| Bokeem Woodbine | |
| Birth Date: | 1973 4, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Harlem, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Yearsactive: | 1992–present |
| Children: | 2 |
Bokeem Woodbine (born April 13, 1973) is an American actor. In 1994, he portrayed Joshua, the main character's troubled brother, in Jason's Lyric. He won a Black Reel Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for his role as Kansas City mob enforcer Mike Milligan in the second season of Fargo. Woodbine also portrayed Daniel in season 2 of the WGN series Underground, Herman Schultz/Shocker in the film , and saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic Ray.
Woodbine was born on April 13, 1973, in Harlem, New York. He attended the Dalton School on Manhattan's Upper East Side, before transferring to the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in the city.[1]
He made his TV acting debut in the CBS Schoolbreak Special entitled "Love Off Limits". His appearance was noticed by casting director Jaki Brown-Karman, who later recommended him to Forest Whitaker for the latter's directorial effort, the HBO television movie Strapped (1993). Since then, he has worked with other major African-American filmmakers such as Spike Lee, Mario Van Peebles and the Hughes Brothers in the films Crooklyn (1994), Panther (1995), and Dead Presidents (1995), respectively.[2]
In 1996, he appeared in Tupac Shakur's music video for "I Ain't Mad at Cha" and formed a friendship with the rapper. They subsequently reunited in Vondie Curtis-Hall's directorial debut, Gridlock'd, which was released four months after Shakur's death.[3] In 1999, Woodbine appeared in an episode of HBO's The Sopranos as New Jersey gangster rapper Massive Genius.
Woodbine was featured as a regular on the NBC midseason sitcom Battery Park and played Dr. Damon Bradley, who later turned out to be a serial rapist,[4] in the short-lived CBS medical drama City of Angels, the latter of which earned him a nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Additionally, he appeared in the Wu-Tang Clan's music videos for their songs "Protect Ya Neck II (The Jump Off)", "Gravel Pit", and "Careful (Click, Click)".[5] Woodbine went to portray saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman in the Oscar-winning Ray Charles biopic Ray.
Over the next few years, Woodbine made minor appearances in both film and television. On the small screen, he could be seen in an episode of Fox's crime drama Bones and ABC's short-lived cop drama The Evidence, as well as two episodes of Spike TV's , based on Marvel Comics' character and popular film series. The next year, Woodbine appeared with his Blade: The Series co-star Sticky Fingaz in his musical drama film A Day in the Life, starring Omar Epps and Mekhi Phifer, and two films by Jesse V. Johnson: the low-budget sci-fi/action movie The Last Sentinel (alongside Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Katee Sackhoff), and the action film The Butcher, opposite Eric Roberts. He also became a series regular, as Leon Cooley, an inmate on death row, in the TNT crime/drama series Saving Grace alongside Holly Hunter.
In 2009, Woodbine appeared in the blaxploitation film Black Dynamite[6] and followed it up the next year with the M. Night Shyamalan-produced supernatural thriller Devil.[7] He has also appeared as a police officer on the critically acclaimed series Southland (2011). He next appeared in the 2012 remake of Total Recall[8] and then Riddick the next year.[9]
In December 2015, he received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as Mike Milligan in Fargo.[10] [11]
In 2017, Woodbine appeared in the Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios film , as Shocker, one of four villains, alongside Michael Keaton, Logan Marshall-Green and Michael Chernus.[12] In 2018, Woodbine starred in the series Unsolved. He played Daryn Dupree, who was part of a police task force that investigated the murders of rappers Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur. In 2021, Woodbine played Sheriff Domingo in .[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Crooklyn | Richard | |
| Jason's Lyric | Joshua Alexander | ||
| 1995 | Panther | Tyrone | |
| Dead Presidents | Staff Sgt. Cleon | ||
| 1996 | Freeway | Chopper | |
| The Rock | Gunnery Sergeant Crisp | ||
| The Elevator | Malcolm | ||
| 1997 | Gridlock'd | Mud | |
| 1998 | Caught Up | Daryl Allen | |
| The Big Hit | Crunch | ||
| Almost Heroes | Jonah | ||
| 1999 | Mr. Farralon | Video | |
| Life | Can't Get Right | ||
| The Runner | 477 | ||
| It's the Rage | Agee | ||
| 2000 | BlackMale | Jimmy Best | |
| 2001 | 3000 Miles to Graceland | Benjamin Franklin | |
| The Road to Graceland | Franklin (voice) | Short | |
| The Breed | FBI Agent Steve Grant | ||
| 2002 | Run for the Money | Rock | |
| Sniper 2 | U.S. Army Sniper Jake Cole | Video | |
| 2003 | Detonator | Jack Forrester | |
| 2004 | Ray | Fathead Newman | |
| 2005 | The Circle | Cop | |
| Blood of a Champion | Shadow | Video | |
| Edmond | Prisoner | ||
| 2006 | 18 Fingers of Death! | Billy Buff | Video |
| Confessions | Miles Adams | ||
| The Champagne Gang | Rock Star | ||
| 2007 | The Last Sentinel | Anchilles | |
| 2008 | The Poker House | Duval | |
| The Fifth Commandment | Miles Templeton | ||
| 2009 | Black Dynamite | Black Hand Jack | |
| A Day in the Life | Bam Bam | ||
| The Butcher | Chinatown Pete | ||
| Three Bullets | Bo | Short | |
| 2010 | Devil | Guard | |
| Miller | Video | ||
| 2011 | Little Murder | Lipp | |
| License to Reproduce | DEA Agent Troy Peterson | Short | |
| 2012 | Total Recall | Harry | |
| Letting Go | Mark | ||
| 2013 | Caught on Tape | Tyrone | |
| The Host | Nate | ||
| Five Thirteen | Nestor | ||
| Riddick | Moss | ||
| 1982 | Scoop | ||
| They Die by Dawn | Bill Pickett | ||
| 2014 | For Love or Money | Jacoby | |
| Danny Kettner | Video | ||
| Guardian Angel | Detective Jackson | ||
| 2015 | AWOL72 | Myron | |
| The Night Crew | Crenshaw | ||
| 2017 | Herman Schultz / Shocker #2 | ||
| 2018 | Billionaire Boys Club | Tim Pitt | |
| Overlord | Sgt. Rensin | ||
| 2019 | In the Shadow of the Moon | Maddox | |
| Queen & Slim | Uncle Earl | ||
| 2020 | Spenser Confidential | Driscoll | |
| 2021 | Sheriff Sherman Domingo | ||
| 2022 | The Inspection | Leland Laws | |
| 2023 | Earth Mama | Paul | |
| Old Dads | Mike Richards |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Steve Newberg | Episode: "Love Off Limits" | |
| Strapped | Diquan Mitchell | TV movie | ||
| 1995 | The X-Files | Sammom Roque | Episode: "The List"[14] | |
| 1997 | New York Undercover | Mobster | Episode: "No Place Like Hell" | |
| 1999 | The Sopranos | Massive Genius | Episode: "A Hit Is a Hit" | |
| 2000 | Battery Park | Detective Derek Finley | Main cast | |
| Soul Food | Detective Conrad | Episode: "Bad Luck" | ||
| City of Angels | Dr. Damon Bradley | Recurring cast (season 2) | ||
| Sacrifice | Agent Gottfried | TV movie | ||
| 2003 | Fastlane | Super G. | Episode: "Overkill" | |
| Jasper, Texas | Khalid X | TV movie | ||
| 2004 | Byron 'B-Slick' Middlebrook | Episode: "Pro Per" | ||
| 2005 | Black in the 80s | Himself | Main guest | |
| Bones | Randall Hall | Episode: "The Man in the Wall" | ||
| 2006 | The Evidence | Chaz Roberts | Episode: "Stringers" | |
| Steppin' Razor | Recurring cast | |||
| 2007 | Shark | Willy Tarver | Episode: "The Wrath of Khan" | |
| Gordon 'G-Man' Thomas | Episode: "Flipped" | |||
| 2007–09 | Saving Grace | Leon Cooley | Main cast (season 1-2), guest (season 3) | |
| 2011 | Flesh Wounds | Jackie | TV movie | |
| 2011–12 | Southland | Officer Jones | Recurring cast (season 3-4) | |
| 2013 | Payday | Simmons | Episode: "The Elephant" | |
| 2014 | The Fright Night Files | Isaiah | TV movie | |
| 2015 | Battle Creek | Devin | Episode: "Old Wounds" | |
| Chicago P.D. | Derek Keyes | Episode: "Life Is Fluid" | ||
| Life in Pieces | Officer Wood | Episode: "Sleepy Email Brunch Tree" | ||
| 2015–20 | Fargo | Mike Milligan | Recurring cast (season 2), guest (season 4) | |
| 2016 | Drunk History | George Washington | Episode: "Hamilton" | |
| 2017 | Underground | Daniel | Recurring cast (season 2) | |
| Snowfall | Knees | Episode: "A Long Time Coming" | ||
| 2018 | Unsolved | Officer Daryn Dupree | Main cast | |
| 2019–23 | Jerome | Recurring cast (season 1-2), guest (season 3) | ||
| 2022–24 | Halo | Soren-066 | Main cast | |
| 2024 | Ripley | Alvin McCarron | Miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| TBA | Government Cheese | Main cast[15] |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Waterfalls" | TLC | Himself |
| "Just tah Let U Know" | Eazy-E | Himself | |
| 1996 | "I Ain't Mad at Cha" | 2Pac featuring Danny Boy | Friend |
| 2000 | "Gravel Pit" | Wu-Tang Clan | Bo Rockhard |
| "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" | B-Boy | ||
| 2001 | "Careful (Click, Click)" | B-Boy |