Eriq La Salle
Encyclopedia
Eriq La Salle is an American
actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film Coming to America
and Dr. Peter Benton
on the NBC
drama
series
ER
.
by his mother, Ada Haynes. La Salle studied at Juilliard for two years, then moved on to New York University
's theater program in 1984, but did not complete either degree. After leaving school, he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp
's Shakespeare in the Park
theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway
and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live
as reporter Mike Rivers.
In 1988 Eriq starred in Eddie Murphy
's breakthrough movie Coming to America
. He played Lisa's 'slick' and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl with an even slicker 'Soul Glo' haircut.
ER premiered on NBC
with La Salle starring as Dr. Peter Benton. He held the role until leaving during the eighth season. In 2009, La Salle returned to ER for two episodes (including the series finale) during its 15th and final season. He also returned to direct one episode. He also had a supporting role as Detective Anderson in the 1994 murder mystery thriller Color of Night
.
In 1996, La Salle directed and acted in the HBO made-for-TV movie Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault
, starring Don Cheadle
. After ER, La Salle had relatively small roles in movies such as One Hour Photo
and also directed for Soul Food: The Series
on Showtime.
La Salle played a Jamaica
n gangster in the independent film Johnny Was
opposite Vinnie Jones
, Samantha Mumba
, Lennox Lewis
, and Roger Daltrey
. La Salle lived in Belfast for four weeks filming the movie, which he supported recently at the North American premiere of the film, at the American Black Film Festival
in Miami
.
La Salle directed and starred in the movie Crazy As Hell
. He has directed two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
After a fairly extensive absence from acting, La Salle starred in the Hallmark Channel
original movie, Relative Stranger, which premiered on March 14, 2009. Also in the movie were La Salle's former ER castmates Michael Michele
(Dr. Cleo Finch
) and Michael Beach
(Al Boulet).
In 2010 he played the United Nations Secretary General in the series finale
of 24
. He guest starred in an episode of Covert Affairs
in August 2010.
In 2011 he played the psychiatrist E-Mo in A Gifted Man
in 2011 LaSalle appeared in some episodes of HBO's How to Make it In America. As a West Indian Caribbean Community Leader who rallied against the product Rasta Monsta..
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
and Dr. Peter Benton
Peter Benton
Dr. Peter Benton is a fictional character on the television series ER for its first eight seasons. He was played by Eriq La Salle. Benton was often portrayed as arrogant, irritable, or even hostile, but he is nevertheless an exceptionally talented surgeon who is passionate about medicine...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
Early life
La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
by his mother, Ada Haynes. La Salle studied at Juilliard for two years, then moved on to New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's theater program in 1984, but did not complete either degree. After leaving school, he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
's Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a concept used across the world, as a form of free public presentation of William Shakespeare's works. Such performances exist in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America....
theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
as reporter Mike Rivers.
In 1988 Eriq starred in Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
's breakthrough movie Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...
. He played Lisa's 'slick' and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl with an even slicker 'Soul Glo' haircut.
Career
In 1994 the medical dramaMedical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
ER premiered on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
with La Salle starring as Dr. Peter Benton. He held the role until leaving during the eighth season. In 2009, La Salle returned to ER for two episodes (including the series finale) during its 15th and final season. He also returned to direct one episode. He also had a supporting role as Detective Anderson in the 1994 murder mystery thriller Color of Night
Color of Night
Color of Night is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Hollywood Pictures. Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars Bruce Willis, Jane March, Ruben Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, and Scott Bakula...
.
In 1996, La Salle directed and acted in the HBO made-for-TV movie Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault
Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault is a 1996 HBO television film about Earl Manigault, an American street basketball legendary player famous under his nickname of "The Goat."...
, starring Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
. After ER, La Salle had relatively small roles in movies such as One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo
One Hour Photo is a 2002 American psychological thriller written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams. Fox Searchlight Pictures distributed the film in the United States. One Hour Photo also starred Connie Nielsen, Michael Vartan, Gary Cole, and Eriq La Salle. Williams won a...
and also directed for Soul Food: The Series
Soul Food: The Series
Soul Food: The Series is a television drama that aired Wednesday nights on Showtime from June 28, 2000 to May 26, 2004. Created by filmmaker George Tillman, Jr. and developed for television by Felicia D. Henderson, Soul Food is based upon Tillman's childhood experiences growing up in Wisconsin, and...
on Showtime.
La Salle played a Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n gangster in the independent film Johnny Was
Johnny Was
Johnny Was is an Irish/British gangster movie directed by Mark Hammond, written by Brendan Foley, and made in 2005 by Ben Katz Productions, Borderline Productions and Nordisk Film...
opposite Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
, Samantha Mumba
Samantha Mumba
Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba is an Irish singer and actress.Her first album was released in 2000. Her most notable role was Mara in the 2002 film The Time Machine. She has also appeared in a number of Irish independent films.-Early life, education and early career:Mumba was born in Dublin,...
, Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
, and Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
. La Salle lived in Belfast for four weeks filming the movie, which he supported recently at the North American premiere of the film, at the American Black Film Festival
American Black Film Festival
The American Black Film Festival is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on works by Black members of the film industry. It has been called “the nation’s most prominent film festival.” The festival is held annually and features full-length narratives, short films, mobile...
in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
La Salle directed and starred in the movie Crazy As Hell
Crazy as Hell
Crazy as Hell, released in 2002 , is a horror suspense film that follows Dr. Ty Adams , an aggressive and overconfident psychiatrist who is producing a documentary film about a nearby state-run mental hospital. While treating a new patient who claims to be Satan, Dr...
. He has directed two episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.
After a fairly extensive absence from acting, La Salle starred in the Hallmark Channel
Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...
original movie, Relative Stranger, which premiered on March 14, 2009. Also in the movie were La Salle's former ER castmates Michael Michele
Michael Michele
Michael Michele is an American film and television actress. She played Dr. Cleo Finch on the medical drama ER and Det. Rene Sheppard on the police procedural Homicide: Life on the Street...
(Dr. Cleo Finch
Cleo Finch
Dr. Cleo Finch was a fictional doctor in the television series ER, from Seasons 6 through 8 . She was portrayed by actress Michael Michele.-Life at County:...
) and Michael Beach
Michael Beach
-Biography:Beach was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, of Cape Verdean descent. He attended the prestigious Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts on scholarship from ABC . He was introduced to acting when he was sidelined by a lacrosse injury during high school by a classmate...
(Al Boulet).
In 2010 he played the United Nations Secretary General in the series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
of 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
. He guest starred in an episode of Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs is a USA Network television series starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The one-hour drama premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. The show concluded its first season on September 14, 2010 and was renewed for a second season on August 19, 2010. The second season began airing on...
in August 2010.
In 2011 he played the psychiatrist E-Mo in A Gifted Man
A Gifted Man
A Gifted Man is an American television series, which premiered on CBS on September 23, 2011. The series is about a talented but self-absorbed surgeon who starts questioning his purpose in life when he is visited by the spirit of his deceased ex-wife...
in 2011 LaSalle appeared in some episodes of HBO's How to Make it In America. As a West Indian Caribbean Community Leader who rallied against the product Rasta Monsta..