From basketball superstar to
emerging actor, Rick Fox
  keeps his eye on the prize…
but his ego in check.

Rick Fox is not afraid to fail and views every bump in the road as an opportunity to grow.  For this very reason, he continues to succeed. From his 14-year NBA basketball career where he distinguished himself as a top player to starting over as a budding actor – Rick Fox perpetually keeps it all moving forward.

Always one to defy the odds, Fox comes from humble beginnings.  He grew up in the Bahamas of mixed ethnicity with a Bahamian father, Canadian mother and three siblings. He left his home and family as a teenager to attend high school in Indiana and pursue his dreams of going to college and playing basketball. He went on to the University of North Carolina where he was able to hone his ball playing skills before getting signed as a first round draft pick to the Boston Celtics. He later moved on to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately helping them win three NBA championships. 

Four years ago, at age 36, Fox retired from professional basketball with a totally new goal of becoming an actor.  He has since appeared on such television shows as “Dirt,” “One Tree Hill,” “Ugly Betty,” and “Love Inc,” and films including Spike Lee’s “He Got Game.”  And now he’s landed his first starring role in the upcoming Tyler Perry’s MEET THE BROWNS with a cast including Angela Bassett, Jenifer Lewis, David and Tamela Mann and Tyler Perry, who reprises his beloved role as Madea!  We recently had the opportunity to chat with Rick about his life as well as MEET THE BROWNS which opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, March 21st

You’re Bahamian and Canadian.  How did it feel to have that background growing up in The States?

My mom raised my two sisters as Black women (she’s a White Italian woman) and has lived in the Bahamas for the past 35 years.  Growing up in the Bahamas, race was not an issue as it was a mixed country, as a result, I consider myself of mixed heritage.  But here in The States, I saw how important it was for people to define themselves as part of a specific group… I felt like an outsider in that respect. 

You’re a dad with two children.  What’s the most challenging part of parenting?

As a parent, I think you’re tested daily, but communication is the key.  I always try to share with them about the things in my past that weren’t great choices – the things that made my life more difficult.  There’s nothing too sacred for me to bring up… I’d rather it be too soon to discuss something than too late.

How did your career as an athlete shape who you are today?

My experience as a ball player was all or nothing, win or lose… that’s what everything came down to.  So I try to share with my son and daughter that the colors in between are also beautiful – that there’s value when you come in second or land in the middle. When winning is the only focus, the real value of things gets lost.

What has failure taught you most?

Failure has shown me how to move forward more intelligently.  That way, my losses are even wins because I come out so much wiser about how to better approach things the next time around.

You’re a new actor.  How do you approach this new career after being a seasoned veteran ball player?  Is it tough to start over?

People get paralyzed because of the fear of beginning again.  You’re a rookie, so you’re not as good as you want people to see you.  You have to allow yourself to be a beginner and to grow.  I had a 14-year career as a ball player, won 3 NBA championships, made a great living and retired at 36.  Now it’s time to begin a new career.  A lot of athletes struggle because they wonder if they have enough time to be great again and what happens if they fail?  I had to ask myself if I was willing to face the criticism and go back at it again and again and again?  Truthfully, what helped most, was to examine why I wanted to act.  My answer was:  I had a need to be expressive and create a message.  So I have to accept the process as a marathon, and not a sprint.  When I looked at the other actors I respect, like Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson and then looked at their ages, I said ‘if I’m 36 now, twenty years from now would I be unhappy to look back and reflect on having had to begin again?’  The answer was no.

What advice would you give someone on choosing a career?

Pursue the career you would choose even if you wouldn’t get paid.

What was your favorite memory of working on MEET THE BROWNS?