For Nate Parker, following the status quo in Hollywood is not an option. In an industry that routinely asks young actors to compromise their values to get high paying, star-making roles, Parker refuses to take jobs that contradict his Christian and moral beliefs. It is what he refers to as his line in the sand and he attributes every role he has received since arriving in Hollywood nearly six years ago to it.

“I come from a Christian background and was taught that anyone that makes decisions answers to the same person I answer to, so I feel like if it is meant for me to have a career and still keep my integrity and keep my platform as an activist, then I'll do it.“

And from his role of troubled star debater Henry Lowe in The Great Debaters” to groundbreaking swimmer Hakim in “Pride” to Alicia Keyes' love interest Neil in “The Secret Life Of Bees”, he has done just that.

“Blood Done Sign My Name”, due out February 19th, tells the true story of the 1970 murder of Vietnam vet Henry Marrow in a rural North Carolina town by a local white businessman and his sons, the aftermath of the killing, and the subsequent acquittal of the suspects despite multiple eyewitnesses.

Parker depicts Ben Chavis, the future NAACP president who first made a name for himself galvanizing blacks in Eastern North Carolina after the killing. Parker jumped at the chance to be in a movie with such a strong social message.

That he got the role without auditioning speaks volumes.

“Jeff Stewart, the director, saw the Great Debaters and contacted me through my agency. It is a blessing and honor to be pursued by anyone in this town when jobs are so scarce, but this is a project I connected to so quickly. I read the book and it was an immediate yes if nothing else for its social implications and the solutions, especially for black America. Less than a month later, I was on set.”

Defying the odds is hardly new to Parker. Growing up poor in the projects in northern Virginia, he had but one goal: a college education that would bring the kind of job he could help support his family on.

“My mom came to me at a young age and said, I don't know if I'll be able to send you to college so whatever you do you have to do well. My uncle got me into wrestling and I ended up getting a scholarship. 

He received a degree in management information systems when he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and then fate took over.

“There was a girl I was dating who was modeling. She asked me to go with her to a convention in Dallas and while there a guy approached me and asked if I was an actor. I said, no. He then asked if I would read a monologue. I said, sure. I read the monologue and two weeks later I moved to Los Angeles.

“I didn't even have time to do a yard sale. I just cut all my loose ends and knocked on my neighbor's door and told them they could have all my stuff in my apartment and I got my car and my computer and drove out.

In less than a week he acquired representation with one of the top ten agencies in the city and three months later, he'd landed his first job-a guest stint on CBS' Cold Case and he hasn't stopped working.

While his acting career was taking off, Parker delved into the Los Angeles social scene. He soon realized following the Hollywood crowd would not lead him down a favorable road. While he was saved and grew up in the church, he didn't really get really serious about his Christianity until he was in Los Angeles.

“I was by myself. I didn't have anywhere to stay at first and I was trying to live for man, and it wasn't working the way I wanted. I found it hard to do the right thing because my environment was always pushing me to do the consistent thing. The status quo in Los Angeles is so influential, you find yourself before you know it, doing things you never thought you'd do.”

His search for a church home brought him to First Church of God in Inglewood, under Bishop Gregory Dixon.

“He sat me down and he said, you're the type of person where no matter who you are or what you do, if you speak people are going to listen. And you can't be accountable for what people do individually but you will be held accountable for what direction you lead them.”

With Dixon's advice in mind, Parker has become committed to community activism and youth mentoring. He serves as a mentor to children and teens at First Church of God and runs a Compton-based after school program called “Peace For Kids” which provides services and counseling for at home foster and group home children.

He also runs a program at Wiley College, setting for “The Great Debaters,” called 100 Men of Excellence. Over the next 10 years, Parker will attempt to personally raise enough money to fund the scholarships of 100 men of color from the ages of 17-25 to attend Wiley. The first three scholarships were handed out last month.

As an actor, Parker does not chase roles to become famous amd or cash in on a large payday. Instead, he uses his roles as an extension of his activism.

“The journey is not so much towards fame as it is trying to do projects that will inspire and encourage and being a philanthropist.”

He strongly believes his life purpose is centered around his career in Hollywood.

“I really believe that it's my calling to be in this business for a very long time. That every step is a step towards the goal and the promise of my desires from God. “

Parker believes taking roles that contradict his belief would taint his message.

“There've been a lot of jobs I've made the decision not to do. Jobs that will put me in a different tax bracket, but I know that in the compromise I lose my voice.

“One thing I refuse to do is blaspheme against the Holy Spirit. So when it comes to a role where I have to rebuke Jesus, anything that's completely blasphemous to my belief, I won’t do it. I really believe my blessing, my jobs come from God and Jesus Christ.”

“A lot of people act as a means to an end. For me, my career is a platform for my community, and I don't mean just the black community, so there are certain things I won't do regardless of the incentive.”

Instead he leans toward playing strong black male characters that allow Parker to provide a positive male role model often missing within the black community.

“I feel like the definition in essence of a man in the black community is becoming so skewed because of compromise. It's important that I'm able to stand on a stage or walk into a community and be able to talk to troubled young men and say 'hey, I'm going to bear this yoke with you and I can be someone you can look up to.' “

Instead of worrying over potential roles, Parker takes the unstable nature of acting in Hollywood in stride. He remains confident he'll get the type of roles he is supposed to play.

“I don't feel that there's competition. As my mother would say, if something's for you, then there isn't a demon in hell that can take it away.  But if not, there's nothing you can do to get it. So I live every moment believing that every no is a step forward. Every yes is a step forward. Every distraction is a step forward. Everything I allow into my life, with respect to this craft, is a step toward the career I want to have. “

Lately, he has not had any trouble finding good jobs. On top of “Blood Done Sign My Name”, Parker will star in the upcoming George Lucas film “Red Tails,' which depicts the story of the Tuskegee Airmen. The movie, which also stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard, is due out in September.
 

Though he acknowledges that pursuing acting is often a rough road, Parker takes solace in the fact that God will always be with him and guide him throughout his career.  

“My saving grace is the understanding that I'm not alone and that I have been saved by grace, and so I can't fail.”