It is not often a child knows what they want to do at the age of six years old, especially if your calling is that of an actor and you’re from Opelika, Ala.

“Growing up in Opelika, Alabama, you don’t see acting. It is not something you hear about,” said Jock McKissic. “Alabama is not a place where actors really come from. That’s what I was always told growing up when I voiced my opinion on wanting to be an actor.”

No, Alabama is known for producing football stars, especially when a young man like McKissic grows up to be 6-foot-6 and weighs 300 pounds. Though he was occasionally acting in church and school plays, football became McKissic’s avenue to get a college education.

McKissic became a budding football star at Opelika High School, especially on the defensive line. He had schools like Illinois, Louisville, NC State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Clemson recruiting him, and  eventually landed at Clemson were he lettered for four years as a defensive tackle.

“I love sports as well, and football got me to Clemson,” said McKissic, who is now 30 years old and lives in Atlanta and Los Angeles. “Once I got to Clemson, I wanted to major in theater, but a lot of the theater classes are in the evening, which conflicts with football so I had to go a different route.”

McKissic enrolled at Clemson in January of 2005 so he could participate in spring drills. As a freshman, he played in all 12 games and by 2006 he was a starter on a defense that was one of the best in the country.

In the classroom, he majored in communications and doubled in sociology. He chose communications so he could work on getting rid of his strong Alabama and southern accent.

On the football field, McKissic had success as a starter and was voted a team captain in 2008. He is best remembered for his 82-yard interception return for a touchdown against rival South Carolina in the 2006 game in Death Valley. And though he always wanted to play in the NFL, acting was always McKissic’s plan once his football career was over.

After Clemson, McKissic never made it in the NFL as injuries hindered his opportunities. He did play in the Arena Football League for two years, but he eventually grew tired of traveling from team to team so he started his acting career, which has always been is passion in the first place.

The year he gave up football, McKissic ran into Mark Ellis—the older brother of former South Carolina quarterback, now broadcaster, Todd Ellis—who runs Game Changing Films in Atlanta. His production company helps Hollywood produce a lot of the sports stunts and scenes in movies such as Remember the Titans, Coach Carter, Water Boy, the Longest Yard, Focus and The Dark Knight Rises as well as the television show Necessary Roughness on the USA Network.

“He remembered me playing at Clemson and he actually brought up the 82-yard touchdown I had against Carolina,” McKissic said. “He had met somebody that knew me and knew what I was doing and they told him some good things so he told me he wanted to help me.”

Since getting in the acting business, Jock McKissic has worked with some very famous people such as Adam Sandler (right), Shaquille O’Neal (below) and Oprah Winfrey (top). He got to know Sandler and O’Neal on the set of Blinding, where he was O’Neal’s body double on a couple of stunt scenes. He has a role in Winfrey’s new film called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Ellis had McKissic come on Necessary Roughness and help with a couple of plays. At the time, the former Clemson player was still back-and-forth with his football career and he was talking with a CFL team about playing that upcoming season. However, they called and said they did not need him, which to McKissic was a sign that he needed to move on from football and dive full-time into his acting career.

If he wasn’t sure then, he was definitely sure in the few hours that followed.

“I got a call a couple of hours later from Mark Ellis telling me that Necessary Roughness got picked up for a season and we were going to shoot 18 episodes and he needed me,” McKissic said.

McKissic was thrilled. He signed on with Ellis and got a chance to watch and learn how the industry worked on a big scale from the inside. Once the show ended, McKissic took his career to the next level thanks to the encouragement from the cast and crew of Necessary Roughness.

From there, McKissic started working in independent films and hired an acting coach as well as a manager, Gail Tassell. He also worked odd jobs and third shifts so he had time to audition for roles.

“It was crazy,” McKissic said. “I was doing everything I could do to get my foot in the door. Gail believed in me. She thought I had talent and she liked my work ethic so she signed me and she got me committed for different projects. It kind of went from there.”

In 2015, things really began to pick up for McKissic. He started getting roles and action stunt scenes for movies and big television shows. His résumé includes roles on Focus starring Will Smith, Blended starring Adam Sandler and Shaquille O’Neal, The Best Man Holiday and Finding Forever in Love.

On television he has reoccurring roles in Saints and Sinners, 24: Legacy and The Yard as well as eight other shows. He has also done commercials for the College Hall of Fame and AT&T.

“When I first got into it, nobody really believed it,” McKissic said. “Everybody kind of was like, ‘okay! Whatever! You’re going to be an actor. You should keep playing football or you should get a job. You went to Clemson. You have a degree from Clemson. Go get a job Jock.’ I was like, ‘no, I’m going to be an actor.’

“So after I was in the TLC Movie and people saw it, that is when people realized I was serious.”

Since getting in the business, McKissic has worked with some very famous people such as Sandler, O’Neal and Oprah Winfrey. He got to know Sandler and O’Neal on the set of Blended, where he was O’Neal’s body double on a couple of stunt scenes. That was a big moment for McKissic because O’Neal was his hero growing up.

The two hit it off well and became friends and were even playing pickup basketball and riding bikes on the set. Through O’Neal, he got to talk with Sandler, who happens to be a huge college football fan. And when Sandler found out McKissic played for Clemson, the roles switched and Sandler became he fan. Sandler even told McKissic he watches Clemson games all the time and even pulls for the Tigers.

McKissic hopes to get Sandler to a Clemson game in the near future if the actor’s and director’s schedule will allow it.

However, his biggest thrill was meeting Winfrey. He actually has a role in Winfrey’s new film called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. McKissic has a small role in the film as a mechanic. His character’s name is Carl and he works at a service station.

“That was definitely a great experience working with Oprah,” he said. “That was my second time working with her. I worked with her in 2016 as well on her television show Greenleaf.”

The scene he had on Greenleaf was actually with Winfrey, which was a thrill for the former football star.

“That was my first time meeting her and working with her. It was awesome,” McKissic said. “I got to sit down and talk with Oprah. That was the second time I had been star struck, ever. The first being when I met Shaq, who was my childhood idol.

“I sat down and thought to myself, ‘Should I talk to her.’ Then I just said, ‘Hey Ms. Winfrey, it is a blessing to be on set with you.’ She said, ‘No, it is a blessing to be on set and to work with you. I’m just happy to be doing what I love.’ My mouth just dropped. I was like, ‘what! Oprah said he is happy to be on set with me. I’m nobody.’ So it was kind of cool to see how humble she was. I heard she was that way but to see it was mind blowing.”

When Winfrey saw McKissic on set for the movie this past year, she remembered him and their conversation and even asked about his grandmother and his family.

“When we walked in for the table read, and I soon as I walked in the door, she called me by my character’s name in Greenleaf which is Kenny,” he said. “She was like, ‘Hey Kenny!’ I was like, Oh my God! I almost fainted. She remembers me.”

Winfrey even asked McKissic to take a selfie with her.

“She meets a million people a year. Her memory is outstanding,” McKissic said. “She knows everybody who works on her projects. She is phenomenal. There is a reason she is who she is. That’s an amazing experience, both of them.”

Working with talented people like Winfrey, O’Neal and Sandler and seeing how real they truly are confirmed to McKissic that he needs to continue following his dreams and do what he is passionate about. In the end, McKissic does not act because he wants to be rich and famous. He does it because he likes it, and getting to see how celebrities like Winfrey, Shaq and Sandler express their passion for acting gives him the inspiration to keep working hard and love what he is doing.