Maurice P. Kerry is a true testament of courage, resilience, and redemption, and you can tell through with how much passion he puts into his craft. From a United States Marine Corps veteran to an actor, Kerry has shown that hard work pays off, and he’s looking to be an inspiration to audiences around the world.
Kerry spoke with rolling out about his life journey, joining the Marine Corps, being a single father, and acting.
How was your experience in the Marine Corps?
It was a necessary experience. I grew up without a father, and my mother did the best she could. She was a full-time single parent of two boys. I didn’t have the guidance that a young Black man of a certain time requires to be successful and productive in society. I was fighting so hard to be a real a– n—- and not knowing that’s not what you want to be. The first time I broke the law and wore bracelets, I was 17. It happened two more times between the ages of 17 and 20. Then I realized I was a horrible criminal. I’m not good at it. I keep getting caught. This is not a flex, but I come from a long line of killers, drug dealers, bootleggers, pimps, and thugs, and I thought, “Well, it’s in my blood, this is where I’m supposed to be.” I didn’t take to it. I ended up joining the Marine Corps because I was headed down a very, very negative path. I will tell anybody this, and I don’t care what they say about the military now in 2024, when I joined, it was what I needed to put me in the place that I am now.
I am an advocate for the military, not just the Marine Corps. When a kid doesn’t know what they want to do, when they don’t know where to go, when they need direction, when they need guidance, just join the military. Do your four years and it’ll be over in a flash, and then you’ll figure it out from there.
Do you believe that men need to go through hard times in life?
We already do. I’m a full-time single father. I’ve been raising my daughter on my own for 14 years. Men have always gone through hardships. The difference is we wouldn’t talk about we didn’t we didn’t feel the need to explain it or talk about it. It was understood. I’m going through something, I’m not going to whine about it. I’m just going to go through it. I’m just going to figure it out. I speak more now about the hardships of men and now I understand that not just men, but even women need to hear it as well.
Our entire purpose as a man is to safeguard, protect, and provide. You don’t think that comes with hardships when protecting? The purpose of protecting is to take. If there are arrows being flung at you, I gotta stand in front of them. You don’t see them because I’m blocking them.
What is your favorite thing about acting?
My favorite thing about acting is having an opportunity to bring different characters to life. One of my favorite characters I’ve ever done is called The Handler on the show that I did for ALLBLK called “Wicked City” in season two. I had an opportunity to use a British accent and little mannerisms I was doing and just kind of fun stuff. Not just a thug or a straight character, but it was fun. Bringing different characters to life in my own interpretations and my ideas of it have been some of the best things.
