A father who self-medicated his depression with drink and drugs has set his sights on Hollywood after a chat with movie star Mark Wahlberg inspired him to unlock an acting talent that has seen him film alongside Samuel L Jackson.
Jamie Humphrey, 33, was working as a security guard on the set of the movie Infinite in 2019 when a chance encounter with Wahlberg became pivotal to him rebuilding his life and pursuing his acting dreams.
Jamie, of Sittingbourne, Kent, whose wife, Lisa, 27, is a stay-at-home mpther to their five children, said: “I was working on a film set, guarding Mark Wahlberg’s trailer. I didn’t expect to actually meet him, but he stopped one day to talk to me.”
He added: “It was just a two-minute conversation but it ended up changing my life.
“He stopped and asked me about myself and what my dreams were. I told him I wanted to be like him and to make money like him, that my dream since childhood was to be an actor.
“He said to me, ‘Well, what are you doing standing here?’”
He added: “I didn’t expect Mark to stop and speak to me but he was such a friendly guy.”
The pep talk came at the end of four difficult years, starting with the death of his beloved grandmother on December 1, 2015, who passed away in her sleep of natural causes.
He said: “She was 80 and it was a very traumatic experience for me, because I was with her when she died and it sent me into a spiral of depression.”
For Jamie, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which means people have differences in brain activity and development that affect attention, the next few years were a dark time.
He said: “I was just trying to survive, to put food on the table for my family, but it was rock bottom for me in terms of mental health.
“I admit I turned to drugs and alcohol and I didn’t know how I was going to get out of the rut I was in.”
Astonishingly, it was Mark Wahlberg’s frank words that were his catalyst for change.
He said: “It was like a light switch had been flicked. Suddenly a spark had ignited.
“I began looking for acting roles as an extra, or small parts that I could audition for.”
He added: “I made a post on Facebook explaining about my mental health and how I really wanted to be an actor.
“By chance, it reached a Bengali casting director who messaged and offered me a day on set as an extra.”
The filming was taking place in Windsor, Berkshire, but with a large family to provide for, Jamie did not know how he would afford to attend.
He said: “My dad was always my biggest supporter and he was as determined as me to make this happen.
My dad has always been my rock, so to lose him was just devastating, as we were so close, but I was determined to keep going for him.
