Meet Keon Mitchell: Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Keon Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Keon, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
As an actor, I thought to myself, “Technically, I am a business and a brand. So why have you not became an LLC.” I began expanding and developing a team to go on the journey with me. It became essential that I need to operate as a business, including establishing business accounts and to working with management and public relations team, in order to really put a stamp on that my career is, indeed, a business.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My unapologetic hustle, dynamic personality and willingness to sacrifice it all sets me apart from most. I love meeting people and helping others get to where I am as I continue to grow. I am extremely proud of my spiritual journey on this road. I have grown so close to God and always have kept the vision he has for me in the forefront of everything that I do. Along with that, most people do not know that I also work in Corporate America as a Product Owner/Business Systems Analyst in IT utilizing my computer science degree from A&T. Balancing both my corporate life and my acting career has been one of the things that has brought me to a place a so much gratitude and appreciation for where I am today.

Just like other amazing talent or artist, I got here by staying persistent and maintaining good relationships with others who may be on the same journey as myself or who may already be in the postion to catapult me into opportunities beyond my imagination. I also took a ton of classes, performed in many plays to exercise my craft, have been afforded many auditions, and I have also been rejected on numerous occasions and have failed. It was and still is extremely tough. Depending on the talent, it can get very doubtful, and you being to question your craft and sometimes who you are. To beat that, I kept striving towards that end goal, that vision, that was placed in my head the moment I made that decision to take that leap. I changed my perspective from “failure means its not for me” to “failure is showing me another way to get right”.

There are many lessons this journey has taught me. However, there is one that sticks out the most. “Perfection paralyzes potential.” As an artist, I found myself limiting my imagination and technique focusing on perfection. Perfection streamlines some sort of criteria or rubric. That contradicts creativeness which limits the potential truths of simply living in the moment. As a man, this concept in acting help me free up the pressure of trying to do everything right. I found value in my mistakes and seek to always improve through my imperfections.

In a perfect world, I would have met Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, made the movie of the century and became the next man to start my career. But, what the world would be shocked about is that my career started in not he most perfect, yet cliche way. It started on Google.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First and foremost, I would not be here if it were not for that “push off the cliff” by Alysha Williams, a fellow Aggie (student of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University) from Florida. She gave me the encouraging words to take that leap into an arena I was terrified to enter. I have to give a major to my KR|M team for pushing me forward, my fellow fraternity brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and last but not least, my brothers of the Emerging 100 of Atlanta which is an auxiliary of the 100 Black Men of America. All of these pillars are and have aided me to get to this space. Much love to actress Joslyn Y. Hall for also being in my corner audition after audition, class and class.

Website: thekrmbrand.com

Instagram: @KeonRMitchell

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keonrmitchell/

Twitter: @KeonRMitchell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrmbrand

Image Credits
Brian Jones