BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Michael Brown (born August 3, 1973),[1] professionally known as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Barbershop (2002), its sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), Seven Pounds (2008), For Colored Girls (2010), and Underworld: Awakening (2012). Ealy stars as Dorian in the science fiction police drama, Almost Human.
Life and career
Ealy was born in Washington, D.C.,[2] and was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. Ealy attended the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. His mother worked for IBM and his father was in the grocery business.[3] He started his acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in a number of off-Broadway stage productions. Among his first film roles were Bad Company and Kissing Jessica Stein. His breakout role came in 2002's Barbershop, in which he plays reformed street thug Ricky Nash, a role that he reprised in the 2004 sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. In 2003, he played the role of Slap Jack in the second installment of the Fast and the Furious film series, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Later in 2004, Ealy appeared in Never Die Alone with DMX. He also appeared in Mariah Carey's music video for her hit single "Get Your Number" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi. He also played Dominic in "Think like a Man" in 2012. In 2005, Ealy co-starred in the Television film version of Their Eyes Were Watching God, produced by Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones, and starring Academy Award–winning actress Halle Berry. The same year, he starred in the independent film Jellysmoke, directed by Mark Banning. He starred in the Showtime television series Sleeper Cell, the first season of which aired December 4–18, 2005, and the second season of which, Sleeper Cell: American Terror, aired December 10–17, 2006.
On December 14, 2006, Ealy was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in Sleeper Cell: American Terror in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. In December 2008 he was featured in the movie Seven Pounds alongside Will Smith as Ben Thomas. He also starred as the male lead inBeyoncé's "Halo" music video, and as CIA Field Officer Marshall Vogel in the ABC television series FlashForward. He starred in the 2012 film "Think Like a Man".
Ealy also appears in the limited-edition coffee table book (About Face) by celebrity photographer John Russo, published by Pixie Press Worldwide.[4][5] He is currently working on independent writing projects. In 2009, Ealy performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.[6]
In 2010, Ealy signed on to play attorney Derrick Bond in The Good Wife for at least ten episodes of the second season.[7] He co-stars in the action movie Takers as Jake Attica. In 2011, Ealy signed on to play Travis Marks in USA Network's new original series Common Law about two cops who have to go to counseling because they argue too much. It premiered following Fairly Legal on Friday, May 11, 2012.[8] And finally in Unconditional, with the role of PAPA JOE. In 2013, Ealy signed on to play "Dorian" in the TV series "Almost Human". The sci-fi police procedural takes place in the year 2048 and follows the relationship between two cops as they struggle to solve futuristic crimes that involve complex technology. Ealy depicts the android "Dorian", an older, less reliable "DRN" android model that is tasked with protecting his partner John Kennex (Karl Urban).
Personal life
In October 2012, Ealy married his girlfriend of four years, Khatira Rafiqzada, in a ceremony in Los Angeles.[9]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Kissing Jessica Stein | Greg |
| 2002 | Bad Company | G-Mo |
| Barbershop | Ricky Nash | |
| 2003 | 2 Fast 2 Furious | Slap Jack |
| 2004 | November | Jesse |
| Barbershop 2: Back in Business | Ricky Nash | |
| Never Die Alone | Mike | |
| 2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Virgible 'Tea Cake' Woods |
| Jellysmoke | Jacob | |
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | Sgt Cummings |
| Seven Pounds | Ben Thomas | |
| 2009 | The People Speak | Himself |
| 2010 | Takers | Jake Attica |
| For Colored Girls | Beau Willie | |
| 2011 | Margaret | Dave the Lawyer |
| 2012 | Underworld: Awakening | Detective Sebastian |
| Think Like a Man | Dominic | |
| Unconditional | "Papa Joe" Bradford | |
| 2013 | Last Vegas | Ezra |
| 2014 | About Last Night | Danny |
| Think Like a Man Too | Dominic |
Television
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005–2006 | Sleeper Cell | Darwyn al-Sayeed |
| 2009–2010 | FlashForward | Marshall Vogel |
| 2009 | The People Speak | Voice of Malcolm X |
| 2010 | The Good Wife | Derrick Bond |
| 2011 | Californication | Ben |
| 2012 | Common Law | Travis Marks |
| 2012 | WWE Raw | Himself - May 7 Episode |
| 2013 | La Familia De Jimenez | Rodrigo (Love interest of Ancho Giorgadze) - Season 4-Regular |
| 2013– | Almost Human | Dorian |
Music videos[edit]
| Year | Music video | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Get Your Number" | Love interest of Mariah Carey |
| 2009 | "Halo" | Love interest of Beyoncé Knowles |
| 2012 | "Tonight" | Love interest of female John Legend ft. Ludacris |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Sleeper Cell | Golden Globe Awards | Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated |
| 2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Black Reel Awards | Best Actor | Won |
| 2010 | For Colored Girls | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor | Won |
| 2011 | For Colored Girls | NAACP Image Awards | Image Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2012 | Think Like a Man | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actor Romance | Nominated                                                                                                                                                                              |
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