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With over 30 years in sports journalism, Stephen A. Smith has recently decided to broaden his skill set and take on acting roles. Recently, the First Take host took on a role for Law & Order and spoke about how he switches gears into his acting side.
“I’ve always been told and all my colleagues always say, ‘When the lights come on, he’s a different animal. He’s ready,'” Smith told The Post. “So, I take pride in that. And the lights come on, it’s showtime and it’s time to step up and produce, and that’s what I pride myself on being able to do.”
The episode that Smith is guest starring on is “Tough Love,” where the sports analyst plays Ted Hunter, who is a sports agent who is murdered, which prompts detectives to find out who is responsible for the crime.
“It was crazy to say the least,” Smith said of Hunter's character.
“I mean, from the standpoint of knowing who [sports agents] are and how they can be as professionals, I get that because I’ve been in sports journalism for over 30 years, so in that regard, that’s fine,” he added. “But it’s still a challenge when you have to go in front of the cameras on a set and act the role and step out of character and be something that you’re not.”
Smith shared how he got the role on Law & Order when Pam Wechsler, a writer for Law & Order, approached him.
“We were both in LA, said she was a fan and that many of her colleagues were fans and they wanted to know if I would be interested in appearing on ‘Law & Order,'” Smith explained. “And I said, ‘The ‘Law & Order’? Are you kidding me? Prime time? Are you kidding me? Absolutely!’ So, I jumped at it and that’s how it happened. I was ecstatic.”
Smith has never taken an acting class but he's had several cameos and guest appearances throughout the years including daytime soap General Hospital, Creed III, The Best Man: Final Chapters, Black-ish, Luke Cage, and more. He most recently came back to General Hospital last week where he gave a stellar performance as Brick.
Smith's Law & Order episode airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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Would Stephen A. Smith Leave ESPN For Acting?
The likelihood of Smith leaving ESPN is a long shot since back in March he just signed a five-year, $100 million contract extension with the network.
“It would have to be the right opportunity, of course,” Smith said. “I mean, I have a day job that pays me pretty well, so I don’t really need the work.”
“If I’m gonna do it, it has to be the kind of [role] that I want,” Smith said of the possibility to pursue acting more frequently. “I want to be in the movies. I want to be on primetime television. I want to be on epic shows like ‘Law & Order,’ I want to work with great actors and great directors and stuff like that. It’s certainly something that I aspire to do. There’s no doubt about that.”
While Smith has shown that he his outspoken personality makes good television, he is not trading film and TV scripts for his gig at ESPN.
“If the right opportunity presents itself, of course I’d be willing to do it and sacrifice the time necessary in order to do it well because I’m not interested in doing anything half-ass. That would basically be my approach, but it’s not going to be something that’s going to compel me to give up my day job — that I’m not going to do,” Smith explained. “I wouldn’t do that to become a full-time actor. That’s not what I would do, not after what I’ve been blessed to accomplish and I’m on throughout my career over the last 30 years. I’ll continue doing this for as long as I can.”
