In 2004, McKinley Freeman was on the fast track at IBM, quickly climbing the corporate ladder, when he decided to make a life change. “There I was, working at IBM and minding my own business, and I got bored,” he recalls. “Something happened where I was like, ‘Man, you should start modeling.’ I met with Ford and Wilhelmina in Chicago and they were like, ‘Consider taking acting classes and we can help you find an agent.’ I just thought they said that to everybody, so I took my tail to grad school and when I got out, I tried modeling. That led to an audition for a TV movie in New Orleans, so I drove from Atlanta to New Orleans for an audition. It wasn’t even a lead. It was for a supporting part, but I ended up getting a callback, so I copped a hotel room and worked all day on my computer from my room, and I ended up booking it! Before the movie even aired, I’d moved to Los Angeles.”
The actor now finds himself as a hapless producer managing the egos of five show hosts on VH1’s new drama, DAYTIME DIVAS. “Shawn is Maxine’s son, who is played by Vanessa Williams,” he shares of his new alter ego. “THE LUNCH HOUR is the daytime talk show with female-driven talent that covers wide-ranging topics. Shawn has lots of responsibilities but with all of the personalities and the things that go on on this show, sometimes he feels like the ringmaster of a circus.”
Meeting DD Executive Producer Star Jones, on whose book, Satan’s Sisters, the series is based, left Freeman starstruck. “Star is awesome,” he raves. “She made everyone feel right at home and she is as funny as hell. She’s always got a story, and the great thing about Star is for all the juiciness involved here, there’s a line that she won’t cross as it relates to past co-workers. She always says, ‘If we’ve seen each other in Spanx, I can’t tell your secrets [laughs].’ ”
Soaps have always played a part in Freeman’s life. “Even as a kid standing in the grocery line with my grandmother, who used to watch soaps all the time, I would see the Soap Digest in the checkout line — and how cool is it that I now have the opportunity to speak with you?” he marvels. “As a kid back in the day, I’d spend most of the summer with my sisters at my grandmother’s house and my grandmother, when she was watching us, we’d be watching every single soap on the air: BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL, GUIDING LIGHT, ALL MY CHILDREN, GENERAL HOSPITAL, the list goes on and on — and finally, when I had the chance to actually be on a soap before she passed away, it was a bonding experience for both of us.”
Freeman burst into daytime on ALL MY CHILDREN in 2004. “They were looking for a face for a fragrance, so I was on there for a couple of episodes,” he relays. “I started recurring on DAYS as Evan [in 2008]. He owned a coffee shop, so I had relationships with the characters who came in and out of the coffee shop. I also helped the brother on the show running for mayor that year. It was around the time Obama was running for president, and I worked with James Reynolds, Abe, with that beautiful, thick mustache of his [laughs]. In between, I did a couple of episodes of GENERAL HOSPITAL playing a detective, but I remember all the casting directors: Judy Blye Wilson [AMC], Marnie Saitta [DAYS] and Mark Teschner [GH]. I am so grateful for those auditions and opportunities they afforded me.”
JPI
And Freeman keeps in contact with some of his soap pals. “I’m still friends with B.J. [Billy] Miller [Jason, GH et al], who I’ve known a long time. Sal Stowers [Lani, DAYS] is a good friend of mine. She’s been doing a great job there. It’s always awesome to see people you root for, who you’ve been stuck in class with, pop up on TV and achieve success and reach their dreams.”
In addition to the launch of his series, McKinley has other happy news to share: his recent engagement. “I proposed to her two days ago [before this interview] and we moved into our apartment just yesterday, so it was all a surprise,” Freeman enthuses. “It was really cool. Her name is Sarah Alice Burns. She’s one of Beyoncé’s dancers. She’s from Australia and she is dope. I’d like to think I did a romantic job with it, but that’s her story to tell [laughs].”
With a new show and a wedding in his future, McKinley reflects, “Sometimes things in life happen where you just have to stop and look around and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this actually happening?’ I am just super-excited for the next chapter of my life, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how people respond to the show. Life is good!”
Did You Know?
• Freeman just finished filming Tyler Perry’s hit series on OWN, IF LOVING YOU IS WRONG.
• The actor has published two books of poetry.
• In 2013, Freeman won Best Actor for the role of LB in Greencard Warriors at the California Film Awards.
• Despite his fit physique, he loves to eat. “I eat pizza. I smoke ribs on my smoker. I love burgers and I eat fries sometimes. I just work out a lot to offset my eating habits.”
Going Pro
McKinley previously toiled on another VH1 series, HIT THE FLOOR, from 2013-16. In it, he played Derek, a professional basketball player. “I remember the first day of the HIT THE FLOOR pilot, Dean [Cain] and I were shooting baskets and I was like, ‘Dean, remind me we get paid to do this, right?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, yeah, keep shooting.’ It was fun, these moments when we’d shoot in an arena in Ontario and I’d be in there super early shooting around. It was like a kid’s dream come true, to be able to shoot in a pro stadium like that.”
Just The Facts:
Birthday: June 9. “Geminis get a bad rap [laughs].”
Hails From: Champaign, IL
Mt. McKinley: “David is my first name but McKinley, which was my dad’s name, got passed down and it’s my middle name, which I’ve been going by forever.”
Education Station: Freeman has a bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA in Marketing and Management Information Systems from the University of Illinois.
Fit And Trim: He stays in shape by boxing, kickboxing and the martial arts, including Bojuka, Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai.
Mr. Movie: Freeman starred in and produced the erotic thriller Illicit. “It’s now on video on demand, so check it out. It’s a great date movie that will spark debate.”
DEVIOUS Doings: He was cast in the original, unaired pilot for DEVIOUS MAIDS. “I booked a recurring on there [playing Sam Alexander, the personal assistant to rock star Alejandro Rubio]. It was before it went to Lifetime, while it was still at ABC. We did a screening of it and found out it wasn’t getting picked up, then they went to try and find a home for it. In between that is when I booked HIT THE FLOOR [for VH1], so by the time it came back, I couldn’t do it anymore [the role was recast with Wolé Parks].”
