Actor Shameik Moore has been in the industry for a relatively short period of time but is blazing a path through notoriety and straight to stardom. We’ve seen him in Rick Fumiyuma’s Dope and now we’ve seen him in two great seasons of Netflix’s The Get Down as DJ Shaolin Fantastic.
The Shadow League caught up with him recently and we asked him, among other things, where things are headed.
“I’m very happy with life itself and where I’m going,” said Moore, his tone relaxed, words measured. “I’ve seen my future. I’m looking for what my purpose is within doing all of this. My ultimate goal is to effect history in a positive way. That’s my point of doing this to begin with. But I’m trying to make sure that what my decisions are always reflect that dream. That’s really where I’m at.”
The character DJ Shaolin Fantastic is very complicated in that he is equal parts nefarious and loving, relative to one’s point of view. I asked Moore what portions of this character were fabricated and which were actually culled from his personality.
“I feel like you have to become the character in order to be the character,” he said. “It has to be you. So you have to find that character within yourself. I’m just not a thug. I’m not looking for trouble. That’s the difference. But I have the swagger.”
Moore’s love for Hip-Hop predates The Get Down. He released a mixtape in 2012 titled I Am Da Beat, and recently released Worth the Risk on May 5.
Dropping mixtape titled “Worth The Risk” on May 4th
Shameik Moore (@shameikmoore) March 18, 2017
I asked him what it was like filming in the birthplace of Hip-Hop.
“The way we portrayed it, and the way it is now, there was more energy before,” he said. “If we’re in the Bronx and we’re shooting a scene, I think there’s way more people that come. If we’re in Brooklyn, it’s like one or two people that may come. When we’re in the Bronx, they have people walk us to the set.”
The Get Down is currently available on Netflix. You can check out Worth the Risk online. Shameik is also slated to be the lead voice in the upcoming Spider-Man animated movie as Miles Morales.
