaming can be great catalysts of growth, information, and exposure to things that we may not have known once before but it also has its downsides too. There’s just a lot going on.
From a lot of streaming services to social media, there’s almost too much to handle at one time. I’m very grateful though, to be able to be with Tyler Perry and on Netflix.
Netflix is one of the biggest streaming services in the world for entertainment, so to be able to be a part of a show with one of the biggest moguls in the world in Tyler Perry is something I don’t take lightly.
I express my gratitude every day in knowing that an opportunity like this is truly a blessing and a gift and I definitely want to make the most out of it. So how do I feel? I feel blessed.
What is your advice for young and aspiring actors and content creators?
My advice would be to keep God first, meditate, and to keep working your craft. Meditation, meditation, meditation. Meditation is very key to stay grounded in a world that is ever changing and chaotic at times. I always tell people that it starts from the inside out.
Many people want to always give acting advice and industry advice, I want to give human advice. This world can be tough at times. There’s many desires and dreams that many want so how do you stay driven, patient, and focused when things may not go your way? You have to be resilient from the inside out. You have to keep fighting.
You have to keep working. You have to stay patient and keep being focused. The thing that helps while doing all those things? Meditation. Meditation increases gray matter in the brain while also decreasing cortisol (stress hormone) in your body.
You want to be your best self while chasing your dreams and desires so yeah, I would definitely say keep working on yourself from the inside out and keep being intentional on what you truly want out of your life and craft because your time is coming.
What does the word success mean to you?
Success means peace to me. If I aimed for something in this life and got it, but it didn’t come with peace… did i really successfully get what I wanted?
If I aimed for something in this life and didn’t get it but it gave me lessons that could help me moving forward… then I would see that as a successful mission because a major component in this life is growth.
So, if I’m trying to grow and elevate as a human being and certain things can help me do that, I see that as success which ultimately gives me peace.
Peace in knowing that there’s going to be Wins and there’s going to be L’s, L’s as in lessons. Often the wins aren’t as fulfilling as the L’s at times because there’s often more growth in the process of taking L’s than there is winning.
So if by the grace of God, you can keep growing in this life and you’re content with yourself because you’re giving it your all, that’s success. That’s peace. That’s loving yourself and truly loving who you are.
Because truly loving who you are will give you peace and that’s real success. It ain’t the cars, the houses, the money, because you still may feel empty.
If you can look at yourself in the mirror and be at peace with yourself knowing that you’ve used the gifts God gave you, grown as a person, and really exemplified love and compassion… then that’s true success to me.
What’s the one thing you want people to get out of ‘Beauty in Black’?
“Beauty in Black” is going to a binge worthy thrill ride that I can’t wait for viewers to see. While conveying salacious drama, I really do hope the viewers can connect with the deeper themes of the show and learn lessons from the characters and the action that takes place.
There’s a lot of things to learn from this show… things to do and things not to do so I really hope the viewers can come for entertainment but also find lessons to help them get better as human beings of this world.
To learn more about Julian Horton, follow him on Instagram.
