Actor Saint Ranson prepares for his role as the legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett
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Posted By: Hija Chang on May 24, 2017 FEATURED Content Actor Saint Ranson is preparing for his role as legendary singer Wilson Pickett in the Amazon Independent film, "In the midnight hours". Ronson was selected to portray Pickett after 8 years of casting and scouting efforts by producer and director Stanley V. Henson, Jr. Saint Ranson was born on December 16, 1988, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as Saint Lozon Ranson. Ranson is an actor and musician, known for his upcoming roles In The Midnight Hours (2019), Naptown (2018) & Cooley High: 60610 (2018). As a child, Saint was fond of classic films while growing up. He use to marvel at performances by Michael Jackson, Sidney Poitier & Denzel Washington. He would entertain the family at Thanksgiving & Easter dinners along with his aunts and cousins and at the age of 13, he appeared in a debut performance of "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" as a young Duke Orsino. His love for the theater grew into other talents as learned to play piano in his teen years. Some would say that Saint is gifted due to having competed in national music and oratorical contests. His passion for performance carried through into college where he performed in numerous productions from lead and featured dance roles in Ragtime & Dreamgirls to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream & Othello. Ranson graduated from Jackson State University in Communications & Theatre where his life was changed forever. The Department of Speech & Theatre at JSU, along with the motivation of his professors and mentors, inspired Ranson to take his gifts to the next level -- to pursue a professional career in acting. In 2014, Ranson competed at the International Modeling and Talent Associaton (IMTA) Los Angeles and landed Top 3 in both Male Actor of the Year and Male Commercial Model of the Year categories. In addition, he took home Red Carpet awards in: TV Beauty, Monologue, Swimwear, On-Camera Host, TV Real People, Duo Acting & Commercial Print. Shortly after the competition, he was asked to sign an agency contract and move to Los Angeles. He declined the offer and decided to finish his last five months of graduate school at Arizona State University where he earned his Masters in Communication & Advocacy with an emphasis on Performance Studies. Upon graduation, he was offered an opportunity to teach and recruit for the university. He took the offers and decided to stay in Phoenix, AZ for an additional year and a half and to also work more on his craft in local theater companies. Two years later, Saint took a leap of faith and moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after, he was cast in a production of Othello where he made history as the second black male to play "Iago" in a Shakespeare Company and was recently cast as Wilson Pickett in the anticipated biopic set to be released 2019 with Amazon Independent.With his faith behind him, Saint continues to focus on becoming a better man, activist & actor, not easily deterred when life comes at him, he is truly the laugh box of his family and to those who meet him. By: Sebastian Lockhart (http://www.imdb.com/search/name?bio_author=Sebastian%20Lo...) https://vimeo.com/85505805 https://www.prlog.org/ If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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