Mr. Right – May
In nightclubs, cafes and hotspots all over the world tonight, heterosexual single girls will embark on yet another quest in search of their “Mr. Right.” In most cases, they’ll know exactly which hangout to find him at. But the real question is: will they actually know him when they see him? We think we’ve got pretty good taste in men here at Wiles; and in our monthly “Mr. Right” feature, we’ll show you just how good our taste really is!
Aaron D. Spears
By Teryl Warren
I first met Aaron D. Spears years ago at an upscale event hosted by Apple. Fresh off his pro football career, he’d just moved to Hollywood from his native Washington D.C., to embark on a career in entertainment. We hit it off immediately. His warm spirit, natural charisma and wonderful sense of humor made it easy to connect with him from the gate. We talked and laughed throughout the event. He told me I had a cute giggle and that I should license it to a company that makes laughing baby dolls. I remember thinking to myself, “This dude’s got jokes.” Then he invited me to come to a spoken-word event he was producing. I said I’d try to make it. And as I watched him later – milling about and “working the room” – I thought to myself, “That dude’s gonna be a star.”
Well, I never made it to that poetry event; but since then, Aaron has been popping up all over the big and small screens. Fans will recognize him from his role in the Craig Ross, Jr-directed indie drama Blue Hill Avenue starring Allen Payne. He later teamed up with Ross, again, to star in and Executive Produce the much-lauded film The Mannsfield 12 – which, after its theatrical run, aired on cable networks such as BET. And his role opposite Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the Academy Award-nominated film Babel is what first exposed audiences around the world to his superb acting skills.
In addition to his feature film appearances, Aaron has found amazing success on the small screen, as well. He’s guest-starred on popular series for every major network, including NBC’s Crossing Jordan, the Fox forensics drama Bones, ABC’s newest hit drama Castle and the CBS fan favorites CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds and NCIS, just to name a few.
Since 2009, fans have been tuning in to see Aaron weekly in his starring role as “Justin Barber” on the CBS Emmy Award-winning daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful. The role has catapulted Aaron to new career heights. You can now find him walking practically every red carpet during Hollywood’s award season; and earlier this year, he earned his first NAACP Image-award nomination for “Best Actor” for his role on the soap series.
Aaron D. Spears’ career is a testament to the fact that success doesn’t necessarily come overnight; but for those who work hard, and remain focused and committed to their craft, success will ultimately come. And although it may sound a bit cliché, in Aaron’s case, success couldn’t have happened to a kinder, humbler, and more deserving person.
I recently caught up with Aaron at a screening for a soon-to-be-released feature film entitled “Disrupt/Dismantle.” It’d been several years since we first met, and a few years since we’d last connected, but there are some things that neither time nor newfound fame could change. He still had his wonderful sense of humor. And I still had my baby doll giggle. But as I watched him slowly milling about the room, I noticed: he wasn’t hustling to meet people like he had before. He didn’t need to. This time, they were all hustling to meet him.