A soap opera actor who once lived out of a friend's car is now coaching the next generation out of self-doubt. Maurice P. Kerry, who plays Randy Parker on CBS's Beyond the Gates, met 15-year-old Parker Robinson on set, and the two discovered they share more than a hometown — they share the same dream, and the same high school hallway it started in.
A Chance Meeting on a Daytime Drama Set
Robinson, a sophomore at Douglas County High School, visited the television set accompanied by his mother, according to CBS News Atlanta. There, he met Kerry, an Atlanta native who attended the same school beginning in 1995. The outlet reports that Robinson told Kerry he imagined himself working on a television production one day, but had passed on acting opportunities before because he doubted he was right for certain roles.
Kerry didn't let that stand. He told Robinson that casting professionals may see qualities in him that he doesn't see in himself, and that he shouldn't rule himself out before anyone else gets the chance to. The two performed a scene together, with Kerry coaching Robinson through the dialogue, and the actor praised the teen's shift in delivery once he loosened up. Robinson, for his part, said a person can remain themselves while still being professional — a lesson that stuck with both of them.
From Homelessness to a Recurring Role
Kerry's own path to that set wasn't a straight line. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Iraq in 2004, and he later worked as an emergency medical technician, according to the same report. After his military service, he experienced homelessness and lived in a friend's car for about a year — a stretch of hardship that came before he ever stepped in front of a camera professionally.
His acting career didn't begin until he was well into adulthood. Kerry began pursuing acting in 2018, signing with his first agent that year and landing a role on CBS's MacGyver three months later, as detailed by the Douglas County Sentinel. He landed his current role on Beyond the Gates only after auditioning for three other parts first. He is also raising his daughter as a single father.
Roots at Douglas County High
Kerry has traced his acting origins back to Douglas County High School itself, where he first performed in a production years before he ever considered it a career. The Sentinel's report notes he left Douglasville in 2001 to join the Marine Corps, and later got to know the Gwinnett area when he joined the Gwinnett Fire Department in 2015. That blend of military service, firefighting and late-blooming creative pursuit has become central to how he frames his own story for students like Robinson.
He has carried that message beyond the Beyond the Gates set, telling aspiring actors to study the craft, train consistently and learn every aspect of the business, as he put it to The Actor's Scene. His advice to Robinson wasn't about chasing stardom. Kerry advised the teen, and aspiring actors generally, to focus on improvement rather than perfection, and reminded him that delayed success does not mean it will never happen.
Keynote Stop at Film Taster 2026
Kerry is scheduled to bring that message to a wider audience on Tuesday as the keynote speaker at Film Taster 2026, running from 6 to 9 p.m. at 7301 Groovers Lake Road in Lithia Springs. The event is presented by the Georgia Arts Initiative in partnership with Douglas County Film & Entertainment, and it is designed to connect attendees with professionals across acting, casting, directing, producing, cinematography and other film and television fields.
Organizers have built the evening around interactive breakout sessions, question-and-answer time with industry professionals, a panel discussion and an audience Q&A segment, per CBS News Atlanta's report. Kerry plans to share his own experiences with the aspiring performers and filmmakers who attend — the same mix of candor about hardship and insistence on craft that shaped his conversation with Robinson.
A Career Built on Unlikely Scene Partners
Kerry's Beyond the Gates role has already put him opposite established industry names. His character, Randy Parker, debuted in the show's third episode and is written as Hayley Lawson's cousin and an enforcer for mobster Joey Armstrong, according to Soap Opera Network. The same outlet reported that Kerry had taped his first love scene for the series earlier this year. Separately, North Gwinnett Voice has described Randy as someone who works for a local casino owner and has been best friends since childhood with Doug McBride.
Kerry has said working opposite veteran performers shaped how he approaches the job, recalling moments acting alongside Viola Davis on The First Lady and watching Morgan Freeman's professionalism up close, according to The Actor's Scene. He has also said acting gave him a way to channel the highs and lows of his life after the Marine Corps into something meaningful, and that he is developing projects through his own production company centered on resilience, redemption and the veteran experience.
