Donnell Turner

Last updated
Donnell Turner
Born
Donnell Lamont Turner

(1973-01-08) January 8, 1973 (age 51)
Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
Years active2004–present
Known for General Hospital
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Children1 a girl

Donnell Lamont Turner [1] (born January 8, 1973) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Curtis Ashford on the ABC daytime soap opera, General Hospital .

Contents

Personal life

Turner was born on January 8, 1973, in Tacoma, Washington. [2] [3] He is the son of Milton Turner (1949–2019) and Lorraine Sylvester (1951–2021). [1] [4] His older brother, Milton Jr. (Ejay) is a member of the 1990s Contemporary R&B group, DRS. [1] [5] His family moved to Chicago when Turner was still a baby. As a child, Turner relocated to Redding, California, with his mother and brother, where they were the only African American family in the neighborhood. [4]

Turner has one daughter, Whitney. [1] Turner fell in love with performing as a child participating in church plays. In high school, he played basketball and played trumpet in band. Turner has a cat, Josephine "Josie" Baker, named after the eponymous late singer. [3] [5] Turner has studied martial arts since the age of 10.5 and explained that it helped him in his acting career. He also enjoys knife combat, nunchaku, yoga, kickboxing, and firearms training. [6]

Career

Turner briefly played semi-pro basketball but quit to act full-time. In 2001, Turner moved to Los Angeles and eventually started modeling and commercial work for several major brands including Nike, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Bud Light, Coors, Mercedes-Benz, Disney and AT&T. As of 2016, he has appeared in over 100 commercials. [6] Turner also found work as a production assistant and stunt work for shows like ER where he doubled for Eriq La Salle and Criminal Minds where he doubled for Shemar Moore. Turner later doubled for Jesse L. Martin in the musical, Rent. Turner also found work as a background artist. In 2010, Turner appeared on Days of Our Lives as Dr. Aiden Williams opposite Kristian Alfonso. Turner who grew up watching General Hospital started writing to casting director Mark Teschner in the 1990s and first auditioned for the series in 2014. On October 29, 2015, he signed on to portray Curtis Ashford. [5]

Charitable works

Turner also works as a motivational speaker and speaks with college and high school students, as well as religious and professional association audiences. Turner also has a mentoring program known as the "Turnround Project." [6] [7] On April 2, 2016, Turner was the celebrity guest speaker at the Autism Speaks Walk Now event. [8]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004Wednesday AfternoonBackup Police OfficerShort
2006Diamond Real EstateKeion RichardsVideo short
2006–07 Criminal Minds Apartment super/ Man on the street #12 episodes
2007Grave SituationsJerry
2008AlternativeMarcusShort
2009A Fish Needs a BicycleEricShort
2009–10 Days of Our Lives Dr. Aiden WilliamsRecurring; 3 episodes
2010A Worthy GentlemanMaurice
2011The BoulevardStan HodekTV movie
2012 2 Broke Girls Officer JamesEpisode: "And Martha Stewart have a Ball"; Parts 1 and 2
2012 Baby Daddy GuyEpisode: "Married to the Job"
2012 Parks and Recreation LouisEpisode: "Halloween Surprise"
2012 90210 WaiterEpisode: "Into the Wild"
2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Bouncer1 episode
2013 Anger Management Handsome man1 episode
2013 Save Me Benicio1 episode
2013 Teen Wolf Paramedic1 episode
2013 Dexter Off Duty Cop1 episode
2013Social NightmareOfficer ElliotTV movie
2013 Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories Dock Ellis Independent film
2013 The Mindy Project Male cop1 episode
2013 Revenge Investor1 episode
2014 Love That Girl! Calvin B. Lyons1 episode
2014 Friends with Better Lives Cop #21 episode
2014 Bad Judge Fireman1 episode
2014 How to Get Away with Murder Handsome man1 episode
2014SuffocatedMaxShort
2015 The Young and the Restless Doctor2 episodes
2015 Stitchers Dean Jerome Hardwyck1 episode
2015 Rizzoli & Isles Firefighter1 episode
2015 Kevin from Work Coach1 episode
2015 General Hospital Curtis Ashford Contract role; November 30, 2015–present
2016Time In BetweenWreckFilm
2016A Million Happy NowMr. HandsomeFilm
2016The Choir DirectorDetective McGrawFilm

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Milton Edward Turner Sr". Tacoma, WA: Scott Funeral Home Inc. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993". 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Burtt, Kristyn (December 14, 2015). "8 Things to know about General Hospital's Donnell Turner". SheKnows Media . Great Hill Partners. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Obituary | Dr. Lorraine Sylvester of Lakewood, Washington". New Tacoma Cemeteries, Funeral Home and Crematory. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Levinsky, Mara (April 18, 2016). "The Grinder". Soap Opera Digest . 41 (16): 68–71.
  6. 1 2 3 Ciaccia, Maria (March 30, 2016). "Curtis Ashford/Donnell Turner". GH Character & Actor. About.com . The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.|
  7. ↑ MiguelJT (February 9, 2016). "'General Hospital' News: Donnell Turner Exclusively Dishes On His Busy Career - Charity Events, New Movies". Soap Opera Spy. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ "GH'S DONNELL TURNER SPEAKS OUT ON AUTISM". Soap Opera Digest . American Media, Inc. March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
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