Devale Ellis

Last updated

Devale Ellis
Devale Ellis 2021 01.png
Ellis in 2021
No. 15
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1984-04-02) April 2, 1984 (age 40) [1]
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:174 lb (79 kg)
Career information
College: Hofstra
Undrafted: 2006
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-A-10 (2005)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:4
Receiving yards:41
Return yards:200

Devale Ellis (born April 2, 1984, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American actor and former American football wide receiver, singer and rapper. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Hofstra. [1] Ellis began acting early and in 2013 he was in the movie “Full Circle” as character Tommy. In 2016 he gave a stellar performance in “A Piece of Me” with his wife Khadeen. In 2015 D. Ellis procured a contract with Tyler Perry studios and began starring as Zac Taylor in the BET comedy-drama series, Sistas and in its spin-off, Zatima .

Contents

Early life

Devale Ellis is the son of Troy and Karen Ellis. He has one brother Brian and a sister Tori. Devale attended James Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York, where he played football and basketball. In his senior year at Madison, he lit up the Public School Athletic League. He was in the top ten for catches made and in the top ten for touchdowns made by a wide receiver. He also played in the PSAL all-star game. During the season, he earned the nickname Devale "Show Time" Ellis.

He attended Hofstra University, where he was a teammate of New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston. [2] Ellis finished his career with 176 catches for 2,207 yards (a 12.5 per-catch average) and 22 touchdowns. As a senior in 2005, he led Hofstra with 74 receptions for 943 yards and five touchdowns. He ranked second in the Atlantic 10 in receptions, third in receiving yards, and ninth in all-purpose yards (103.8 yards per game). As a junior, with Colston sidelined all season with an injury, Ellis led the team ranked second in the Atlantic 10 and 11th in I-AA with 74 catches, good for 1,067 yards (a 14.4 average) and 13 touchdowns.

Football career

He went undrafted in the 2006 NFL draft, but was signed as a free agent after participating in the rookie mini-camp as a tryout player. He was signed to the Lions eight man practice squad on September 3, 2006. Although he played in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on the September 9th, he was waived from the active roster on September 11, and shortly afterwards re-signed with the practice squad. As of October 15, he had been upgraded to the active roster and made his first start against the Buffalo Bills. Ellis was waived by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

After spending the 2008 regular season out of football, Ellis was signed to a future contract by the Cleveland Browns on December 31, 2008. He was waived on July 26, 2009. [3]

Acting career

In 2010s, Ellis began acting guest-starring on television series including Power , The Mysteries of Laura , Gotham , The Blacklist and NCIS . In 2019 he was cast as a series regular in the BET comedy-drama series, Sistas . [4] Ellis also had a recurring role in another BET series, Bigger from 2019 to 2021 and guest-starred on The Equalizer . In 2022 he appeared in the thriller film Single Black Female for Lifetime starring opposite Amber Riley and Raven Goodwin. Also that year, Ellis played male lead opposite Eva Marcille in the Oprah Winfrey Network comedy-drama television film, A Christmas Fumble. [5] [6] In 2021, it was announced that BET+ ordered Zatima , a spin-off starring Ellis and Crystal Renee Hayslett. [7] The series premiered in 2022. In 2023 he was cast opposite Christina Milian in the Netflix romantic comedy film Meet Me Next Christmas. [8]

Personal life

He is married to Khadeen Joseph (b. 1983). Together they have four sons: Jackson Carter (b. 2011), Kairo Shakur (b. 2016), Kaz Hendrix (b. 2017) and Dakota Marley (b. 2021). Devale and Khadeen have a comedy filled YouTube channel called "The Ellises" where they showcase their family vlogs and skits. In 2019, they created a podcast called “Dead Ass” together where they share stories, opinions and give advice on love, marriage and business. [9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2013Full CircleTommy
2015StanhopeRaheemShort film
2016Ticket CopAceShort film
2016Honorable MikeLarry the EMS GuyShort film
2016A Piece of Me: An Everyday StoryBryce King
2017MarzMelShort film
2022 Single Black Female EricTelevision film
2022A Christmas FumbleJordan Davies
2023 The Perfect Find Dialo
2024 Meet Me Next Christmas TeddyPost-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2014Young Like UsTrent2 episodes
2015 Power Light SkinEpisode: "Time's Up"
2016 The Mysteries of Laura CyclistEpisode: "The Mystery of the Downward Spiral"
2017 Gotham OrderlyEpisode: "Wrath of the Villains: Unleashed"
2017 The Blacklist Chuck ShawEpisode: "Dembe Zuma (No. 10)"
2017 Master of None Security GuardEpisode: "New York, I Love You"
2017Giving Me Life (in the Land of the Deadass)RandallEpisode: "Nala"
2017–19Makeup X BreakupGavin13 episodes
2017PlaceholdersLonely Heart2 episodes
2017–18 Tough Love Joseph5 episodes
2017Vish MerrickVish Merrick10 episodes
2019 It's Bruno! Nelson5 episodes
2019 NCIS Dante BrownEpisode: "Institutionalized"
2021 The Equalizer Preacher / Reggie FloydEpisode: "Judgment Day"
2019–21 Bigger Ken7 episodes
2019–present Sistas Zac TaylorMain role
2022 Everything's Trash Damien WashingtonEpisode: "Rom-Coms Are Mostly Trash"
2022–present Zatima Zac TaylorMain role
2023 61st Street Mason2 episodes

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References

  1. 1 2 "Devale Ellis - Detroit Lions Wide Receiver". ESPN.
  2. ↑ "Devale Ellis - Football". Hofstra University Athletics.
  3. ↑ Holder, Stephen. "Devale Ellis once had big NFL dreams, now he's building an entertainment brand and this dream is coming true". The Athletic.
  4. ↑ Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 13, 2019). "BET Rounds Out 'Sistas' Cast With Chido Nwokocha, DeVale Ellis, Brian Jordan Jr., Kevin Walton and Anthony Dalton".
  5. ↑ Petski, Denise (September 22, 2022). "OWN Sets Two Christmas Movies Starring LeToya Luckett, Finesse Mitchell, Eva Marcille & Devale Ellis".
  6. ↑ "Eva Marcille and Devale Ellis Talk 'A Christmas Fumble' (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight.
  7. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (December 8, 2021). "Tyler Perry Sets 'Sistas' Spinoff at BET+".
  8. ↑ Jackson, Angelique (March 24, 2023). "Christina Milian to Executive Produce and Star in Netflix Holiday Rom-Com 'Meet Me Next Christmas' (EXCLUSIVE)".
  9. ↑ "Devale Ellis: books, biography, latest update". Amazon.com.
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