[EXCLUSIVE] Donovan Carter Talks HBO’s ‘Ballers,’ NFL to Hollywood, and Handling New Money

By: Kira Demund, contributing intern (@kiracarinaa)

From the football field to Hollywood, HBO “Ballers” Donovan Carter is standing proof that sometimes the risks we take in life can end up being the most rewarding. As UCLA’s former defensive lineman, Carter aspired to play for the NFL and shortly trained at the Oakland Raider’s mini-camp after college. After being cut, he was unsure what his next step would be. His mentor introduced him to actor and UCLA former quarterback, Mark Harmon who inspired him to consider acting.  With practice and dedication, Carter landed the role of Vernon Littlefield on the HBO series “Ballers.”

On the show, Vernon Littlefield is a NFL defensive tackle who is learning the ins and outs of the industry with the help of his mentor, Spencer Strasmore played by Dwayne Johnson. STACKS Magazine was able to learn more about the newly-inspired actor and his role on the HBO series “Ballers.”

STACKS Magazine: Tell me about your transition from playing football to acting.

Donovan Carter: It was smooth but it was difficult too. Because this is my first time acting, I didn’t really have anybody to look up to or model after. I had my mentors and friends but there wasn’t somebody I could look up to and be like ‘I want to do what they do’. It wasn’t bad because my cast is amazing. My crew is amazing. They really believed in me before I believe in myself. And they’ve been patient with me.  They gave me a really good part. It has helped me develop better as an actor myself. And a lot of things that I used from football, I’m using with acting. Being an athlete, you have to memorize a lot of plays just as much as you have to memorize a lot of lines. Just like I had to take direction from my coaches, I have to take direction from producers. When you’re on the field, it’s just reading and reacting. You can practice all you want but when you’re actually in the game, you have to learn how to read and react fast.

SM: There’s a lot of scandal and drama that goes on throughout the series. Did the directors take actual real-life events and play off of them in show?

DC: I’m not really in the writing room, per say. But I think some of the stories, you know, are embellished a little bit. But I mean one of our writers is actually from the NFL. His name is Rashard Mendenhall. They have him and they actually have other players that come and sit in the writing room and, you know, give them ideas and help them brainstorm. But I think for the most part, they just kind of hear some stories and take that and use their imagination.

SM: From the outside looking in, it seems athletes and ball players live a lavish and glamorous lifestyle. What are some of the financial responsibilities that come with being an athlete?

DC: Growing up, you may have a little part-time job. But as an athlete, you just get a lot of money fast. A lot of these players are getting $100 million contracts. $60 or $50 million is guaranteed. It’s a lot of money coming at you and you have to know how to save and make sure that you have some stashed away. Because you never know what’s going to happen in this industry. You have taxes. You have to pay your agent. You have to pay your business manager. It’s just like when you get money, a lot of stuff pops up. And everybody wants you to do this and do that. You just have to have a great team around you to help you do that. In college, they only teach you so much. In college, I had no idea how to file taxes or fill out a W-2. And a lot of athletes, we have no idea how to do this stuff. And as a former athlete, you have to learn as you go. You have to be smart enough to just ask questions. When you get a lot of money, a lot of things just come out of the woodworks.
SM: In one of the earlier episodes, we see Spencer talk about how depressing life can be after the NFL. How heavy of an impact does the NFL have on athletes?

DC: Me personally, I played a sport. I think it’s just with anything, you just have to have a good circle and a good group of people around you. And with my character Vernon, he needs to work on himself. He has his cousin who’s his boy (Reggie), he has Spencer, and he has his agent. You just have to get people that’s real. Because when you’re in the NFL, you have a lot of money. Everybody wants to be your friend. Everybody wants to be around you. And everybody just wants something from you. And when it’s gone and it’s taken away, all of a sudden you have to learn how to be by yourself. That was my biggest adjustment when I got done playing ball. Everybody has a life. And you’re not the most important thing in people’s lives anymore. And you just have to keep yourself as busy as you can. And you have to find another passion. Football is an amazing sport but there’s other passions out here. But I think a lot of athletes they do football for so long, they think that’s all they’re good at. Some of them don’t think they can do anything else. Which they can. You just have to have the right support system to push you and let you know that you can do anything you want in this world.

SM: With everyone coming at you left and right trying to sway you to doing certain things, what is the best way to handle opportunists?

DC: I think for them, the best thing is to let them know their place. At the end of the day, you should be in control of what you do with your money. You should being in control of your brand. But I think with people like Reggie, you need people like him that’s really got your back. And who’s going to fight for you. But if that’s your friend, you have to make sure you put them in a good position. Even with LeBron’s team, his agent is his friend but he made sure that they all went to school for that. Make sure they have the proper credentials and that they have the proper education. Because if not, you’ll get a Reggie and Vernon situation where you have your friend try to do something and he has no idea what he’s doing. And at the end of the day, you just put them in a position where is not fair for them to win over.

SM: How do you know who has your best interest at heart in a fast-life industry like Vernon’s? Is it hard to trust people?

DC: It definitely is hard to trust people. And I think you just have to look at people’s hearts. Most times, when you talk to people or when you meet people, you can get a good sense of who people are by your first impression. I’m not saying you have to judge people, but you can get a good sense of people when they’re good or bad person. You’re going to meet people that’s good and bad but you just have to learn from your mistakes. When everybody wants to be your friend, you just have to be cautious. You have to have a good team. You have to have your close friends that you already had before the fame. That’s going to be the people who you’re going to be with the most. And whomever you meet in the future, you can be friends or acquaintances or whatever you want to call it.

SM: What advice would you give to the young athletes who come out of college and may not necessarily know what to do when things take a detour?

DC: I would tell them just go after your dreams. You can do anything you want in this life. Even if you don’t have the most experience, I would say just go after whatever you want to do. I would tell people don’t even worry about the money. My mentor tells me the money is going to come. Just go after your passion and go after what you love. And just be patient. I think as athletes, you’re used to getting everything fast and everything coming quick. Even with these contracts, you get money fast. But when you get out, you just have to be patient. And just work at it. And with the same work ethic that you put into sports, you take that and you use it into your career. And you’re just going to be successful automatically.

SM: What’s next for you as far as acting or football goes?

DC: Right now, I just got an agent. Right now, I’m just working on me. I’m just getting better. I can’t really answer what’s next because I have no idea. Whatever God blesses me with at the end of the day. But I’m just going to get myself ready and prepared. I go to acting classes. This is my first role and this is my first year acting. I have a long way to go but I definitely got a good start. I’m just grinding and working on how I can become a better actor than I was after season two.

Follow Donovan Carter on social media @dcsofly90 or check out his website at www.donovanwcarter.com.

Season two of HBO “Ballers” premieres Sunday, July 17th at 10/9c!

Photo credit: HBO.com