Vondie Curtis-Hall
| Vondie Curtis-Hall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 30, 1956 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Occupation | Actor, film director, screenwriter, television director |
| Spouse(s) |
Kasi Lemmons (1995–present; 2 children) |
Vondie Curtis-Hall (born September 30, 1956) is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and television director.[1] As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in the Netflix TV series Marvel's Daredevil. He wrote and directed the cult film Gridlock'd.
Early life
Curtis-Hall was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Angeline, a nurse, and Curtis Hall, a construction company owner.[2] Initially a stage actor, Curtis-Hall was a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. He originated the role of Marty, James "Thunder" Early's original manager.
Designer Kevan Hall is the brother of Vondie. They also have a sister, Sherrie. All of them attended Presentation Our Lady of Victory grade school in Detroit where they were taught by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the only all African-American order of nuns in the United States.
Career
Curtis-Hall has appeared in numerous films including One Good Cop, Passion Fish, Sugar Hill, Coming To America, Crooklyn, Drop Squad, Eve's Bayou, Turn It Up and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. His credits as a director include the films Gridlock'd, Glitter, Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story,[3] Waist Deep, as well as episodes of television shows The Shield, Firefly, Chicago Hope, and MDs. In 2000, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Danny Glover (who portrayed Marty in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls) both appeared in the TNT made-for-television movie Freedom Song.
He has had recurring roles on TV series such as Soul Food, I'll Fly Away, and ER. His one-time role as a suicide patient on ER earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, later in that series he appeared in a recurring role as Roger McGrath.
His most prominent role as an actor to date is as supporting character Dennis Hancock on the medical drama Chicago Hope. Curtis-Hall portrayed Ben Urich in the Netflix series Daredevil.[4] He also appeared in an episode of The Sopranos.
Personal life
He is married to actress/director Kasi Lemmons, and they have a son, Henry Hunter, and a daughter, Zora. He also appeared in Lemmons's 2013 film Black Nativity.
Filmography
- Director
- Gridlock'd (1997)
- Glitter (2001)
- Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
- Waist Deep (2006)
- Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2012)
- Actor
- Shakedown (1988) as Speaker (voice)
- Coming to America (1988) as Basketball Game Vendor
- Mystery Train (1989) as Ed (segment "Lost in Space")
- Black Rain (1989) as Detective
- Die Hard 2 (1990) as Miller
- One Good Cop (1991) as Father Wills
- Healing Hurts (1991)
- The Mambo Kings (1992) as Miguel Montoya
- Passion Fish (1992) as Sugar LeDoux
- Falling Down (1993) as Not Economically Viable Man
- Sugar Hill (1993) as Mark Doby
- Crooklyn (1994) as Uncle Brown
- Clear and Present Danger (1994) as Voice-Print Analyst
- Drop Squad (1994) as Rocky Seavers
- Broken Arrow (1996) as Chief Sam Rhodes
- Heaven's Prisoners (1996) as Minos P. Dautrieve
- Romeo + Juliet (1996) as Prince Escalus (Capt. Prince)
- Gridlock'd (1997) as D-Reper
- Eve's Bayou (1997) as Julian Grayraven
- Freedom Song (2000) as Daniel Wall
- Turn It Up (2000) as Cliff
- Talk to Me (2007) as Sunny Jim Kelsey
- Honeydripper (2007) as Slick
- Life Is Hot in Cracktown (2009) as Dixon
- Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) as James Brasser
- Black Nativity (2013) as Pawnbroker
- Chasing Life (2014) as Lawrence
- Daredevil (2015) as Ben Urich
- Cymbeline (2015) as Caius Lucius
- Experimenter (2015) as Thomas Shine
References
- ↑ Vondie Curtis-Hall Movies & TV, The New York Times
- ↑ Vondie Curtis-hall Biography (1956-), Film Reference
- ↑ Redemption overview, The New York Times
- ↑ Netflix’s “Daredevil”