J. August Richards

A life plastered on the covers of various magazines and the subject of entertainment television shows might be nice, but J. August Richards already feels like he’s ‘‘made it” in his acting career.

‘‘I may have thought I got into this business to be famous but that changed quite quickly and I realized I love what I do as an actor,” he said.

‘‘The only important thing is that I get better at it. Beyond that, I really don’t care about anything else. From that point on, you can’t lose.”

The Bladensburg native stars as Billy Desmond on NBC’s new drama, ‘‘Conviction,” which debuted in February.

‘‘I love it. I’m having a good time and am living in New York for the first time. That’s been very cool,” said Richards, 33.

‘‘I love the character I play. It’s fun to play someone who’s really ambitious. He refuses to lose and has this Tiger Woods energy.”

Appreciates feedback

Richards said the feedback he has received for his TV role has been just the way he wanted - some people think Desmond is too cocky and arrogant while others admire his drive.

‘‘The first rule of acting is that you can never judge your character,” he said. ‘‘I understand where my character came from because he’s very much like me [during many] periods in my life where I was the only black person in the room.”

Richards said, ‘‘Being that person in a personal or profession environment creates this unresolved aspect within you. I understood that from the minute I auditioned for the job.”

A typical day sees Richards arriving on the set at 6 a.m., staying until 10 p.m. then watching a bit of TV before memorizing his lines for the next day’s shoot.

‘‘It’s not as glamorous as they make it out to be on TV,” Richards said.

Richards is getting a better feel for not over- expressing himself and letting the audience put themselves in his shoes.

Richards said he definitely appreciates working in New York, which has a different vibe from Los Angeles.

‘‘In Los Angeles, you have to show up to work as a certain version of yourself and then act on top of that. Out there, even the person who’s cutting his hair thinks he’s more famous than you,” he said.

Richards is no stranger to television roles as he has appeared on several including, ‘‘The West Wing,” ‘‘The Practice,” ‘‘CSI: Miami,” ‘‘Chicago Hope,” ‘‘The Cosby Show,” and a recurring role in ‘‘Angel.”

He said, ‘‘To this point, fortunately, I have never gone backwards with my career. The most challenging aspect of it was that for every part I got, I was turned down for 25 other parts - parts I was probably perfect for but they decided to go another way with the character.”

Visits Bladensburg

Richards has a number of family members and friends who still live in the Bladensburg area. He makes frequent trips back to his hometown and does not receive any special treatment except for one persistent question: How much money does he make a season?

‘‘I guess they read and hear about actors getting $20 million but that is not the case with me.”

Among those who inspire him, Richards names Morgan Freeman at the top of his list followed closely by Denzel Washington, Sean Penn and Daniel Day Lewis. Richards said his ultimate goal is to become the best actor he can and to direct movies in which he could incorporate all of his interests - photography, acting, music and character study.

‘‘Some people might say my goal is to win an Oscar but that kind of goal takes the outcome out of your hands,” he said. ‘‘Your goals are better set when you have to make them reality not someone else.”

Richard’s sister, Gercha White, said her younger brother was destined to be an actor.

‘‘I have memories of him in a fashion show where they asked the kids to walk on the runway,” White said. ‘‘Afterwards, my dad asked if he was nervous and he said, this was a piece of cake.”

With every subsequent school play and performance, White said she knew her brother had the talent to make his dreams come true.

‘‘The role that really made me say he was a really good actor was the 1998 TV movie, ‘The Temptations,’ because, even though he wasn’t the main actor, he was so dynamic in that role,” said the Burtonsville resident. ‘‘That when I knew he was going to make it.”

Every Friday night White and her family stop whatever they’re doing to watch Richards on ‘‘Conviction.”

She said, ‘‘This role will definitely help him because now it’s not just he’s big or his grandparents telling him he’s great. Now everyone can see him acting.” ‘‘He’s going to make it. He’s really great.”