NATCHEZ — Da’Nasia Caston felt more motivated to succeed Wednesday afternoon after actor Craig Robinson came and spoke to her class at Robert Lewis Magnet School.

Robinson, who is known for his role as Darryl Philbin on the NBC show “The Office” and Wade Walker in the film “Peeples,” is in town for the filming of the James Brown biopic “Get On Up.”

A Chicago native, Robinson attended a magnet high school before going to Illinois State University and eventually Saint Xavier University for his master’s degree.

“Knowing that he went to a magnet school just like ours makes me feel like I can be anything I want to be if I work hard like him,” Caston said after Robinson spoke for nearly 30 minutes. “It was awesome that he came to speak to us.”

In the James Brown movie being directed by Mississippian Tate Taylor, Robinson plays Maceo Parker, a funk and soul saxophonist who played with Brown in the 1960s.

Robinson told the students getting to where he is today took a lot of hard work and dedication.

“To make it in Hollywood, you have to be really smart, but magnet schools are where the smart kids go, so I assume everyone here is pretty smart,” Robinson said to which students clapped and screamed. “I didn’t just hop in and say, ‘Here I am,’ you have to get out there, practice and learn your craft.

“You have to do your homework, study your lines and do a lot of work to make sure you’re in the right place doing the right thing.”

After speaking briefly for 5 minutes to the students, Robinson opened it up for questions from the group.

Sixth-grade student Xavian Lewis asked Robinson to sing a song from “Peeples,” which led to a brief group-wide sing-along.

“It feels pretty good to have him come speak to us because Natchez is a small town, and we don’t see many movie stars around here,” Lewis said. “I had no idea he was coming today, so when he walked in I was just like, ‘Wow.’”

Robinson wound up at the school Wednesday thanks to local lawyer Anthony Heidelberg, who met Robinson during filming of “Get On Up,” in which Heidelberg has a background role.

“A lot of times, folks come to town, but they’re so busy they don’t have to come and share like this,” Heidelberg said. “But when I asked (Robinson) last night, he just said what time and where.”

Robinson said he is enjoying Natchez and filming for the movie, but speaking to the students Wednesday has been one of the highlights of his trip.

“It’s important to come out and talk to these students hoping that you can inspire them to do great things,” Robinson said after speaking to the students. “Just seeing their faces and knowing all that hope is out there is great.

“I think I might have gotten more out of it than they did.”