Born in Union, South Carolina and raised in the small town of Jonesville Jeffery “Jeff” Smith has always been the actor of his family. Jeff’s first dream was to be a professional wrestler like Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. He and his bother would practice wrestling moves as well as acting our character roles. Little did Jeff know that he was subconsciously building himself into a dramatic actor while imitating his favourite wrestlers.
Motherly words of wisdom!
The words “Always do your best” are what Jeff heard on a daily basis from his mother growing up. If he was strolling to get good grades in school his mother would remind him to always do your best. Doing his best is exactly what he’s doing with his acting career today. Starting off like most actors do “In the background” being seen, but never heard, Jeff got his first speaking role in 2016 as a detective in a T.V series documentary. Over the last three years, Jeff has begun to master the art of playing the cop or the detective. What else can he do Jeff thought.
Show My Versatility
In 2018 African American independent filmmaker Walt Diddy contacted Jeff about a day player role in the then titled film The eyes of Justice. Due to creative differences and the cast and crew walking out on the production, Walt Diddy went off social media in 2019 to clear his mind and rebuild from the emotionally draining setback. Months went by without a word from Walt, Jeff thought the project was officially over and proceeded on to build his dreams.
The Comeback
In March of 2024, Jeff reviewed a message from Walt Diddy stating he’d obtained the resources and crew needed to make a motion picture and he wants Jeff to be a part of the project. Jeff agreed and prepared himself mentally to place the role of Bruce that he was the first cast in and just thought of the role as he has all his movie roles. Always do your best and everything will be just fine. A few weeks past and Jeff received a phone call from Walt Diddy with a change of plans.
It’s time to make local stars, stars!
There have been a few major changes Walt told Jeff, the first was the name of the film has changed to better reflect dramatic irony and to kill the past. Walt went on to inform Jeff that the new movie title would be Justice Through Redemption and that he’d like Jeff to be the starring actor Robert Wren.
This came as a shock to Jeff though he knew deep down that he had worked hard over the years on the movies set and that he was prepared for the moment. Jeff accepted the role as well and leadership support on set. For an indie filmmaker like Walt Diddy to pull off a full movie production shoot in 10 days on a very limited budget, it would take teamwork. Jeff stepped up to the plate by being a part of the crew carrying gear, he supports transportation efforts when the director’s care was in the shop and most of all Jeff was cooperative to the cast, crew, and to the story. A man can’t ask for much more than that Walt Diddy said, he went on to say that he was great for the Jeff would trust me enough to be in my film.
Written by: Valdez Ross – The Indie Beat blogger
