Was a running back on his high school football team
Once worked as an assistant to director Darnell Martin
Made his feature debut, Medicine for the Melancholy (2008), using a $13,000 loan from a friend
Started a production company, Strike Anywhere, focusing on commercials and other branded content
Despite growing up in the same neighborhood and attending the same school as playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, author of work on which Moonlight is based, the two didn't meet until they were adults