Actor, Writer Daniel Beaty Brings ‘Chapter and Verse’ to the Screen

Beaty was instrumental in delivering respected actors Devine and Hardwick to the project, which was filmed in his community of Harlem. He met Devine, who was familiar with Beaty’s theater work, through director Charles Randolph-Wright. Beaty had worked with Hardwick on the New York City poetry scene, and the actor had also attended one of Beaty’s plays at the Public Theater.

Family is very important to Beaty and remains a central focus in his life. He frequently sees his mother, Shirley Nagee, who lives in Ohio and has been a steadfast support for her son. Beaty’s brother, who now lives in Boston, has been in recovery for more than four years. “I’m very proud of him,” Beaty says. “He was addicted to crack cocaine, while I was kid. My mother was challenged with how to support her son, who was battling an addiction, but at the same time, not sacrifice the rest of her family. It has been a powerful experience to see him grow and be in a healthy, stronger place. He now has a successful career. He has supported and organized various groups to attend my various theater productions.”

Beaty mostly visits his father during the holidays. Their relationship has been a long and winding road to healing. “My father still battles addiction, and I had to set some level of boundaries,” he shares. “We check in with each other and have some drinks together, occasionally. I now understand that addiction is an illness. This has been at the core of my ability to heal and forgive my father, but also to become an advocate for issues of restorative and transformative justice,” Beaty continues. “The system needs reforming. The people who need addiction recovery services or mental health services are thrown and populated into the prison system. The cycle repeats, and we don’t set them up to get better.”

With a stellar, multiplatform career established—actor, activist, writer, and producer—and with a feature film under his belt, Beaty is currently writing books for two Broadway-bound productions:  Nelson Mandela Broadway Musical and The Me Nobody Knows, Broadway Musical Revival. He also has a television project on the horizon, which will be produced by two A-list celebrities.

With so many dynamic projects in the pipeline, Beaty believes deeply that the greatest thing he can do is support young people that have had similar experiences to his own and who have inherited trauma rooted in inequity and limitation. He affirms, “The truth is, we’re full of unlimited possibilities, and with the right awareness and the right support, anything is possible—no matter where you start.”


Gwendolyn Quinn is an award-winning media consultant with a career spanning more than 25 years. She is a contributor to BlackEnterprise.com and BE Pulse (via Medium.com), Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. Quinn is also a contributor to Souls Revealed and Handle Your Entertainment Business.

Article Appeared @http://www.blackenterprise.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/actor-daniel-beaty-chapter-and-verse/

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