https://youtu.be/FMKkKMRkek8

Tyrese Gibson got the greatest advice of his acting career while shooting his first feature film “Baby Boy” nearly 15 years ago.

The 2001 drama’s director, Oscar-nominee John Singleton, imparted the then-budding actor with wise words that he says he “will hold onto for the rest of my life.”

“On the set he said, ‘if you master the power of communicating without words, words will end up being the second fiddle. The first priority is to communicate without words,” Gibson explained to drama students at Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles during a Sept. 17 visit to his old stomping ground.

And Gibson put the guidance into action in one of the film’s most poignant scenes.

The story follows Gibson as an immature young father struggling in the inner-city, featuring Taraji P. Henson as his girlfriend Yvette and Snoop Dogg as thug Rodney.

Gibson cites an emotional moment that called for him to tap into Singleton’s suggestion on making a scene more powerful with nonverbal communication.

“I got in the bed and I was with Taraji,” Gibson recalls from their breakout film. “I was looking at her and she was looking at me. And then she ended up grabbing me and holding me—because without me saying, ‘baby, I went and killed Rodney (played by Snoop Dogg),’ she knew it.”

He continues: “Whether you have an acting background or not, everyone was able to understand what I was communicating. All of that was communicated without words.”

Gibson obviously impressed Singleton. The pair went on to collaborate again when Gibson made his debut in the “Fast and Furious” franchise with 2003’s “2 Fast 2 Furious.”

It was nearly 20 years ago that Gibson began honing his talents in the very same hallways as some of the students receiving his advice. The 36-year-old returned to his alma mater to encourage teens to pursue performing arts activities, as well as philanthropy and community involvement through WE Day, the world’s largest youth empowerment event. Next year it will head to Southern California on April 7.