Son of Boston native Moore enjoys acting success

Kathryn Tayo Hall

Standing beneath the bright lights on the pitcher’s mound at Fenway Park, with the fans in full throat and the Green Monster looming in left field behind him, Shemar Moore thought about the path that brought him to the rubber last Monday night — a modeling career, years as one of daytime TV’s most recognizable heartthrobs, a starring role on the hit CBS drama “Criminal Minds” and the chance to toss out the ceremonial first pitch before the Red Sox’ home tilt against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

But he also thought about the road he didn’t take — a course that may one day have led him to the same destination.

After a childhood spent between Boston, Holland and California, Moore was drafted by the Sox out of high school. He wonders what his life would have been like had he accepted the offer to play for the team, but professional baseball wasn’t in the cards for him. His mother Marilyn, who was born in Roxbury, insisted that he get an education before beginning a sports career.

“[She] wanted me to get that piece of paper that would give me that opportunity if my athletics failed me,” the 37-year-old Moore told the Banner while in town last week both to deliver his pitch and to promote the third season of “Criminal Minds.”

After playing ball for Santa Clara University and earning his degree, Moore found himself working under a very different set of lights. He headed off to New York to pursue a modeling career and then, on to Hollywood, where his attention shifted to acting.

Fourteen years, a Daytime Emmy and seven NAACP Image Awards later, Moore is having the time of his life as Derek Morgan, the fine-looking FBI profiler on “Criminal Minds.”

“I love what I do because I’ve become good at it and it excites me,” said Moore.

His 14-year stay in Hollywood also speaks to a tenacity of purpose — a determination underscored by Moore’s gym-toned six-pack. He paid his dues and honed his craft during his eight years as Malcolm Winters on the daytime soap “The Young and the Restless,” his four-year stint as the host of “Soul Train” and his outstanding performances in films like 2001’s “The Brothers” and Tyler Perry’s 2005 “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”

“Nothing happens overnight. You don’t get anything unless you practice, unless you commit to it,” he said.

Indeed, Moore is very proud of how he has faced adversity, battled his fears and dealt with the loneliness of being an only child raised by a single mother.

“I looked at the things that scared me and walked straight into that fear. If it was something that I was interested in but it scared me, then I walked straight into that fear,” he said. “Because if you walk up against it enough times, eventually that fear will go away.”

On the road to becoming a veteran actor, Moore had to come to terms with who he is. The child of a Dutch American mother and an African American father, he is among a growing number of famous biracial Americans, including presidential candidate Barack Obama, pro tennis player James Blake, actress Halle Berry and golf icon Tiger Woods, who have had to publicly grapple with their racial identity.

“I have a tattoo on my back that says ‘Freedom’ — it represents my mother’s struggle, it represents my father’s struggle, and then it represents my own struggle,” he said. “I think it represents all of our struggles of finding our true identity.”

Through those struggles, Moore learned the importance of appreciating the various elements of his heritage. But the journey wasn’t easy.

“Because I was biracial, I didn’t fit in on the black side because my skin wasn’t brown enough, and I didn’t quite fit in on the white side because I just wasn’t white. I was always trying to acclimate, to do the dance, or walk the walk or talk the talk to be accepted,” he said. “I stopped trying to act the way I thought I was supposed to act. So I am who I am for me … and I honor my background. I honor the way that I came up. I honor the white side of me. I honor the black side of me.”

With his quintessential smile and savoir-faire, Moore continues to raise the bar for himself. At this point in his career, he finds himself in a place to not only reflect on his success, but to look ahead. His sights now set on Hollywood blockbusters and the kinds of roles that set actors like Denzel Washington and Jamie Foxx apart from many others, Moore is poised for his next challenge and confident in his ability to conquer it.

“I took the time to learn what I didn’t know; I took the time to develop my craft. I believe that I have something very valid and very strong and very different to offer,” he said. “I am at a point in my career when I’m not intimidated anymore … I think what I bring to the table is my own. I would like a chance just to express it.”