Raised in the Bronx for several years, Ozzie moved to Mt Vernon at the age of eight years old. “I just so badly wanted to live a really exciting life” he says, “and I had wonderful support from my family.”
Becoming successful was a big goal for Osmond “Ozzie” Wilson. He recalls, “As far as I can remember, I always wanted to be somebody.”
He wanted to be involved in athletics or music. Something that drew attention to talent. Something that got him noticed. Like any kid, football was his dream. But as Ozzie grew older, and reality set in, he realized there would be no football career.
One of his attempts at greatness included a venture into the hip hop scene. Ozzie wrote lyrics on Diamond D's classic album "Stunts. Blunts and Hip-Hop".
While the release had little effect on Ozzie’s professional life, it taught Ozzie how to pivot.
Speaking of pivots, breakdancing was also a part of Ozzie’s life. “I just loved it and got good at it and people noticed. It was my first year of college. But who makes it big financially in a business that was born on a street corner?”
So, Ozzie continued on his college path, eventually graduating and becoming a math teacher. A math teacher! While educating young children, Ozzie developed an affinity for the youth and how to help them succeed.
Teaching at PS 90 in New York City, the environment certainly wasn’t that of a prep school. “Man, there were some rough kids in my classes, but kids overall are great, even the roughest in society,” he says.
It was the aficionado voice of the very well-known Kevin Michael Richardson (Lilo & Stitch, Family Guy, The Batman, Boss Baby) who inspired Ozzie to give voice over a try.
“To this day Kevin is a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.” says Ozzie,
When Ozzie first started in VO in 2020, his first paying job earned him $40. “I needed to do much better and Anthony gave me the confidence and supplied me with the tools. Anthony Pica who had the greatest impact on me. Anthony taught me I could do more than audiobooks of which I was doing at the time, and I listened to everything he said.”
It all came together when Ozzie combined his love for education, and commercial voice over for Career Navideer, an educational institution. His delivery has heart. Here he found his voice.
As Ozzie’s talents began to expand, he commercials became his number one “go-to choice” for voice over work. He had learned the style of e-learning and audiobooks but realized that commercials were his favorite to deliver. And it showed when he was awarded the opportunity to be the brand voice of Sonny’s BBQ.
The commercial worked. It greatly increased restaurant revenue for Sonny’s BBQ and Ozzie was an integral part of that.
Other campaigns that really made Ozzie stand out were spots like Solomon’s. The brilliantly written script really brought Ozzie’s voice to life.
So now in his mid-50s, Ozzie morphed from sports to music, breakdancing to voiceover. Times could not be more enlightening. “I can grow old doing this,” Ozzie comments.
No question about it. After years of searching, Osmond Wilson finally found the greatness he chased from a young age.