Montel Douglas
Actor, writer, and director
Acting, 2018
Since graduating from St Mary’s in 2018, actor, writer, director, and facilitator Montel Douglas has featured on shows for the BBC, CBS, and Sky alongside household names like Daniel Mays and Stephen Graham. Montel is also an award-winning playwright, with his debut full-length play One Way Out winning the Untapped Award in 2023. Alongside this work, Montel is a facilitator and mentors other young actors on their journey.
“St Mary's gave me the tools to start up my career. It gave me the foundation to believe that I could do it.”
Setting the stage
Montel graduated from St Mary’s in 2019, having chosen to study Acting at the University because of the contact hours it provided, as well as the focus on professional practice.
St Mary’s provided Montel the opportunity to grow as a performer in different settings, by trying out new ideas without the pressure of failure. He shares that one of the best things about St Mary’s was all the different skills that he learnt and how much he grew in confidence
“Choosing St Mary’s would allow me to meet agents and industry professionals, giving me a kickstart for an acting career after the three years.”
For Montel, it was the teachers at St Mary’s that made the biggest difference. He says that their knowledge and industry experience in writing, directing, acting, and producing was crucial in his development and preparation for the business.
Soon after graduating, Montel made his debut on stage and was quickly signed by an agency that St Mary’s had actually brought in during the professional practice module. Since then, Montel has been in TV shows including BBC’s Casualty, Ransom on CBS, and Code 404 on Sky.
“St Mary's was the bridge for me getting signed, as that's where I first made a connection with the agency.”
“St Mary's gave me the tools to start up my career."
Montel is also a successful public writer and director, something that he credits St Mary’s for. He first started writing while he was a student, and picked it back up again in lockdown.
His first experience of directing and learning about set design was also at St Mary’s, during specific directing modules. Montel says that St Mary’s is where his ideas and feel for being a director began.
By 2023, Montel had written and directed a full-length play called One Way Out which went on to win an Untapped Award and £10,000 to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
One Way Out was inspired by the true story of Montel’s cousin being handed a deportation notice when she was 19, despite having lived in the UK since childhood. The play tells the story of young British Caribbean people’s experience of the Windrush crisis.
"I have massive rewards and thanks to St Mary's. Of course, you have to do a lot of work for yourself, but it gave me the foundation to believe that I could do it"
Going forward, Montel sees himself as a fully-fledged artist. He believes that in the showbiz industry, there’s beauty in individuality rather than trying to be like someone else.
Alongside his acting, directing, and writing, Montel has started to facilitate the teaching of other young actors on their career journey. He wants to make sure others can experience all the things that he has, by passing on that knowledge.
“I want to continue telling compelling stories and expressing myself artistically through my work, but I also want to pass the baton on to future generations of actors.”
