'S.W.A.T.' Star Shemar Moore Takes a Bold Approach to Work and Life

Actor says he's 'defied the odds and found my lane and refused to quit'

Gayle Jo Carter,

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Published October 22, 2024

AARP (Gilbert Flores/Getty Images)

An early brush with baseball success prepared S.W.A.T. star Shemar Moore, 54, for Hollywood longevity. “I pursue my acting career like an athlete. Like there's always room to grow,” says Moore, whose 30-year career took him from The Young and the Restless to Criminal Minds to “No. 1 on the call sheet” on S.W.A.T. (Season 8 premieres Oct. 18 on CBS). “You can always get stronger. If you lose, get back up and fight again.” Moore shares how he keeps in shape for the physically demanding role, the baseball career he almost pursued, and the actors he’d like to share a screen with.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Is working on S.W.A.T. as physically demanding as it looks?

It takes eight days to do an episode and you're going to see car chases, foot chases, motorcycle chases, hand-to-hand combat, helicopter stunts, us propelling off of buildings, running up and down fire escapes, all this stuff. ... I'm 54. I'm the oldest of the group now, outside of Patrick Saint-Esprit [70], who plays our commander, but he's not in the trenches with us. We work out to look good, but we work out just so our body has the stamina to be able to do the job.

You had your eye on another physically demanding profession before acting — pro athlete, right?

My dream before any Hollywood stuff was to be a professional baseball player. I was pretty good. I got looked at by Boston and Baltimore in high school. I was a pitcher. I was an outfielder. I could run, I could hit. I threw pretty hard — I threw about 93 miles an hour. I was just naturally talented, but you know, if I had to do it all over again, I would have just picked one position and got the proper coaching for it.

Shemar Moore stars as Sergeant II Daniel "Hondo" Harrelson on "S.W.A.T." Season 8 premieres Oct. 18 on CBS.

CBS ENTERTAINMENT

Did baseball prepare you in any way for an acting career?

That fear — my mother [Marylin Joan Wilson-Moore, who died at age 76 in February 2020] gave me a card that sits in my office to this day — ”Leap and the net will appear.” I interpret that as be brave — if something scares you, run at it. Just have faith and jump. Try something. You don't know where you're gonna land, but if you do it boldly, you'll land.

You are now 54 — how are you approaching aging?

Of course I want to work out and I like the feeling and look of being in shape. I look in the mirror and I know I'm getting older. I have to respect that I'm getting older, but it's really a state of mind. I have a cousin who just goes "Man, we're old" and I'm like, "speak for yourself" because a lot of it is just your mindset. Father Time loses to nobody, but you can slow it down. I have a daughter now [Frankie, 22 months old with girlfriend Jesiree Dizon], so I want to be able and nimble enough to run and throw her up in the air and go to the park and swim and do all those things. And so I take a lot of pride in trying to stay in shape. It's not easy. And sometimes your will is less than.

Do you have a special routine to help you feel your best?

I get Vitamin B IVs once a month. I get deep tissue massage once a week. I have a chiropractor at my beck and call to go get adjusted. I have a dry sauna in my backyard. I have a cold plunge in my backyard, which I use religiously just for recovery. And then it's about disciplining myself to stretch, get rest, go to my gym, work with my trainer. When I have the time, like in the hiatus, I'll work with my trainer four to five days a week. I'll do about an hour's worth of cardio on my own probably four days a week. It's an assignment. It's a way of life. It's for my health. I want to live as long and feel as good as I can.

How do you fit in the exercise during filming?

When I was on Criminal Minds, there was a truck with gym equipment in it, and when I wasn't in a scene or had a late call or something like that, I would go and use the gym truck. When I got on S.W.A.T., which was even more physical than Criminal Minds, I invested in a truck [with] all this high-end equipment. ... If my call time is nine o'clock, I'll try to get to work around eight o'clock so I can get 30 to 45 minutes in the gym. All the cast uses it.

"S.W.A.T." star Shemar Moore says his mother helped inspire his brave approach to his life and career. "If something scares you, run at it. Just have faith and jump," he says.

CBS ENTERTAINMENT

You were the host of Soul Train [2000-2003] — are you musical? Can you sing?

No, if I could sing, my house would be a lot bigger. No, God don’t give you both hands. I've been blessed, but I've got some ugly feet and I cannot sing. But Soul Train was a blast for me. I love music and dancing. My favorite instrument is a piano. I can play that just a little bit. I took lessons when I was 2 years old. I have the same piano that my mother bought me when I was 7 years old. It's old school, but I love it and I keep it. My daughter bangs on it.

Do you have a dream project or co-star?

There's people I'd love to work with. I’d want to work with Denzel Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, even do something funny with Ryan Reynolds or Mark Wahlberg [or] Amy Adams. These are the superstars. I've been blessed. Debbie Allen plays my mother. I worked with Mel Gibson. I look at my 30 years and I'm not Denzel Washington. I'm not Brad Pitt. I'm not Tom Hardy. I'm not Tom Hanks. But I'm Shemar Moore, who defied the odds and found my lane and refused to quit.

What would you tell your younger self?

Dream big. Dreams don't always come true, but if you dream big, something out of the ordinary, something extraordinary, will blossom for you. You just have to be prepared and bold enough to want to go after it. You have to know that you're going to get knocked down. You're going to fail more than you succeed. And it's just how bad do you want it? How hungry are you? Never take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the highs, respect the lows. Maintain humility. … You can have a bad day or you can just celebrate the little wins in each day. And that comes with maturity and getting older.

Isn’t that the beauty of getting older — the little stuff doesn’t have to drag us down?

Don't worry about how people think of you. You know in your heart, you know in your soul, if you're being true to yourself, you know if you're being kind, you know if you're being fair, you know if you're being honest. And I would just say, be comfortable in your own skin, find your confidence, find your identity. You're never going to be able to keep up with the Joneses. Just love yourself and be the best version of yourself that you can be.

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Gayle Jo Carter is a former entertainment editor at USA WEEKEND, who during her 30-year reporting and editing career, has worked at USA TODAY, Voice of America and Feature Story News. When not interviewing high-profile people, she’s teaching reformer Pilates classes and doing her best to raise two empathetic, curious, healthy young people to adulthood.