'Perfect Harmony' Star Geno Segers Reveals How Sports Paved Way for Entertainment Career (Exclusive)

Geno Segers is on his way to doing big things in Hollywood. He currently is starring in the NBC musical comedy television series Perfect Harmony and he was named a Breakout Star by Hollywood Reporter. Before Perfect Harmony, Segers was also on the Disney XD series Pair of Kings and the Cinemax series Banshee.

So how did it all start for the North Carolina native? He recently spoke with PopCulture.com and he talked about how sports were big for him when he was younger.

"It was my little escape from my little reality. My reality was not as bleak as others, but I felt sort of like an outcast. It gave me sort of a platform to be on the same level with all my other peers," he said.

Segers became a standout football player, taking his talents to Western Carolina where he was an All-American. Segers enjoyed his time with the Catamounts, but he said it wasn't easy at first.

"It was tough initially," Segers said "Just being away from home and having to get used to 80 brothers was kind of tricky. And even then, Western Carolina had a reputation of winning and our team wasn't doing that well so we didn't have the local support. It was kind of tough."

Once his college football playing career was over, Segers had aspirations of playing in the NFL. However, he revealed why that dream never became a reality.

"The NFL was always in the back of my mind, but there was something that I was just not willing to do in order to play in the NFL. I just missed out in terms of my performance grade. I could have fixed that pretty easily, but I wasn't willing to do that," he said.

Instead, Segers played rugby for the American National Rugby League for six years on and off. He then relocated to New Zealand to play for the Richmond Rovers Rugby League team and that's where he got his first taste of the entertainment industry. While doing some odd jobs, a friend of his suggested he do some voice-over work. Segers tried it and he enjoyed the experience.

"In 15 minutes, I made $9,000," he said. "There's nothing I can do in the real world legally where I can make $9,000 in 15 minutes."

From there, Segers would star in commercials and that would lead to where he is today, playing the role of Dwyane in Perfect Harmony. When auditioning for the role, Segers saw himself as a different character and not Dwayne.

"I saw myself as the future sheriff of this little town. When they said come in for the goat farmer, I said, 'okay I'm going to go as the goat farmer, but I'm going to win the room and they are going to call me back for the sheriff.' I don't look like a goat farmer, but with the magic of television, costume and the proper haircut. Boom. There you go," Segers said.

It looks like things are going well for Segers who has had success in sports career and entertainment career. And as far as the future goes, Segers has big plans.

"I've always been business-focused. The world revolves around business and even the business of entertainment," he said. "I would like to think eventually segue into the business of entertainment. I love acting and I love performing. But I'm looking for the long game. Eventually in this business of show, you or either on the menu or you are at the table having dinner."

Photo Credit: The Riker Brothers