Imagine being 5 years old, seeing Will Smith portraying his iconic character on TV, and deciding right then and there that television was to be your chosen career path. Sound impossible? Well, not for millennial filmmaker, Octavious Montgomery.
Octavious was so taken with television that he immediately started trying to duplicate the jokes he had seen. He insisted on performing for everyone he encountered – whether he knew them or not! This led to a lot of discipline, as he was branded “The Class Clown”.
When it became apparent that this was a passion, Octavious’ parents bought him his first television set at the age of five. Overwhelmed by how much creativity was in one little box, Octavious dove in head first and has never looked back.
By age 8, Octavious had combined his love of television with his other love – writing. When his father bought the family’s first computer, Octavious honed his writing skills by writing and performing one-man skits for his relatives. As part of his church’s youth group, he used his television talents not only to entertain, but also to create short plays for his church family.
Years later in high school—Octavious became a student athlete. However, that didn’t stop his hustle. Octavious stretched his schedule by making theatre his focus during off-season while still playing football. Even though he was African-American, he was cast as Uncle Max in his high school production of “The Sound of Music” and Jud Fry in “Oklahoma”.
During college—Octavious grew not only in television, but also in theatre, dance, and short films. During his sophomore year, he received a refund check of $760. He could have chosen to vacation in Florida for spring break or to purchase his first camera. What do you think he did?
Currently—Octavious works as an a freelance producer/writer in the east coast. Octavious’ original stories are a perfect match for his background. He uses inspiration from his childhood, relationships, and research. His dream is to have a career creating stunning, original television for viewers to escape to.