Biography & Resume

 
    Franklin Ojeda Smith
  Height: 5' 11"
  Eyes: Brown / Hair: Bald

Born on the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Franklin and his siblings joined their mother in the ‘Fort Apache’ section of the South Bronx in 1954. A native Gullah speaker, Franklin says, “my dialect was so rich that I was put into classes with students who only spoke Spanish and the teacher spoke neither.” Early on he met life long friends and was “adopted” into a Puerto Rican family (The Ojedas). In the South Bronx, he attended the same junior (P.S. 52) and high schools (Morris) as General Colin Powell. As a collegian at Hampton Institute in Virginia, Franklin excelled as a baseball player (he won a national batting championship) but more importantly, he found his grounding in academic life. He is a professor of sociology and has been at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey for over thirty-seven years. But he says, “I avoided my secret, inner passion for over forty-five years, then 10 years ago cancer ran me down. I had an epiphany. I said yes! Franklin explains that "back in the day the 'barb wire' was more visible" and early on he chose baseball over acting; then academia and not baseball. Dr. Smith made his stage debut in the role of 'Troy Maxon' in August Wilson's Fences(’01); and he subsequently, understudied the role of 'Elmore' in another Wilson play, King Hedley II,  for the Philadelphia Theatre Company. He has had principal roles in the Television dramas: Mercy, Law & Order, The Wire, Cold Case, Hack and the upcoming HBO Series Boardwalk Empire. Franklin appears in the role of Les in the Disney film Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg.; and as a Cultural Attaché in the feature My Brother starring Vanessa L. Williams. Other principle roles in feature films include: Multiple Sarcasm, The Undying, Cayman Went, Letting Go, The Cost of  a Soul, and Steps in the Sand. He narrated the Animal Planet Series Lemur Kingdom and is a busy commercial actor. A noted storyteller and orator, Franklin says, "...the kids are grown, the dog is dead and now that I may, I choose acting."


FILM & TV

Boardwalk Empire

Deacon Cuffy Allen Coulter  - HBO
Rescue Me Jamie Evan Reilly
Steps in the Sand Jim Ivailo Hristov
The Cost of a Soul Jackie Sean Kirkpatrick

Cayman Went

Aniston Turnkey

Bobby Sheehan

The Undying Henry Crawbridge Steven Peros
Lemur Kingdom Narrator Dawn Sinsel - Animal Planet
Brothers Incorporated Sam Christenson Michael Johnson

Invincible

Les (Equip. Manager)

Ericson Core - Disney
My Brother Cultural Attache Anthony Lover
Multiple Sarcasms Homeless Man Branch Brooks
Letting Go Therapist Jake Torem - Coydog Films
Law & Order CI- 'D.A.W." Reverend Charles Frank Prinzi - NBC
Mercy Wolf Duane Clark- NBC
Cold Case 'Badlands' Old Man Tim Matheson - CBS
The Wire –‘Misgivings’ Minister Ernest Dickerson - HBO
The Wire – ‘Another Day’ Minister Brad Anderson - HBO
Hack - 'Blind Faith' Judge Hopkins Rick Rosenthal -CBS
JOB Pastor Jefferson Justin Lord - Ten Talents
Finding Oz Willard ‘the Wizard’ Derek Scott
Pacing the Cage Kwamme E. B. Hughes
Father's Day Harry William S. Heins
Parables Saint Ephrem Richard Payne - EWTN
The Saints Speak Saint Martin de Porres Richard Payne - EWTN
Liberty Medal Ceremony Dramatic Reading Jim Gardner - ABC
Bottom Out Soldier Conrad Glover – Maverick
Collison Zeke Sharyn Chen
Father Vengeance Father Martin Kiko Rosario
WMD General / Secretary of State Lesley Anne Morrison
My African Giraffe Bus Driver Ryan Kampe
The Agent Sammy ‘the fence’ Chris Vallone
Faces of the Earth Street Prophet William Speruzzi
Last Call Charming Banker David Drach
Unknown Soldier Homeless Man Ferenc Toth
Swim Test Abusive Father Alex Chung
A Magic Helmet Greaser # 2 Gaetano Crupi, Jr.
Addiction Mr. Wino J. Tucker & J. Nelson
Lincoln's Last Days Dramatic Reading NJ TV Reading Literacy


THEATRE
This Train Is Bound For Glory Old Llyod Cherry Lane Theater

Skewed Shakespeare

King Lear & Henry V Triangle Theater Philadelphia
King Hedley II Elmore (u/s) Philadelphia Theatre Co
Women of a Certain Age… I Put You Here Triangle Theater Philadelphia
Gilgamesh (stage reading) Narrator Jim Milton – Grier Studios
The Royal Family Jo (Butler) Hedgerow Theatre
A Different Kind of Hope Reverend Atwater Faith In God Ensemble
Fences Troy Maxon Richard Stockton College

COMMERCIALS / VO                    CESD Talent Agency   

                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Lemur Kingdom  (TV)- Narrator            Michael Kane / Dawn Sinsel

Spiriva (TV) - on camera

            Rick Knief
Aetna  Healthcare (TV) - on camera             David McNamara

McDonald's- Dollar Menu- ( Radio)

            Spalding
Verizon- No Matter What the Weather- (Radio)             Scott McIntosh
Spiriva- (Industrial) - Narrator             Ian Smith
Vanderbilt Heart-  (TV)- Narrator             David McNamara

General Electric - The Africa Project / Signature Program

( Industrial) - Narrator

            Jeff Berman

Johnson & Johnson- Minority Fellowships (Industrial) - Narrator

            Betsy Peterson 
Street Dogs - (Film)- Narrator             Bill Moran / Vincent Ueber
Spirit Child  (Animation)- Narrator             Elinor Geller
Share the Warmth  Cayman Islands (Web)- on camera

            Jim Ritterhoff
Colorblind (documentary)- Narrator             Andrew Blum
Peter and the Wolf ( musical)- Narrator             Tony  Picciotti

EDUCATION & TRAINING
Black Nexxus - Gold Dust Susan Batson
Fearless Cold Reading Karen Kohlhaas
Master Acting Class George DiCenzo
Advance on Camera Penny Templeton
On Camera Geoffrey Stoffer
Auditioning Erica Jensen
Film Acting Mike Lemon
On the Breath Carol Fox Prescott
Meisner Larry Silverburg
Private Acting Coach Susan Grace Cohen
Private Acting Coach Donald McKenna
Scene Study Cesario Tio
Methods J.T. Wagner
Voice over Marla Kirban, JJ Adler, Rodney Robb, Joann Joella
Commercial Joan See, Patricia Durante
Business of Show Business Tom Logan
Hampton Institute BA Psychology
Springfield College M. Ed. Urban Education
Univ. of Mass., Amherst Ed. D. Sociology of Education

SPECIAL SKILLS

"God Voice," Professor of Sociology, Gullah Dialect, Dog Training, Collegiate Batting Champ