Greg Tarzan Davis may be fairly new to Hollywood, but he’s already getting advice that he’ll carry with him throughout his career.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, the actor, 28, opens up about his current role as Dr. Jordan Wright onGrey’s Anatomy, what he’s learned fromGrey’salum Chandra Wilson, why he decided to pursue his dream of acting and howTom Cruisebecame his mentor early in the game.
“With [Chandra] being a scene partner, she makes my job so easy,” says the New Orleans native, who first appeared in the ABC medical drama in December.
“My career isn’t that long yet, but I’ve worked with a lot of actors and she’s one that I can say is a person who keeps you on your toes at all times,” he says. “She likes to keep it fresh. She likes to keep the scene alive. We can do a take so many times, but she will always find a way to bring something different to it. She’s caught me sleeping a few times and I love it. She keeps me present.”
Liliane Lathan/ABC
He adds, “We’ll talk about the scene after and I’ll ask her why she would do this and why she did that and she’ll tell me. She’s been fun to work with.”
While becoming an actor had always been a dream for Davis, who was a first-grade teacher prior to acting, he never seriously thought of pursuing it. That is until a student asked him a game-changing question.
“One of the students actually asked me, ‘What do you want to be?’ " Davis recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m a teacher.’ She said, ‘No, no. I know you’re a teacher, but what did you want to be when you were our age?’ I was like, ‘I wanted to be an actor.’ It dawned on me, I’m not following my dreams.”
Since then, Davis landed a role onGrey’sand will be starring oppositeTom CruiseinTop Gun: Maverick, which will be released on May 27, andMission: Impossible 7, which is out in 2023.
“Starting off anything, whether it’s acting or teaching or whether it’s being a doctor, the person who becomes your mentor, who sets the example for you starting off is very, very important,” says Davis, who began acting professionally in 2016.
“The way I look at the business and how I approach my work is based off of [Tom Cruise]. I’ve only been in this thing for six years and I’ve spent the majority of it with him. He shaped the way I look at things and I’m very, very grateful to have somebody as great as him and on his level to move me,” Davis shares.
Grey’s Anatomyairs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
source: people.com
