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Vondie Curtis-Hall

Highest Rated: 100% Passion Fish (1992)

Lowest Rated: 6% Glitter (2001)

Birthday: Sep 30, 1950

Birthday:

Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan, USA

A versatile character actor, Vondie Curtis-Hall moved from the Broadway stage to features and television, including Emmy-nominated stints on "ER" (NBC, 1994-2009) and in films like "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), and later, as a director on several features and for episodic television. Born September 30, 1950 in Detroit, Michigan, Hall and his siblings - brother and future fashion designer Kevan Hall and sister Sherrie - attended elementary and high school in the city's educational system before Vondie pursued studies in performance at Julliard and Richmond College in London, England. He began his professional acting career in stage musicals, performing as a member of the ensemble in shows like "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" in 1981 before earning his breakout role as Marty, manager of soul singer James "Early" Thunder in the original Broadway production of "Dreamgirls" (1981). In the late 1980s, Hall began appearing in off-Broadway plays, which led to minor or supporting roles in features and on television, including "Coming to America" (1988), Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train" (1989) and men of authority on both sides of the law in Ridley Scott's "Black Rain" (1989) and "Die Hard 2" (1990). He also parlayed his stage experience into various music-related projects, including a singing police commander on Steven Bochco's "Cop Rock" (ABC, 1990) and as the pianist Miguel Montoya in "The Mambo Kings" (1992). By the midpoint of the 1990s, Hall was in demand as a character actor in features and on episodic TV: the former included work with John Sayles in "Passion Fish" (1992), Spike Lee ("Crooklyn," 1994), John Woo ("Broken Arrow," 1996) and Baz Luhrmann, who cast him as the Captain of the Verona guard in "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), and "Eve's Bayou" (1997), directed by his wife, actress Kasi Lemmons. Notable work on the small screen included appearances on "ER" in two roles - he earned an Emmy nomination as a drag queen who commits suicide in a 1994 episode, and then in a recurring role as the husband of ill-fated Carla Reece (Lisa Nicole Carson) from 1996 to 2001- and series regular work on CBS's hospital series, "Chicago Hope" (1994-2000), which earned him three Screen Actors Guild nominations as part of an ensemble cast. But "ER" also served in part as the launching pad for Hall's successful second career as a director; Hall made his debut in this capacity with the cult drama "Gridlock'd" (1997), with Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth, and would move between features like a remake of "Glitter" (2001) with Mariah Carey, and numerous television episodes, including two turns behind the camera at "ER" and episodes of "The Shield" (FX, 2002-2006), among others. He continued to act during this period, including appearances and recurring turns on "The Sopranos" (HBO, 1999-2007),  "Soul Food" (Showtime, 2000-2004), and in features like Lemmons' "Talk to Me" (2007) and "Black Nativity (2013).  In 2015, he enjoyed simultaneous recurring roles as tough journalist Ben Urich on Marvel's "Daredevil" (2015- ) and as Morris Chestnut's father on "Rosewood" (Fox, 2015- 2017), and returned to series work in 2018 as a district court judge on ABC's "For the People" (2018- ), produced by Shonda Rhimes. That same year, "Faith Under Fire" (2018), a drama starring singer Toni Braxton for Lifetime, was named the top original movie on cable in all key demographics.

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Highest rated movies

100% 82% Passion Fish
Watchlist
88% 79% Gridlock'd
Watchlist
87% 69% The Night House Watchlist
86% 57% Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Watchlist
85% 61% Experimenter
Watchlist
83% 89% Eve's Bayou
Watchlist
82% 68% The Mambo Kings Watchlist
79% 90% Crooklyn
Watchlist
77% 62% 18 1/2 Watchlist 74% 97% Harriet Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
69% 87% The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat Lester (Character) - 2024
48% 58% Raymond & Ray Unknown (Character) - 2022
77% 62% 18 1/2 Samuel (Character) - 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet Blue Bayou Parker Nguyen (Character) - 2021
87% 69% The Night House Mel (Character) $7.1M 2020
74% 97% Harriet Reverend Green (Character) $43.0M 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet Faith Under Fire Director - 2018
No Score Yet 75% Breaking Brooklyn Greg Bryant (Character) - 2017
No Score Yet 61% Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart Director - 2016
85% 61% Experimenter Curtis (Character) $155.1K 2015
32% 16% Cymbeline Caius Lucius (Character) - 2014
51% 51% Black Nativity Pawnbroker (Character) $7.0M 2013
No Score Yet 68% Abducted: The Carlina White Story Director - 2012
86% 57% Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Capt. James Brasser (Character) $1.7M 2009
50% 54% Life Is Hot in Cracktown Dixon (Character) - 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Crenshaw Nights Frank "Jupiter" Johnson (Character) - 2008
69% 58% Honeydripper Slick (Character) $267.9K 2007
28% 76% Waist Deep Director,
Writer
$21.3M 2006
No Score Yet No Score Yet Deceit Detective Hal Kazin (Character) - 2004
No Score Yet 83% Redemption Director - 2004
6% 48% Glitter Director $4.3M 2001
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ali: An American Hero Drew "Bundini" Brown (Character) - 2000
No Score Yet 62% Freedom Song Daniel Wall (Character) - 2000
10% 25% Turn It Up Cliff (Character) $1.2M 2000
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sirens Vincent Morgan (Character) - 1999
88% 79% Gridlock'd Director,
Writer
$5.5M 1997
No Score Yet 78% Don King: Only in America Lloyd Price (Character) - 1997
83% 89% Eve's Bayou Julian Grayraven (Character) $14.8M 1997
16% 32% Heaven's Prisoners Minos P. Dautrieve (Character) $5.0M 1996
53% 44% Broken Arrow Lt. Col. Sam Rhodes (Character) $70.6M 1996
74% 77% William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet Captain Prince (Character) $46.4M 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Stories From the Edge Unknown (Character) - 1996
No Score Yet No Score Yet Tuesday Morning Ride Carver (Character) - 1995
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dead Man's Revenge Jessup Bush (Character) - 1994
17% 45% Drop Squad Rocky Seavers (Character) $595.7K 1994
79% 90% Crooklyn Uncle Brown (Character) $12.8M 1994
20% 69% Sugar Hill Mark Doby (Character) $18.3M 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet 112th & Central: Through the Eyes of the Children Producer - 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet There Was a Little Boy Danforth (Character) - 1993
No Score Yet No Score Yet Murder Without Motive: The Edmund Perry Story C. Yernon Mason (Character) - 1992
82% 68% The Mambo Kings Miguel Montoya (Character) $6.5M 1992
100% 82% Passion Fish Sugar LeDoux (Character) $2.4M 1992
No Score Yet 67% ... And Then She Was Gone Det. Gary Hopkins (Character) - 1991
70% 41% Shakedown Speaker Voice (Voice) $9.3M 1988

TV

Credit
92% 47% Justified: City Primeval Marcus "Sweety" Sweeton (Character) 2023
68% 84% The Recruit Walter Nyland (Character) 2022
96% 86% Evil Leon Acosta (Guest Star) 2019
69% 91% For the People Judge Nicholas Byrne (Character) 2018-2019
9% 76% Rosewood Beaumont Rosewood Sr. (Guest Star) 2015 2017
92% 89% Marvel's Daredevil Ben Urich (Character) 2015
75% 86% Chasing Life Lawrence (Guest Star) 2014
43% No Score Yet NYC 22 Unknown (Guest Star) 2012
66% 75% A Gifted Man Dennis Jones (Guest Star) 2011
78% 83% Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Dwight Talcott (Guest Star) 2011
No Score Yet 83% Criminal Minds Unknown (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fear Itself Walter Markham (Character) 2009
84% 79% Gossip Girl Director 2008
86% 90% Boston Legal Director 2008
76% 88% Sleeper Cell Director 2006
No Score Yet 83% Law & Order Unknown (Guest Star) 2006
47% No Score Yet Fastlane Unknown (Guest Star) 2002-2003
92% 96% The Sopranos Maurice Tiffen (Guest Star) 2002
25% No Score Yet MDs Director 2002
No Score Yet 85% ER Roger McGrath (Guest Star) 1994 2001
No Score Yet No Score Yet Chicago Hope Dr. Dennis Hancock (Character) 1995-1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Fallen Angels David O'Connor (Character) 1993
53% No Score Yet Cop Rock Cdr. Warren Osborne (Character) 1990