Blair Underwood
| Blair Underwood | |
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Underwood in February 2015
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| Born | Blair Erwin Underwood August 25, 1964 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, director |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse(s) | Desiree DaCosta (m. 1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | www.blairunderwood.com |
Blair Erwin Underwood[1] (born August 25, 1964) is an American television, film, and stage actor and director. He played headstrong attorney Jonathan Rollins on the NBC legal drama L.A. Law for seven years. He has received two Golden Globe Award nominations, three NAACP Image Awards and one Grammy Award. In recent years, he has appeared on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dirty Sexy Money and In Treatment and was in NBC's The Event.[2]
Contents
Early life
Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Marilyn Ann Scales, an interior decorator, and Frank Eugene Underwood, Sr., a United States Army colonel.[3][4][5] Because of his father's military career, Underwood lived on bases and Army Posts in the United States and Stuttgart, Germany, during his childhood.[6] Blair attended Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia. He went on to attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is an honorary member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.
Career
After his film debut, Krush Groove, Underwood's 1985 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live as Bobby Blue, which eventually led to his performance on the TV series L.A. Law, where he appeared from 1987 to 1994. In 1996 he was featured in the July issue of Playgirl. Blair also appeared in the 1987's TV series 21 Jump Street aside a young Johnny Depp on episode "Gotta Finish the Riff."
Underwood's film career began with roles in Just Cause (1995), Set It Off (1996) and Deep Impact (1998). He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in Gattaca. In 2000, he played the lead role in the short-lived television series City of Angels. In 2003, he guest starred in four episodes[6] on the HBO series Sex and the City playing Cynthia Nixon's love interest. In 2004, he played the role of Roger De Souza opposite Heather Locklear in NBC's LAX.[7] He gained acclaim as the sexy grade school teacher in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus for two years. In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[8] He played the character Alex in the first season of the HBO series In Treatment, for which he was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2009 Golden Globes.[9]
Underwood has received three NAACP Image Awards, for his film work in Rules of Engagement, and his television work in L.A. Law, City of Angels, Murder in Mississippi and Mama Flora's Family. Underwood was voted one of People 's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000, and one of TV Guide 's "Most Influential Faces of the 90s".[10] In 2007, Underwood co-authored the novel Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel with husband-and-wife team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.
In 2010–2011, Underwood portrayed United States President Elias Martinez in the NBC drama series The Event, which premiered in Fall 2010.[11][12] Underwood portrayed the role of Saint Mark in The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatized audio New Testament, based on the RSV-CE translation.
In 2012, he played the lead role of Stanley in the Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.[13] In 2013, Underwood played the role of Robert Ironside in the remake of the successful 1960's television series, Ironside, made famous by the late Raymond Burr.[14] The show was cancelled after three episodes.[15][16]
Personal life
Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS. In addition, he is involved with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Blair Underwood Clinic in Washington, DC.[17]
Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund.[18] He is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, a non-profit theatre group founded by Danny Glover, focusing on plays about the Black experience.
He supported President Barack Obama's candidacy and spoke at campaign rallies for Obama. Underwood got to know Obama while researching his L.A. Law role at Harvard Law School, while Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review.[19]
Underwood's DNA test showed that he is a descendant of the Babungo people of Cameroon.[20] Additional DNA testing and genealogical research revealed that his African ancestry comes from the Bamum, Brong and lgbo ethnic groups of Western Africa.[21] The DNA test also connected Blair to a distant cousin in Babungo, Cameroon.[21]
On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children, Paris, Brielle, and Blake.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Krush Groove | Russell Walker | |
| 1988 | Mickey's 60th Birthday | Jonathan Rollins | Television film |
| 1989 | The Cover Girl and the Cop | Horace Bouchet | Television film |
| 1990 | Murder in Mississippi | James Chaney | Television film |
| 1990 | Heat Wave | Robert Richardson | Television film |
| 1992 | The Second Coming | Jesus | |
| 1993 | Posse | Carver | |
| 1993 | Father & Son: Dangerous Relations | Jared Williams | Television film |
| 1995 | Just Cause | Bobby Earl | |
| 1996 | Soul of the Game | Jackie Robinson | Television film |
| 1996 | Mistrial | Lieutenant C. Hodges | Television film |
| 1996 | Set It Off | Keith Weston | Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture |
| 1997 | Gattaca | Geneticist | |
| 1998 | Asunder | Chance Williams | |
| 1998 | Deep Impact | Mark Simon | |
| 1998 | Mama Flora's Family | Willie | Television film |
| 1999 | The Wishing Tree | Magic Man | |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | Capt. Lee | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture |
| 2002 | Truth Be Told | Det. Harris | |
| 2002 | G | Chip Hightower | |
| 2002 | Full Frontal | Nicholas/Calvin | |
| 2003 | Malibu's Most Wanted | Tom Gibbons | |
| 2004 | Fronterz | (unknown role) | |
| 2004 | Do Geese See God? | Man | |
| 2005 | Straight Out of Compton 2 | Hen | Also producer |
| 2005 | The Golden Blaze | Gregory Fletcher/The Golden Blaze | Animated |
| 2006 | Something New | Mark Harper | |
| 2006 | Madea's Family Reunion | Carlos | |
| 2006 | Covert One: The Hades Factor | Palmer Addison | Television film |
| 2007 | Operation Homecoming | Voice role | |
| 2007 | The Hit | Hen | |
| 2009 | The Bridge to Nowhere | Director | |
| 2011 | The Art of Getting By | Principal Bill Martinson | |
| 2011 | I Will Follow | Evan | |
| 2012 | Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day | David Ames | |
| 2012 | The True Friendship or Not?.. | Principal Bramble | |
| 2014 | The Trip to Bountiful | Ludie Watts | Television film NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Knight Rider | Potts | Episode: "Knight of the Juggernaut: Part 1" |
| 1985 | The Cosby Show | Robert (Denise's Friend) | Episode: "Jitterbug Break" |
| 1985 | The Cosby Show | Mark | Episode: "Theo and the Other Woman" |
| 1985–1986 | One Life to Live | Bobby Blue | Unknown episodes |
| 1986–1987 | Downtown | Terry Corsaro | 14 episodes |
| 1987 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Stillman | Episode: "All That Glitters" |
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street | Reginald Brooks | Episode: "Gotta Finish the Riff" |
| 1987–1994 | L.A. Law | Jonathan Rollins | 149 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1991 | A Different World | Zelmer Collier | Episode: "War and Peace" |
| 1996–1997 | High Incident | Officer Michael Rhoades | 22 episodes |
| 2000 | City of Angels | Dr. Ben Turner | 24 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series |
| 2003–2004 | Sex and the City | Dr. Robert Leeds | 5 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2004–05) |
| 2004–2005 | Fatherhood | Dr. Arthur Bindlebeep | 24 episodes |
| 2004–2005 | LAX | Roger De Souza | 13 episodes |
| 2006–2010 | The New Adventures of Old Christine | Mr. Harris | 9 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2008–09) |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Miles Sennett | Episode: "Burned" |
| 2007–2009 | Dirty Sexy Money | Simon Elder | 20 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2008–09) |
| 2008 | In Treatment | Alex | 9 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series |
| 2010–2011 | The Event | President Elias Martinez | 22 episodes |
| 2012 | Superman of Tokyo | Superman of Tokyo | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Thunder and Lightning | Black Lightning | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Ironside | Robert Ironside | 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Andrew Garner | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | The Lion Guard | Makuu | Episode: "Rise of Makuu" |
Video games
Bibliography
- Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children (2005; editor, with Donyell Kennedy-McCullough (photographer))
- The Tennyson Hardwick Novels:
- Casanegra[22] (2007; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
- In the Night of the Heat (2008; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
- From Cape Town with Love (2010; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
- South by Southeast (scheduled for September 2012; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
Awards and nominations
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blair Underwood. |
- Blair Underwood at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Website
- ANSA: Artists For A New South Africa
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- ↑ The second coming. Artist: Jerry LaCroix, sound recording by Phonogram, Inc, The grains of paradise. Faqs.org. Retrieved on August 25, 2013.
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- ↑ Blair Underwood Biography (1964–). Filmreference.com. Retrieved on August 25, 2013.
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- ↑ Stated on Who Do You Think You Are?, February 24, 2012
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- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Preview Blair Underwood. nbc.com
- ↑ ''Casanegra''. Bookvideos.tv. August 2007.
- Pages with reference errors
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- Articles with hCards
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- 1964 births
- African-American writers
- American male film actors
- American male soap opera actors
- American people of Igbo descent
- American people of Nigerian descent
- American people of Cameroonian descent
- Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni
- Living people
- People from Petersburg, Virginia
- Male actors from Tacoma, Washington
- Male actors from Virginia
- American male voice actors
- American male television actors
- Military brats
- African-American male actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
