Living in His American Dream: Actor, Motivational Speaker, and Poet, Monti Washington, Speaks on His Struggles Growing Up and His Current Success.

Monti Washington may be known for his many roles—from Bill in the BET series, Bruh or even Terrance Abrams in Games People Play, however, this actor’s journey to success was not an easy one. Despite his tough upbringing, Monti Washington has found strength in healing, and while sharing his talent with the world, still feels he has to give back as a motivational speaker.

Q: For those who may not know about your background, tell us a bit about yourself.

Monti Washington: I never met my dad. I don’t even know if he even knows that I exist. I was the product of a one-night stand. And because of my mother’s drug addiction, I lived in poverty most of my life. I slept in crack houses. I slept in parks for weeks at a time. I remember living in homeless shelters more than I remember living in my own home. Growing up, it got so bad that at one point, I got put into group homes and was taken out of my mother’s custody, myself, and my two younger brothers, and then eventually got put into foster homes.

Q: What was it like for you going into the foster system?

Monti Washington: For a second you would think things would be better. You’re out of a group home in a foster home. My first foster mother physically abused me, and I got taken out of her custody. My second foster mother locked me in a room for 23 hours a day and sent me down into a depression—to the point that I tried to commit suicide on a couple of occasions.

Q: That had to be extremely hard for you growing up, how did you process it all?

Monti Washington: After some therapy, years of counselling, and diving into that trauma, I was able to, kind of turn my life around. We must be careful what we believe about ourselves, even if it’s not true, because my foster mother used to say I was stupid for so many years that I began to believe it. I was in special education classes until the start of eighth grade. I had no learning disabilities, but you know, if you believe the stories, somebody feeds to you, then you start to believe it. t was. It was a rough upbringing, I had low self-esteem and experienced imposter syndrome.

Q: How did you overcome the negativity that was poured into you as a child?

Monti Washington: You know, I had to kind of get on this self-love journey that I’ve been on for the last seven years. And after all that negativity that was poured into me, you know, I went to high school, graduated one of the tops in my class, and got two college degrees. Magna Laude. I wrote a book, and I’m literally in the process of writing my next book and a bunch of other cool stuff I’m doing, but the first part of my life was rough.

Q: You’re very vocal in your journey of healing and therapy, which in the past wasn’t popular in the Black community – especially with Black men, and it’s admirable that you not only put in the work, but you encourage others to do the same.

Monti Washington: Yeah. You know, I feel like if you make it through some of the hard times, which I’ve been doing my life, you kind of owe it to yourself, you owe it to other people to know you, reach back, and help people out. When we’re going through trauma or trying to get over generational traumas as I did, it often feels like you’re alone. And you feel like you’re the only person who’s going through what you’re going through. Each time I get to use my voice to remind people “hey, I know my life is kind of dope now and I’m doing some amazing things… It started from a dark place. I’m not special. I’m not particularly gifted. I just didn’t give up.”

Q: You’re currently living out your American dream, looking back, what is it that kept you going, when times may have been hard?

Monti Washington: My natural optimism. You kind of hope for the best. And then also, being in my last foster home and being involved in sports. I got to see people who didn’t live as rough as I had. When you’re a kid, if everybody around you is on drugs, if everybody around you lives in poverty, that’s kind of your view of the world because everybody around you is going through the same thing. Once I got out and I got to see people who have parents at home or do live in a home and not a group home or at the homeless shelter—it was that little bit of exposure. I think being exposed to something new is incredibly powerful. I say all the time when I go and speak: “We can’t have what we can’t see.” I had a lot of ups and downs but I never wanted to stay down, and I wasn’t afraid to ask or seek help. I think that helped.

Q: If you could go back and tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Monti Washington: To be more confident, have more belief. I think growing up and getting some of the verbal and emotional abuse that I’d gotten stunted my growth and my confidence and my belief in myself now I wasn’t the one to give up. But there’s a difference between believing yourself and going all out and then just kind of surviving. Like when you believe surviving isn’t enough and you want to thrive. It’s a different level that you go with. So, I would tell myself it’s alright, you’re worthy of it and be more confident because that has helped me out in my relationships and my career, having that confidence and belief that you know, you belong.

Q: What drew you into the entertainment business?

Monti Washington: You know, what’s funny, it’s I got some nieces and nephews and it’s funny seeing little kids’ personalities develop. And you see some kids are naturally extroverted, and some kids are like, naturally shy. I believe I was always an extroverted kid. I was always in talent shows in elementary school. I was always doing plays. Even when I could barely read, I’d still be the kid who would volunteer. I think it was always inside of me. But coming from the hood and coming from where we come from, you’re not encouraged to pursue this kind of work because it’s so fickle. I never looked at it as a career until my junior year in college, I wrote, directed and starred in a play, and it just kind of renewed my love.

Q: You not only act, you can also call yourself an author, model, and motivational speaker, out of all the hats you wear, which do you prefer most?

Monti Washington: Now acting is my number one because it’s the hardest. It’s such an interpersonal thing. You can’t master the craft. It’s not like athletes, there’s no world champ or anything. Acting is one of those things you must look back at the end of your life and your career, and you have to look at the sum of it all and see “wow, I was pretty damn good!” I’ve had a great career. And I like the idea of something that’s going to take a lifetime to possibly master or get good at. Speaking is something I must do. Speaking and coaching and giving back since I’m lucky enough to be one of those who were able to get out of the hood, who survived and now can thrive in life. I just feel obligated to give back in a way. I think I’d feel selfish if I didn’t share the lessons I learned and inspire people who have gone through what I’ve gone through or people who are just going through their battles but can relate in another way. Writing and poetry and all those other things are just all under the umbrella of writing—words are my thing.

Q: Bruh is such an amazing contribution to the culture because it allows a depiction of black men outside of what is often seen in film and television — which oftentimes is surrounded by negative stereotypes.
What has it meant for you to be a part of the show?

Monti Washington: Well, it’s amazing because initially, when it first came out, right before the pandemic, we had the Black Lives Matter movement at the peak of it. All the protests and stuff are going on, and you just didn’t see on-screen representation. You just couldn’t point to a show that features four black males in a positive light, there were movies, but you couldn’t point to a show where it was like, wow, there’s four black men in their 30s and the show is focused on them in a positive light. It was cool and surreal to kind of see that. It was kind of part of a culture shift to see a lot more shows with people of color, LGBTQ plus community women, and you know a lot of underserved demographics in Hollywood that are finally getting their time to shine.

Q: What would you consider to be your dream role?

Monti Washington: There’s so many. Well, right now on my list is to be a series regular in a Marvel show. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of training and weapons training. I’m just getting those skills I need to play a superhero, and Marvel is such a big franchise that if you book a significant role on Marvel, it opens doors in a lot of other areas. So that’s kind of what I’m aiming for right now. And of course, I’d love to work with Viola Davis. I’d love to work with Hugh Jackman. Oscar Isaac. Don Cheadle—just to name a few.

Q: Are there any current projects you’re working on? Can you share?

Monti Washington: You know, we have the 4th season of Bruh, which should be coming out in 2023. I have a movie—an independent movie called Lipstick. I’ll play a detective going after a serial killer, stay tuned for the release date on that. I also will be in an episode of a new BET+ series called I Got a Story to Tell. I’ll be in episode 3. It’s a cool character I’ll get to play, and then other than that, we’ll see. You never know, you just have to stay ready.

Q: Are there any final words you want to leave with our readers?

Monti Washington: Generally, I think this applies to anybody regardless of what area of work you’re in, take up as much space as your existence will allow. I feel like a lot of people are playing small. A lot of people are doubting themselves. A lot of people are staying in their comfort zone. You have a space to occupy, take up as much of it as your existence will allow. And for those who are in a competitive field – this is something I say to myself every time I get on set:
Perform at the edge of your ability. If you want to be great in anything you do in life, whether that’s what you’re doing, it’s in entertainment, as a parent, or whatever, just perform at the edge of your ability. Don’t hold back. Give it your all!