Leonard Earl Howze

The face of Los Angeles-born Leonard Earl Howze first became familiar to the world at large through his role as Dinka in the 2002 comedy smash "Barbershop" and the film's 2004 sequel, "Barbershop 2: Back in Business." But even as early as high school, Howze was making his penchant for the performing arts known-though his physique earned him many requests to join the football team, he was a theater kid through and through. Unsurprisingly, he went on to earn his BFA in acting from SUNY Purchase in New York. After making his debut in "Barbershop," Howze appeared as Pork Chop in the Denzel Washington film "Antwone Fisher" (2002). Though he went on to score parts in such films as "The Ringer" (2005) and "School for Scoundrels" (2006) and TV series like "My Name Is Earl" (NBC 2005-09), one of Howze's most high-profile roles came in 2010 when he began playing Reginald Greenback in the cop show "Memphis Beat" (TNT 2010-11). Later, after appearing in the Johnny Depp-led film "The Lone Ranger" (2013), Howze earned a plum role on a new TV sitcom. In 2016, he began appearing opposite comedian Kevin James in the sitcom "Kevin Can Wait" (CBS 2016- ), in which James played a freshly retired, middle-aged police officer and Howze played his former partner Goody.