Sheldon Shepherd expects to miss ‘Bob Marley’ premiere; awaits birth of son
Actor plays Neville Garrick in movie
ACTOR AND musician, Sheldon Shepherd, regrets that he will not make Tuesday’s Jamaican première of the film, Bob Marley: One Love, in which he portrays the late graphic designer Neville Garrick.
But it’s for good reason as Shepherd is i n New York to welcome his bundle of joy due any minute now.
“I would have really loved to attend the première as it promises to be the most epic thing Jamaica has ever seen, but I’m currently expecting my son to make his première in the world and this is a one-time only screening that I must catch,” Shepherd, who is already father to 13-year-old Jahson, told The Gleaner.
The birth of Shepherd’s son, whom he and his partner have already named Ska, will be an at-home water delivery. He explained that the preparation leading up to a home birth, although scary at first, “is very informative and gives a feeling of confidence and responsibility to the parents”.
Talking about playing the man who famously designed the Bob Marley and The Wailers’ album covers, Exodus, Uprising and Rastaman Vibration, Shepherd said t he highest point was meeting Neville Garrick, “an allaround amazing human being”.
“We spent loads of time just chatting and laughing. The first time I found him [he was] chilling in my trailer. He told me that his name is on the door so I should take it up with production. The bosses then got him his own trailer and wrote ‘Real Neville Garrick’ on his door ... we had a good laugh out of that one,” Shepherd recalled.
Garrick, he said, shared stories of him and Bob involving herb, women, shopping for denim and playing football.
“Some were quite funny, some a real tear-jerker. He humanised Bob and at times spoke of his love and esteem for his “big brother” and friend as he called him.”
Shepherd, who had read for the roles of all the Wailers members, discovered he had secured the role of Garrick on his birthday back in September 2022, after attending a casting callback at Tuff Gong Studios.
INSTANTLY DRAWN TO CHARACTER
“I knew I wanted to be in the film, I just didn’t know who I would get to play. I could see that the director also wanted me in the film. They searched through scripts and characters and came up with Neville … I took one look at his profile and was instantly drawn to his character.”
Eagerly waiting to see the finished film on the big screen at the Los Angeles première in February, Shepherd has a diverse list of creative projects now out. Released on Netflix last week is a new episodic drama, Champion, then, there is the Ina Sotirova-directed short film, Stinky Mango, which he co-produced, co-wrote and co-stars.
Also currently out is his new single, Teeth and Tongue, the inspiration for which sprung from tragic circumstances surrounding his former neighbours, who were involved in a murder-suicide..
“The man shot his wife and then himself. I was moved to make and share content that would create awareness of the problem and offer some sort of solution.”
The multi-hyphenate also revealed he shot a fashion advertising campaign for a major international brand last month on the north coast.
Deliberate in his artistic choices, Shepherd explained he wants to utilise the various platforms of his craft to elevate the human experience.
“Creating art for me is truly a privilege and a responsibility,” he said. “The utterances from my mouth should represent truthfulness and respect ... respect for self and all of existence, with no expectations, but just the reliability of natural order, that all things are the way it should be.”