Cliche Magazine Oct/Nov 2014 | Page 76

MAN'S WORLD | MCKINLEY FREEMAN

A JACK OF
ALL TRADES

N

ot many people can
describe their venture
into the world of
professional acting as
happening by chance,
but that’s exactly how
McKinley
Freeman
explains it. Before he stumbled into
acting, Freeman was working full time
for IBM’s worldwide marketing and
business development program—after
graduating with a Bachelor’s in Finance
and an MBA in Marketing from the
University of Illinois—and doing some
modeling on the side.
“Business was something that
was cool for me, because I always liked
problem-solving and the idea of how to
make money in a way that makes people
think creatively,” he said. “It started off
with figuring out how to handle my own
finances and grew from there.”
His agent told him about an
open casting call for All My Children,
and after some persuasion, he went into
the audition. After auditioning, Freeman
headed to Europe for two weeks to do
some work for IBM. Little did he know
that a life-changing message was waiting
for him.
“I got a call from my manager
frantically telling me that ABC had been
trying to reach me for two weeks, and I
only had a few days to respond,” he said.
“I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ So I called and let
them know that I was interested.”
When his manager called and
let him know that he had booked the
role, Freeman said he took it in stride. “I
was making bacon and eggs and getting
ready for the gym. He said ‘You booked
the role! What are you going to do to

©Rebecca Marshall

76

| OCT/NOV 2014