Goldsboro native finds dream job, on set
By Melinda Harrell
Published in News on November 1, 2015 3:05 AM
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Ticarus Bunch plays a correction officer on the hit TV show "Empire." The Goldsboro High School graduate says it took him a while, but now he is following his dream -- to be an actor.
Ticarus Bunch, 36, spent most of his life only dreaming of what he could be.
And one day, disgusted with his job that left him frustrated and unfulfilled, he sat in his truck and prayed for an answer.
"I had a tough day at work," Bunch said. "You know how you are just like, 'I can't wait to get off.' I prayed while I was at work and said, 'God, please show me my purpose in life because I know this isn't my purpose.'"
A month later a friend in Atlanta sent him an email about Tyler Perry needing people to play roles in his TV show "The Haves and Have Nots."
When Bunch got the email, he remembered his time in drama class at Goldsboro High School.
He remembered how much he loved performing.
On a whim, he sent in some information and a photo.
Four days later he was on the set of "The Haves and Have Nots."
"That moment, when I got on set and met Tyler Perry for the first time, it did something to me," Bunch said. "After we did our scene and got kudos from Tyler Perry for my performance, it made me feel like this is what I should have been doing the whole time."
The show Bunch has performed in is expected to air during the next season of "The Haves and Have Nots," which begins in January.
Bunch has made appearances on numerous TV shows since.
"Within a week I was on the set of Investigation Discovery Channel's 'Homicide Hunter,'" he said. "It was fun. I got to curse out the police and tell them to get off my porch. After I did that role, the director emailed me and told me that they have got word from the production team that my scene was the best improv scene they had on that show since the show started running."
His performances and tall, rugged appearance in turn landed him a role on the hit TV show "Empire."
Bunch said while he watching the first season of "Empire," he told his wife, Tanya, that he would be on the show one day.
When the casting call went out for the second season of the show, Bunch took the leap and submitted information.
"I got the phone call Saturday from Chicago. They asked me if I would be interested in playing a correction officer and asked me if I could be in Chicago that Tuesday -- and yes, I can be in Chicago that Tuesday," he said with a laugh.
"I hung up the phone and was berserk. When you are doing something -- not because of fame, not because of money -- when you are doing something because you feel it is your life's purpose, you feel like that is your passion, it doesn't matter what you have going on. When you get that type of phone call, it is like your house is on fire. You got to get out right then and there."
He appeared alongside Terrence Howard and Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges as a security guard, and although the role was not a speaking part, his presence was very much acknowledged around his hometown of Goldsboro.
Within a year, Bunch has made numerous appearances on TV shows. He now has an agent and other opportunities are lining up for him.
He said he should have pursued his dreams sooner.
He had always known what they were, and he has always had a flare for the dramatic.
When he was around 5 years old -- in a grandstanding attempt to mimic the Dukes of Hazzard -- he tried one of the show's famous stunts.
"I was a Dukes of Hazzard kid and there was an episode, I remember, where Bo or Duke jumped out of the car while it was rolling. When my mom turned out on the street, I jumped out of the car," Bunch said.
"He scared me," his mother, Delores Bunch, said with a laugh.
"The car was going slow, though."
And when Bunch was attending Goldsboro High School his love for drama brought him onto the stage -- and his drama teacher, Daniel Rollins, kept him inspired.
His parents, Mack Jr. and Delores and sister, Felicia Pridgen, encouraged him when he was young to follow his heart.
When he had reached a crossroads in high school -- he had to choose to continue to play football or continue with drama -- he, with the support of his family, chose to continue acting.
He said that decision was not an easy one. His friends were all playing football, and the idea of pursuing acting was such a novelty.
But Bunch never regretted the decision that brought him so much joy and supplied him with the base skills that would propel him further than he could have ever dreamed.
His only regret is that he waited so long to use those skills.
At age 36, he is certain he should have begun his career earlier, and he would tell anyone not to put off doing what they feel like is their calling in life.
"You can do anything," he said.
"I was a kid in a classroom who went against the odds and did what wasn't popular and did what I felt like was me, and you don't have to be a follower. You don't have to follow the people that you call your friends right now. You do what you feel like what is in your heart and don't procrastinate while doing it ... it took me 18 years to start chasing my dream. So many talented people live their life wondering 'what if.' I (would) rather fail a million times trying, than live my life saying 'what if.'"