Quite honestly I never had a desire to be an actor. I tell

Hear now the words of Ving Rhames, the man of power and presence, who spoke with humility of his beginnings: “Quite honestly I never had a desire to be an actor. I tell people, I did not choose acting; acting chose me. I never grew up wanting to be an actor. I wanted to play football. In about 9th grade an English teacher told me I had a talent to act. He said I should audition for a performing arts high school so I did on a whim. I got accepted.” In this confession lies the mystery of destiny, the hidden ways by which life summons us to the path that was always ours, though we knew it not.

For Rhames did not set out with dreams of stage or screen. His heart beat for the field, for the clash of bodies and the triumphs of the game. Yet destiny, disguised in the words of an English teacher, called him to another arena—one no less demanding, one no less glorious. He did not choose acting; acting chose him. And this, O children of time, is the mark of many great callings: they come not where we expect them, but where we are least prepared, striking us with the surprise of fate.

So it has been with many before him. Consider the tale of Cincinnatus, the Roman farmer, who did not seek power but was called to save the state. Or the story of Joan of Arc, who in her village heard the voice that summoned her to lead armies. These souls, like Rhames, were not raised with ambition for greatness in that field, yet greatness found them