Daniel Sunjata | |
---|---|
Born | Daniel Sunjata Condon December 30, 1971 Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
Education | University of Louisiana, Lafayette (BA) New York University (MFA) |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1998–present |
Daniel Sunjata (born Daniel Sunjata Condon; December 30, 1971) [1] is an American actor. He is known for his role as Franco Rivera in the FX television series Rescue Me . [2]
Sunjata was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. He is the adopted son of Bill and Catherine Condon, a police dispatcher and a civil rights worker. [3] His adoptive parents are of Irish and Italian-German descent. He is named in honor of the Mandinka king Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire; the name means "hungry lion." [4] He was told his biological mother was a white teenager who had run away from home [5] and his father was African-American. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, where he played linebacker for two state championship football teams. After attending Florida A&M University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master of Fine Arts from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. [6] He is of African, German, and Irish descent. [7] [8]
Sunjata played the role of a sailor on shore leave on the first post-9/11 themed episode of Sex and the City . [9] He portrayed poet Langston Hughes in the film Brother to Brother (2004) and James Holt, a fashion designer, in The Devil Wears Prada (2006). [10]
He starred as firefighter Franco Rivera on the television program Rescue Me . During the summer of 2007, he also starred in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx is Burning as Reggie Jackson. He appeared as a Special Forces Operative in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012). [10]
In 2003, he won a Theatre World Award for his breakout Broadway performance as a gay Major League Baseball player who comes out to the public in Take Me Out , the Tony award-winning play, which also earned him nominations for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award. [10]
In 2010-2011, he played "Nurse Eli" on the TV series Grey's Anatomy and had a relationship with Dr. Miranda Bailey. [11] [ citation needed ]
Beginning in 2013, he played FBI agent Paul Briggs on Graceland , which aired on USA Network. The show was canceled in 2015 after 3 seasons.[ citation needed ]
On April 30, 2009, Sunjata announced his participation as narrator in Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup . [12] This was the last in a series of documentaries, collectively known as Loose Change . [13]
Producers of Rescue Me, inspired by Sunjata's passion about his views on 9/11, created a subplot of the show that year (the show's fifth season) in which Sunjata's character, Franco Rivera, stirs up controversy in the firehouse when he tells these same views to a journalist. Peter Tolan said that "Look, obviously not all of us buy in, but we went: ‘Wow, that’s interesting, and he’s passionate about it. Let’s use that.’" [14]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Twelfth Night, or What You Will | Valentine | TV movie |
2001 | The Feast of All Saints | Christophe Mercier | TV movie |
2002 | Bad Company | CIA Agent Carew | |
2004 | Brother to Brother | Langston Hughes | |
Noel | Marco | ||
Melinda and Melinda | Billy Wheeler | ||
2006 | The Devil Wears Prada | James Holt | |
2009 | Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | Brad | |
Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup | The Narrator | ||
2010 | At Risk | Detective Win Garano | TV movie |
The Front | Detective Win Garano | TV movie | |
Weakness | Alejandro | ||
2012 | One for the Money | Ranger | |
Gone | Powers | ||
Generation Um... | Charles | ||
The Dark Knight Rises | Captain Jones | ||
2014 | Lullaby | Officer Ramirez | |
2017 | Small Town Crime | Detective Whitman | |
2021 | Christmas...Again?! | Mike Clybourne | TV movie |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | D.C. | Lewis Freeman | Main Cast |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Bomb Squad Officer | Episode: "Remorse" | |
2001 | All My Children | Zachary Pell | Regular Cast |
2002 | Sex and the City | Louis Leroy, USN | Episode: "Anchors Away" |
2002–04 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | CSU Technician Burt Trevor | Recurring Cast: Seasons 3-5 |
2003 | Ed | Danny Martin | Episode: "The Case" |
2004–11 | Rescue Me | Franco Rivera | Main Cast |
2005 | Law & Order | Kenny Tremont | Episode: "Mammon" |
2006 | Love Monkey | Diego | Recurring Cast |
2007 | The Bronx is Burning | Reggie Jackson | Main Cast |
2008 | Great Performances | Christian de Neuvillette | Episode: "Cyrano de Bergerac" |
2009 | Lie to Me | Andrew Jenkins | Episode: "Blinded" |
2010 | 30 Rock | Chris | Episode: "College" |
2010–11 | Grey's Anatomy | Nurse Eli | Recurring Cast: Seasons 7-8 |
2012–13 | Smash | Peter Gillman | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
2013–15 | Graceland | FBI Senior Agent Paul Briggs | Main Cast |
2016 | Notorious | Jake Gregorian | Main Cast |
2017 | Animal Kingdom | Smurf's Criminal Lawyer | Episode: "Betrayal" |
2018–20 | Manifest | Danny | Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 |
2019 | Happy! | Simon | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
2020 | Prodigal Son | Quinton Vosler | Episode: "Internal Affairs" |
#FreeRayshawn | SWAT Commander Nick Alvarez | Main Cast | |
The Twilight Zone | Detective Peter Reece | Episode: "The Who of You" | |
The Stand | Cobb | Episode: "The End" | |
2021–24 | Power Book II: Ghost | Dante "Mecca" Spears | Main Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 4 |
2022 | Echoes | Charles "Charlie" Davenport | Main Cast |
2023 | The Company You Keep | Robert Renway | Episode: "All In" |
2024 | High Potential | Karadec [15] | Main Cast |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | TOCA Race Driver | Nick Landers/James Randall | Voice |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | Twelfth Night | Valentine | |
2003 | Take Me Out | Darren Lemming | Theatre World Award Nominated – Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Nominated – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play |
2007 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Christian De Neuvillette | |
2013 | Macbeth | Macduff | |
2014 | The Country House | Michael Astor | |
2018 | Saint Joan | Dunois, Bastard of Orleans |
Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Satellite Award | Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series | "Rescue Me" | Won |
2008 | NAACP Image Awards | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | "The Bronx Is Burning" | Nominated |
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