Born of Nigerian immigrants, Monk and his family moved from Edmund, Oklahoma to New Jersey when he was six. After living briefly in East Orange, they would eventually settle in Newark, NJ. The acting bug did not bite for Monk until he was 16 years old and followed a high school classmate he had a crush on into her drama club rehearsal. There he met former NY theater actress and Science High instructor Alberta Handelman. She immediately noticed Monk's natural talent and passion, casting him as Judge Danforth in the school presentation of "The Crucible" that year. Monk returned the trust of such a large and prominent role for a newcomer by delivering strong performance after strong performance that got him noticed by the local community.
From that moment on, Monk would continue to feed his love for acting. He landed the role of Mr. President in "The Madwoman of Chaillot" the following year as well as being cast in two productions while in college. He would go on to graduate from Penn State University with a degree in Economics. Immediately after graduation he began auditioning for roles in New York. Things have not always been easy for the young man, whose ultimate goal is to become a well respected leading man, but he has always kept his head up. In his first month of jumping into the ocean of the New York acting community, Monk was cast as the young, overwhelmed drug dealer Paul in Adam Witten's short film And The Walls Came Down.
Later that year he was cast as the straight and narrow lawyer Tony whose brother's sketchy past affects everyone around him in Julius Kelly's Forgiveness. The director, much like his first director Ms. Handelman, immediately saw the young actor's potential and charisma on film. After the wrapping of filming for Forgiveness, Kelly tapped Monk to play the supporting role of Tim in his first feature film RhodeSide, set to begin filming October of 2009. In such a short period of time and with his own "get it down" attitude, Monk has left a significant impression with the industry professionals who he has come into contact with.
Currently Monk is taking Meisner Technique classes with David Newer at The William Esper Studio. He has also taken up his love for writing and has begun to develop his own material for production. His short No Woman No Cry has been selected to be filmed by the same up and coming director Julius Kelly this coming June. He was recently casted as a series regular in an ESPN dramedy pilot that is up for consideration by the network. He continues to write and hopes to begin putting together a short film for festival competition by early next year. He is also a capable comedian, working with up an coming stand up comedian Anthony Diaz on routines for touring.
From that moment on, Monk would continue to feed his love for acting. He landed the role of Mr. President in "The Madwoman of Chaillot" the following year as well as being cast in two productions while in college. He would go on to graduate from Penn State University with a degree in Economics. Immediately after graduation he began auditioning for roles in New York. Things have not always been easy for the young man, whose ultimate goal is to become a well respected leading man, but he has always kept his head up. In his first month of jumping into the ocean of the New York acting community, Monk was cast as the young, overwhelmed drug dealer Paul in Adam Witten's short film And The Walls Came Down.
Later that year he was cast as the straight and narrow lawyer Tony whose brother's sketchy past affects everyone around him in Julius Kelly's Forgiveness. The director, much like his first director Ms. Handelman, immediately saw the young actor's potential and charisma on film. After the wrapping of filming for Forgiveness, Kelly tapped Monk to play the supporting role of Tim in his first feature film RhodeSide, set to begin filming October of 2009. In such a short period of time and with his own "get it down" attitude, Monk has left a significant impression with the industry professionals who he has come into contact with.
Currently Monk is taking Meisner Technique classes with David Newer at The William Esper Studio. He has also taken up his love for writing and has begun to develop his own material for production. His short No Woman No Cry has been selected to be filmed by the same up and coming director Julius Kelly this coming June. He was recently casted as a series regular in an ESPN dramedy pilot that is up for consideration by the network. He continues to write and hopes to begin putting together a short film for festival competition by early next year. He is also a capable comedian, working with up an coming stand up comedian Anthony Diaz on routines for touring.
