Yahoo News BMF Actor Da'Vinchi on How Therapy Helped Him Process Childhood Trauma: 'It's Really Tough'
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Actor Da'Vinchi is opening up about how therapy helped him process childhood trauma.
During a conversation with Complex published Friday, the BMF star, 25, discussed the parallels of his character, Terry "Southwest T" Flenory, and his childhood. He spoke about the trauma he endured after being bullied for his Haitian upbringing and the financial struggles his parents faced.
Da'Vinchi said that, as he processes what he's experienced, focusing on his mental health is a must.
"I'm here to speak on behalf of the work that I do just so I can explain I'm not trying to promote this violence," Da'Vinchi said, referencing the Starz crime drama, which follows the Black Mafia Family, a drug trafficking and money laundering organization.
"I would never try to do that because I come from that environment. I would never promote something that's going to just kill us," he said.
Starz
Da'Vinchi spoke with PEOPLE on Thursday about the similarities between him and his character during the BMF season 2 premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
"It's a lot. It's actually a lot of scary similarities, I think," he shared. "We're both just as bullheaded, and we see the world a certain way. And sometimes, when someone don't see it the way that we see it, we get a little frustrated."
He continued, "But, you know, I'm growing out of that, but we're very similar in how we go about business — how organized we are, how we carry ourselves."
Asked about the pressures of Hollywood while starring in a successful series, Da'Vinchi told PEOPLE, "Honestly, I feel like it's a dream come true. ... To be telling the story that's this influential to the hip-hop culture, it's kind of like hitting the lottery, you know what I'm saying?"
He described it as "a once-in-a-lifetime role," adding, "And it's a true story, you know what I'm saying? So I just feel happy, just even in this moment. And I don't think it's really gonna hit me until like five years later, and I'm like, 'Damn, my prime.' "
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Speaking with Complex, Da'Vinchi said he's currently preparing to launch a mental health tour at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and he is also prioritizing his own wellbeing.
"Well, right now I'm in a great place. I'm in a great mental place, thank God. I've seen the therapists before, and had conversations like that. I have a good circle of people around me. I think adjusting to fame, which I'm still not adjusted to, that's probably one of the most difficult things I have and will ever go through in my life."
Da'Vinchi, who also appeared in Freeform's Grown-ish and The CW's All American, confessed that he was not ready for his new "level" of fame, adding, "With all the trauma that I'm used to seeing, that didn't prepare me really to be here."
"It f---- with you, and it's a lonely feeling because you don't know who to trust. I'm finding my way and then keeping my little circle tight," he told the publication. "It is really tough, but I've been managing for the most part. I meditate a lot, I pray a lot, and I stay to myself a lot. I keep doing what got me here so I don't lose touch and lose sight of what I really want to do with all this. But it's tough, man."
Asked about the importance of others in their 20s having a therapist, Da'Vinchi said, "It's extremely important. Everyone needs therapy."
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One of the childhood traumas he experienced was his close cousin being shot and killed. Da'Vinchi said he wishes therapy would have been available to help with the healing process.
"I know for sure if there was, not even just a therapist, maybe if it were my parents or someone, but everyone was just so busy meeting the basic needs of survival that certain things like what is really going on within a child's brain are almost a luxury," said the actor. "I'm not trying to blame anyone, but a therapist would have for sure helped."
He went on to "definitely recommend" therapy to "everyone," adding: "Even if you feel like you don't need it, you should just go and have a conversation with someone because the thing about trauma, it's tricky."
He told Complex he first realized he was "traumatized" when he began "hanging around human beings who had healthier outlooks on life than me."
"I'm like, 'Oh my God, that's what trauma is.' We don't use that word."
Moving forward, the actor said he hopes to help others prioritize therapy as well.
"I want to use myself as a tool to just make it seem like it's cool because I relate to the majority, I relate to the masses. I look just like him. I come from the same environment as them. I speak the same language as them," he said. "A lot of times, if someone sees someone who looks like themselves doing this new thing, they'll try it."
He concluded, "Some people are going to see it, some people are not. But as long as I can just make a difference in a few people's lives, I feel like everything I went through and that I've seen in my life wasn't in vain. That's what I want to do."
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
