[edit] Early life
Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Marilyn, an interior decorator, and Frank Underwood, a United States Army colonel.[1] As a result of his father's military career, Underwood lived on bases in the United States and Germany during his childhood.[2] 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 Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
[edit] Career
Underwood's 1985 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, which eventually led to his performance on the TV series L.A. Law, where he appeared from 1987 to 1994. In 1996 Underwood was featured in the July issue of Playgirl Underwood broke into film with roles in Set It Off, Krush Groove, Just Cause, and Deep Impact. 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[2] 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.[3] 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.[4] His latest role is as the recurring character Alex in the HBO series In Treatment.
Underwood has received five 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".[5]
In 2007, Underwood co-authored the fiction novel Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel with husband-and-wife team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.
[edit] Personal life
In 1989, Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to democracy and equality in South Africa.
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. Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund.[6] 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 has recently[when?] spoken at campaign rallies for Obama. Underwood had previously known Obama while researching his L.A. Law role at Harvard Law School, while Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review.[7]
Underwood had also taken a DNA test from African Ancestry.com and found out that he is a descendant of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria.[8]
On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children.[5]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Films
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Krush Groove | Russell Walker | |
| 1992 | The Second Coming | Jesus | Also director |
| 1993 | Posse | Carver | |
| 1995 | Just Cause | Bobby Earl | |
| 1996 | Mistrial | Lieutenant C. Hodges | |
| Set It Off | Keith Weston | ||
| 1997 | Gattaca | Geneticist | |
| 1998 | Asunder | Chance Williams | |
| Deep Impact | Mark Simon | ||
| 1999 | The Wishing Tree | Magic Man | |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | Capt. Lee | |
| 2002 | Truth Be Told | Det. Harris | |
| G | Chip Hightower | ||
| Full Frontal | Nicholas/Calvin | ||
| 2003 | Malibu's Most Wanted | Tom Gibbons | |
| 2004 | Fronterz | (unknown role) | |
| Do Geese See God? | Man | ||
| 2005 | Straight Out of Compton 2 | Hen | Also producer |
| The Golden Blaze | Gregory Fletcher/The Golden Blaze | Animated | |
| 2006 | Something New | Mark Harper | |
| Madea's Family Reunion | Carlos | ||
| 2007 | Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience | (voice) | |
| 1985 | The Hit | Hen |
[edit] Television
[edit] Awards/nominations
-
Golden Globes
- 2009, Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series or Mini-Series or Television Special: "In Treatment" (Nominated)
- 1991, Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series or Mini-Series or Television Special: "L.A. Law" (Nominated)
-
Grammy Awards
- 2009, Best Spoken Word Album: "An Inconvenient Truth" (Winner)
-
Image Awards
- 2009, Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: "In Treatment" (Nominated)
- 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: "Dirty, Sexy, Money" (Nominated)
- 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (Nominated)
- 2008, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: "Dirty, Sexy, Money" (Nominated)
- 2008, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: "The New Adventures of Old Christine" (Nominated)
- 2005, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: "Sex & the City" (Nominated)
- 2004, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: "Sex & the City" (Nominated)
- 2001, Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: "City of Angels" (Winner)
- 2001, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Rules of Engagement (Winner)
- 1999, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Mamma's Flora's Family (Winner)
- 1997, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Soul of the Game" (Nominated)
- 1997, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Set It Off (Nominated)
[edit] References
- ^ Blair Underwood Biography (1964-)
- ^ a b "NPR". A Conversation with Blair Underwood. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1417849. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
- ^ "Yahoo Movies". Blair Underwood Biography. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800086024/bio. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
- ^ "MovieWeb". NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit January Guest Star Appearances. http://www.movieweb.com/tv/news/91/16591.php. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
- ^ a b "imdb.com". Biography for Blair Underwood. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005516/bio. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
- ^ "blairunderwood.com". Difference. http://www.blairunderwood.com/main.html. Retrieved 7 January 2007.
- ^ Kantor, Jodi (28 January 2007). "In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 28 December 2008.
- ^ Underwood, Blair. "Testimonials". Africanancestry.com. http://www.africanancestry.com/testimonials/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-23.