“Ballers” is closing its fourth season with a bang. The HBO  comedy-drama series has remained one of the network’s best performing series since it premiered in 2015. Joining Dwayne ‘The Rock” Johnson is London Brown in the popular role of ‘Reggie.’ We sat down with actor, photographer, and stand-up comedian to discuss his plans following the upcoming season finale.

Johnson stars as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career of choice as the financial manager of other NFL players. The series, which airs on Sundays, costars Roy Coddry as Strasmore’s business partner Joe Krutel. Brown portrays ‘Reggie,’ as Krutel’s close friend  and Strasmore’s antagonist.

Prior to ‘Ballers’ Brown was the lead in the Fuse Network show “The Hustle” which was created and produced by Prentice Penny. He won ‘Best International Comedian’ at the 2013 Black Comedy Awards in the UK and tours around the country doing stand-up. As a photographer, Brown is working on publishing a coffee-table book.

HOMBRE: How would you describe the character of ‘Reggie’?
London Brown: In season 1 he can be annoying and doesn’t know how to handle money, but is trying. Now in season 4 we see him maturing, making better choices with his friend. In the first season he didn’t know what he was doing and he was really learning the ropes. This season we see him making better investments, but at the end of the day he’s looking out for his friend, making sure everything is okay.

London Brown with Roy Corddry

H: How do you come into the role?
LB: I got a call. I didn’t have representation at the time. A friend called and said HBO is looking for you. I went into audition and the process was two months, then they said we want you for the part. Initially the character was supposed to be fat. And Reggie was only supposed to show up a couple of episodes, but they liked what I was able to bring to the character and they made me one of the leads of the show. I moved to Miami for the first two seasons and it worked out. I don’t take any credit for it, it was blessing. HBO is too big of a network to be looking for someone from South Central LA. I grew up in the hood. I’m grateful it happened to me that way.

Photography by London Brown

H: What other projects are you working on?
LB: Right now I’m working on a photography coffee table book (with homelessness as the subject.) I want to use some of the proceeds to help homeless people. I grew up on the hood and I also cut hair. I started to cut hair when I was 13 or 14. And when I started to cut hair I was cutting hair of people in rehab, drug addicts, ex-cons, junkies, and so forth. It was an ex-drug addict who thought me to cut hair, so I’ve always been connected to street people. When I was a kid I would collect food and take it to skid row and feed homeless people. Later I would practice my photography with them. I didn’t want to do it with my friends because it was too much pressure.
I realized that society was quick to judge those people. And I realized when we get rid of titles, cars, fancy clothes…who are we at the heart? That’s what I connect to. I don’t put people down and I don’t kiss up to nobody because at the end of the day people are people.

H: Now in your fourth season as co-star of a successful series, what advice can you offer aspiring actors?
LB: I would say go after what makes you happy. There are no special people. Everybody has a gift. Everybody has something they are really good at. The gift is the things we do well with the least amount of effort. Everybody is gifted at something. But the difference between the Lebron James, the Beyonces, the Oprahs, and the George Clooneys is that they found out what they are good at and pursued it without fear.
Versus the people among us who have fear. Some people are afraid to discover what they are good at. If you give up the fear you have a different perspective because you are now fulfilled.

H: Speaking of this, how do you define happiness?
LB: Two things that make us happy are, do we like who we come home to? And do we like what we do for a living?
When people find out what they are supposed to do, they’re happy.
A lot of people are chasing money. That’s why we have celebrities who are rich and they kill themselves. It’s not about money. Find out what you’re supposed to do that fulfills you.
I’m fulfilled when I do stand-up at night. That when I don’t think of anything else.
My wish is that the same feeling of ebullience I have when going to work, I want other people to have it.
I want people to go after their dreams.

Photography by London Brown