DeVon Franklin, husband to Meagan Good, serves as president and CEO of his own company, Franklin Entertainment, but he’s been in the game for quite some time.
Franklin, 41, started out as a production intern with Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment, according to Black Enterprise. While there, he contributed to box office hits like The Pursuit of Happyness, Hancock and The Karate Kid. He parlayed his experience at Overbrook into a position as vice president of production at Columbia TriStar Pictures. The appointment made him one of the highest-ranking, and youngest, Black executives in Hollywood at the time. Here are five other things worth noting about him:
1. He’s an ordained pastor.
Franklin has a deep connection with his faith and is an ordained minister and Seventh-day Adventist pastor, according to Oprah Magazine. From Friday to Saturday night, he even takes a break from technology to study his bible and attend church service, according to CBN. Hollywood isn’t exactly known as an industry that’s big on personal ethics and morals, but Franklin says his faith has only enhanced his career.
“I have put my faith front and center for everyone to see…not only has relying on my faith not harmed my career prospects, it has actually enhanced them,” said Franklin.
2. Franklin is a bestselling author.
Yes. This man stays busy. He’s the author of five books and one of them, The Wait, has even made the New York Times' best-seller list. Franklin met his future wife, Meagan Good, on the set of the film Jumping the Broom, which Franklin produced and Good starred in. According to an interview the couple did with Essence, Good recalled how remaining celibate before marriage was a difficult but rewarding decision.
“I learned self-control and loved myself in a more meaningful way,” she said. “If I could give God one of the most tempting areas of life, anything else is possible.”
3. He's protective of his wife.
Though Good has always been known for her sexy image and romantic acting roles, these aren't things necessarily associated with the religious community. Maybe unsurprisingly, she's faced criticism from some of Franklin's devout Christian fan base. In an interview they did to promote The Wait, an audience member came at Good all kinds of sideways by asking if Good would “cover up.”
Franklin replied that his wife would wear whatever she wants “in the name of Jesus…Amen? Amen."
4. He counts Will Smith as a mentor.
As previously mentioned, Smith was one of the first people to give Franklin a break in the entertainment business. But Franklin didn't just get a juicy line on his resume — he also learned from one of the most successful businessmen in the industry.
"I think it was just a divine encounter, an appointment for me to be able to start my career with that type of mentorship, guidance and leadership because it really helped to shape everything in my career: how I navigate the entertainment industry, how I deal with people, how I continue to believe for the things I know are possible and also to have fun along the way," Franklin told Rolling Out.
5. Franklin was an executive producer on the remake of Annie.
Annie has been a hit on the stage and film for almost 40 years. It is a certified classic. In 2014, Annie was remade starring a modernized cast, with Quvenzhané Wallis in the lead role. Franklin was one of the key figures in bringing the vision of a diverse cast to reality.
“For the first time, we’re doing Annie with a diverse cast and capturing modern-day New York with a different flavor. When you see the story, the whole idea of Annie believing that one day she will find her parents, and ultimately finding her family in a way that she never anticipated," he told Patheos.
"I think that story is very resonant for today, as it has been for previous generations. Because Annie is one of those classic stories that throughout generations has always been a phenomenal story about faith, about the power of connection and community, and about family," he said further.
