Athlete-turned-actor Anthony Kelley is set to make his big screen debut in forthcoming motion picture The Gambler. Kelley’s first entry into the movie-making business has inspired the 22-year-old Los Angeles native to officially change his life path.
“I was pursuing a career in basketball, and I was at a crossroads. I was trying to go overseas, but that’s very hard,” Kelley tells AllHipHop.com. “So when I landed this role, I fell in love with acting. I decided I might as well just continue pursuing this career.”
Kelley jumped into his new passion with full force. While working on the Rupert Wyatt-directed movie he made it a point to absorb as much information from all the veterans on set as he could. The crime drama also features an all-star cast including Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Michael K. Williams, Jessica Lange, and Brie Larson.
“It was great working with the cast. At first I was a bit insecure, because this is my first film,” explains Kelley. “I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect, so after every take I would ask the cast and crew members, ‘How was it?’ Everybody was telling me it was good and just giving me their input. So it was great working on this film.”
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Watch the trailer for The Gambler below.