Football doesn't last forever. Well, football does (said the NFL, a hint of panic in its voice), but players and careers do not. After a long and a fruitful high school/college/NFL/CFL/AFL career eventually you're going to figure out what in the hell comes next. Usually that involves either pharmaceutical sales or a partnership at a car dealership, but former Ohio State running back Maurice Hall has chosen a different path: he's an actor.
He's not the only Ohio State player, or even the only Ohio State running back, to get the acting bug. Eddie George has been a stage actor for years, including starring in "Chicago" on Broadway, and now Maurice Hall has written, acted and directed his own movie, which just premiered and will have a showing this afternoon at the Gateway Film Center at 4:30.
Called "Baker's Man," it's a romantic comedy (which you can watch the trailer of) that showcases the acting skills that Hall has been able to display on shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, and the Mindy Project.
From the Dispatch's Ken Gordon:
The visit will be something of a triumphant homecoming for Hall, 34, whose football career ended in 2005 before it started after the San Diego Chargers released him.
He struggled for several years to break into acting until 2013, when he began landing regular roles.
“I had a passion for football, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said. “Now, acting feels like what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve been blessed, but it took awhile.”
Like many acting dreams, it absolutely did take a while, but given how well he's been able to do it seems to have been worth it. Eleven Warriors interviewed Hall about his acting career in 2012, as he was just getting started on his mission:
You spent four good years at Ohio State from 2001-2004. Can you walk us through your time leaving Ohio State up until where you are today?
...
I started with ABC in Columbus and then moved to NBC the next year. I spent my time on-air with NBC until 2009, covering both Ohio State football and Football Friday Nights for High School. It was on Fridays that I started doing some skits and really feeling comfortable in front of the camera.
That led me to be interested in doing television in different capacities, so I talked to a friend who was currently doing some commercials in Columbus. He put me in touch with his agent, who wanted to sign me as a client.
She had me start taking acting classes, and while I was skeptical at first, I started to get back that passion I had for football and channeled it to acting. I started to book some independent films and plays, but after a little while I knew that if I wanted to pursue an acting career that I couldn't do it in Columbus.
I was working for Target at the time in Columbus and it just so turned out I was fortunate to get promoted within the company and relocated to Los Angeles. It was the perfect storm as I was able to stay employed by the same company, while also allowing me to move somewhere I needed to be in order to develop my new career.
Congrats to Mo Hall on both his acting success and his new movie; it's a rare and difficult thing to be able to make that kind of life change after football, but he's pulled it off.
