Wearing black browline glasses, an aqua-colored shirt and white slacks, Kevin Durant sauntered through a hallway at the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown last week with the confidence of an accomplished star, far removed from being the pimple-faced teenager who entered the league five years ago hoping to one day earn a perch among the NBA elite.

But in an instant, Durant offered a reminder that — despite the three NBA scoring titles and the Olympic gold medal he added to his resume this month in London — there remains a youthful spirit behind the maturity. Durant passed over the bottled waters and sodas at a table of snacks and beverages, punched a mini straw into a Capri Sun and contently slurped away until the container shriveled up.

Back home in Washington for a brief reprieve to promote and premiere for family and friends his feature film debut, “Thunderstruck,” Durant also wanted to let it be known that while he won’t turn 24 until late September, the Oklahoma City all-star forward considers himself too much of an essential element of the NBA’s present to be clumped into discussions about its future.

“I’m a basketball player. That’s what I do and what I love but that’s just not all who I am. I’m talented in a lot of different areas,” said Durant, adding that he might put out a rap album in the near future.

Durant joins other NBA superstars turned movie stars, such as Michael Jordan in “Space Jam” and Shaquille O’Neal in “Kazaam.” Durant said he understood the considerable risk of stepping into an arena in which he had no prior experience aside from a few commercials, but he credited his mother, Wanda Pratt, for convincing him to make the movie.

“The thing that I was more concerned about is that I was just so shy. I didn’t want to look dumb,” Durant said, when asked if he had any apprehension about doing the movie, which he filmed last year in Louisiana during the NBA lockout. “She told me don’t worry about that. You can’t let other people dictate how you live. She gave me a whole little speech. I said, ‘Why not?’ I want people to see another side of me that they don’t see on the basketball court.

“When people are used to you doing something, they want you to stay in that lane,” Durant said, adding that he has received text messages from James and fellow Olympic teammates Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony telling him that they planned to take their children to see the movie. “But I had the courage to do something else and most people don’t want to see you do that. I really don’t care. I’m going to enjoy it. My family is going to enjoy it and people that go into it with an open mind are going to enjoy it.”

Moving at his own pace