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Former Ohio Valley University student stars in Christmas film

David L. "DJ" Rowell, a former student athlete for Ohio Valley University, is officially making his big screen debut this Sunday, Nov. 1, after years of desire to pursue acting as a career.

"This is my first professional role and it was a leading man role, so it's one of those once in a lifetime type of things" Rowell said.

Rowell is starring as the male lead in "Christmas in Carolina," a holiday romance movie that surrounds the spirit of letting your guard down and falling in love despite the hardships of your past.

Rowell's character, Wesley, meets Elle, a workaholic investment banker in Baltimore who lost her parents in a car accident and has since been closed off to the concept of love. Wesley is a former NBA player and CEO who goes on a few dates with Elle, played by Joslyn Y. Hall, and eventually invites her home to spend the holidays with him in South Carolina.

"I don't want to give away the ending, but she ends up getting the best Christmas present she could ever ask for," Rowell said about the movie plot.

Rowell attended OVU from 2014 to 2015 to play basketball before transferring to Queen's University in Charlotte, N.C., where he landed an internship working for radio host Ryan Seacrest and eventually also working for LoCash, an American country music duo.

"So I traveled the country for a couple years with these guys …" Rowell said. "Which completely got basketball out of my system and helped me focus on what I really wanted to do next, which was I wanted to get into the entertainment world. I wanted to add something I've always wanted to do. I've always had a passion for it. And to be honest, I think I've been unconsciously studying, not realizing it the entire time. So I just started looking up tutorials, master classes, taking a few classes and practicing the exercises," he said.

Rowell received his big break in the industry when he was contacted by "Christmas in Carolina" screenwriter Stacie Davis, who had been tipped off on Rowell by her younger sister, who had gone to high school with him.

"Stacie was looking for someone who could fill this role and this was a small film at the time," Rowell said. "And she calls me, she goes over my social media pages. And she says, 'man, I think he might be a good fit. He's got the look and he's got the swagger.'"

However, Rowell had to go through another audition for the role after Kellie Shangyne Williams and Darius McCrary, formerly Laura Lee Winslow and Edward "Eddie" Winslow of hit TV show "Family Matters," joined the cast in the roles of Wesley's mother and uncle, which replicated the former relationship they held as siblings on the award-winning show that spanned nine seasons.

"They've been so awesome that I mean seriously, they have literally mentored me through this," Rowell said. "I have to give a big thanks to them for just taking time with me to help develop skills and produce the necessary things I needed to enhance my role, my character and to bring the performance that was needed to be believable and credible to the audience."

Rowell said he was a huge fan of the show "Family Matters," and that it was an honor to work with the entire cast of Christmas in Carolina." The cast and crew were not only star-studded, but family-oriented as well.

"Peggy Williams and Ervin Williams are Kellie's parents," Rowell said. "He's (Ervin) also the executive producer and Peggy Williams is the director. She is Kellie's bonus mom or step mom, so it's all close knit and connected."

Rowell is additionally grateful for the time he spent at OVU, as he is originally a South Carolina native.

"It was just a lot of processing and just figuring out what I wanted to do next," Rowell said of his time at OVU. "That was actually the beginning of when I thought that basketball was, you know, something I was probably going to transition out of, but the memories at Ohio Valley were very humbling, to say the least. Because of just the culture shock being away, and, you know, being at a Christian school, things were totally different. And the discipline was very well needed."

Since filming "Christmas in Carolina" in December of 2019, which was filmed in six days, Rowell has additionally booked and been a part of two other productions, which will both be released in 2021.

"This kind of catapulted me," Rowell said. "The most important thing I've learned through acting is that everything takes time and everything takes focus. And without those two you know, without applying both of those things, and being able to receive constructive criticism to grow and perfect your craft in anything that you do, it's not going to go forward … belief is another critical point, another critical thing is that you should definitely believe in whatever it is that you're doing."

In the future, Rowell hopes to continue to be in movies and on the big screen, but his ultimate dream is to be a daytime talk show host.

"You know, like, you know, a little bit of Ellen, a little bit of Steve, and definitely a lot of Oprah …" Rowell said. "I would love to be a daytime talk show host who can just give you that break out of the day that you don't have to worry about the stress, you could just be entertained and have moments with me that you remember for the rest of your life."

"Christmas in Carolina" will premiere on the Roku Channel on Sunday, but is also available for pre-order on platforms such as Amazon Prime and Google Play. Rowell's career growth is documented and available on Instagram @RockemNation, Facebook as DJ Rowell and Twitter @RockemNation.

Jenna Pierson can be reached at jpierson@newsandsentinel.com