Actor Cory Hardrict Credits Mother for Christian Faith Guiding Acting Career
Cory Hardrict's faith has made all the difference in his Hollywood career, and now the actor is crediting his mother for instilling him with Christian values.
Hardrict, the husband of actress Tia Mowry Hardrict, stars in the film "Destined" and spoke to Rolling Out magazine about leaning on God for career success.
"My mom made a big difference in my life because she gave me great morals. She taught me that you are going to have to get out here and work," Hardrict said. "No one is going to give you anything, and you just have to trust God and have a lot of faith. I definitely learned the value of hard work just by watching her."
Hardrict explained that while his mother was struggling to make ends meet, her children never wanted for anything.
"She worked at thrift shops, minimum wage jobs, but she always brought the food home and got me whatever I needed. I didn't know that we were doing bad because she made it work," he said. "That meant a lot to me."
The actor previously told Ebony magazine that his mother is no longer living, but still influences his career a great deal.
"She showed me that she could put food on the table, buy us Jordans, we had the best clothes and she worked two-three odd jobs. She had a will power that was undeniable," he said. "She went on to be with the Lord, she passed away but she lives through me. This is my way of paying my mom back by going after my goals relentlessly and trying to win that Oscar one day."
These days Hardrict's support system consists of his wife and 5-year-old son Cree.
"I keep God first. I have an amazing wife, Tia, and an amazing son, Cree, and I'm a family man first and they keep me grounded," he told Ebony. "They're my support system, so they make me stronger. They allow me to go out and act and be humble and keep it simple."
After two decades of acting, Hardrict doesn't base his career on gaining fame or receiving accolades. He realizes that God gave him the gift of acting for a purpose bigger than himself.
"It's about the people, it's not about me. God gave me this gift to bless the world," he said. "That's what I'm here to do. They say it takes 20 years to be an overnight sensation and I've been acting 22 years."
He went on to add, "so I'm just gonna keep going and keep it consistent."