COVER STORY
Actress Chantal Maurice works to inspire, empower, and thrive
C hantal Maurice is a face you recognize. Her TV appearances include CBS’s series Blue Bloods , Netflix’s Teenage Bounty Hunters , and Spectrum Originals’s Paradise Lost , as well as Christmas 2020’s upcoming BET feel-good film Holiday Heartbreak , where she appears alongside LisaRaye McCoy, A.J. Johnson, Michael Colyar, and comedian Kountry Wayne. Of these projects, she calls her work in comedy- drama Teenage Bounty Hunters an amazing experience for which she is grateful and appreciative. “I worked alongside a legend, Kadeem Hardison, as my scene partner,” she says. “This was a woman-run show where I played a stripper, and I had females in my corner making sure I felt heard and respected.” In Paradise Lost , where Maurice plays character Tammy Ruffins, she worked with Neema Barnette for an episode, whom she describes as her favorite director. “I have respected and admired her my entire career. I cherish the memory.” Listening to Maurice’s words, a theme begins to emerge: she is an actor truly rich in gratitude for the experiences she’s had. And she is eager to shine a light on others and their talents so they, too, can thrive. “Nobody can do this thing called ‘life’ alone,” she states. “Nobody is self-made. It takes a community for you to be able to build and grow.” Maurice provides an excellent case in point: her recent work in Act of Kindness . The TV movie slated for release in February 2021 stars Nzinga Imani and Angelo Diaz, and is a Pretty Fly Film curated by the team at Atlanta-area Pretty Fly Society. In the movie, Maurice plays Joy, the comedic best friend to the lead character, Zora. The basic plotline of Act of Kindness is this: A young woman, hurt and disappointed in life, is given an opportunity to advance in her career from a man who sees something in her but wants nothing in return. “Someone comes along that literally sees her, sees the talent, sees the queen in her,” Maurice describes. “And she can’t see the greatness that’s within her, and she can’t fully accept that someone sees the power in her and wants to help her.” Executive Producer Courtney Arlett of Atlanta’s Lockett Media says she also believes the movie will serve to inspire people to work together and adopt a village mentality that generates success all around. “ Act of Kindness is based on the ideal of ‘each one, reach one’. The writer, Franck Mille, did an excellent job of demonstrating what one selfless gesture can do in
someone else’s life. We are stronger together than we can ever be alone.” To Maurice, the special film illustrates yet another principle she believes deeply in her heart. “The universe or God puts the right people in your life at the right time to get you where you’re supposed to go.” It’s a belief and a bedrock upon which Maurice has built a successful business alongside her acting career. She founded the Atlanta acting studio, Co-Star Coaching, when she moved to the Peach State in 2018 after living for seven years in New York City. We have to pursue what we’re here to do. And we all get little inklings to our purpose. For me, I want to inspire people to pursue their dreams, goals, and purpose— and to stay steadfast. At Co-Star Coaching, Maurice works as an acting coach, teaching talent audition techniques for self-taping and camera. She has a strong track record to show for her techniques—having personally booked five TV shows and two TV movies her first year in Atlanta. “I’m not teaching what I heard,” she states, “I’m teaching what I know and what books the jobs. I’m hustling and grinding in the trenches just like my clients are.” The perseverance and drive needed for an up-and- coming actor are not lost on this working actress. “As an actor, I’m not a celebrity or a household name. I can identify with the actor trying to get their first role, to get in front of a TV director, and I encourage them to keep going.” She emphasizes, “One of my main goals in life is to inspire other people and empower them to be their best selves.” “ ”
Maurice’s mission and her message are especially relevant at this time in history following the contentious presidential election that marked the end of an already trying 2020. “Life is really short. We’ve learned this through all the turmoil, as a people. We have to pursue what we’re here to do, pursue our dreams.” She is quick to credit the mentors she believes have inspired her to follow her dreams. One key mentor, she admits, she has never personally met but has felt a deep admiration toward over the years—Emmy-winning actress, producer, and director Regina King. Among her many notable projects, King appears in the award- winning HBO series Watchmen . “She is the epitome of artistry when it comes to acting, producing, and directing,” Maurice notes. Another mentor she lists comes from an entirely different profession: restauranteur Pinky Cole. “She’s not in our industry, but she recently opened Slutty Vegan. She took the concept of burgers and fries and, vegan-style, markets it to people who are not necessarily vegans. And people wait in line,” she says. “She’s a great businesswoman and owner, and so a mentor.” She clarifies the importance here. “As an actor, you don’t act every day of your life. You have to be an actor- preneur, as I like to say. You have to keep the money coming in. And you need multiple streams of income in this business if you’re not a household name.” This non-diva-ish, build-up and give-back attitude buoys Maurice as she steadily books the jobs and helps others to do so. And it’s what she thrives on. “I’m a lover of life. I’m grounded in gratitude for the projects I’m working on, and for my life, health, and strength,” she says. “And I want to encourage people to be their best selves.” Her message to other actors to help keep them moving positively forward? No. 1: “In this life you never know what someone else is going through, so be kind. It can go a long way.” And No. 2: “We have to pursue what we’re here to do. And we all get little inklings to our purpose. For me, I want to inspire people to pursue their dreams, goals, and purpose—and to stay steadfast.”
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