Mykelti Williamson
Encyclopedia
Michael T. "Mykelti" Williamson (born March 4, 1960) is an American actor best known for his role as Benjamin Buford (Bubba) Blue in the 1994 film Forrest Gump
, as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown, and recently for appearing as the head of CTU for season 8 of the hit TV series 24
.
. He is the son of Elaine, a certified public accountant, and a father who was an Air Force
Non-Commissioned Officer.
Williamson began performing at the age of nine. Along with acting, he also danced as an alternate member of The Lockers
troupe on Soul Train
along with Fred Berry
(star of TV sitcom What's Happening!!
). At age nine, Williamson relocated to Los Angeles with his family. While in high school he excelled in athletics, particularly football and basketball. However, acting was his first love and he no longer pursued sports.
Williamson studied television/film at Los Angeles City College
. He audited acting classes at USC under the tutelage of Dr. Frank X. Ford. Williamson later transferred to Gene Evans Motion Picture School in San Jose
and earned his certificate in Cinematography/ Film Production.
, Hill Street Blues
, Miami Vice
, China Beach
, and Midnight Caller
. His film debut was in Streets of Fire
(1984). His credits include Wildcats
(1986) with Goldie Hawn
, Miracle Mile
(1989), The First Power
(1990) with Lou Diamond Phillips
, Free Willy
(1993), Forrest Gump
(1994) Waiting to Exhale
(1995), Heat (1995), Con Air
(1997), Three Kings (1999), Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
(1999), Black Dynamite
(2009) and The Final Destination (2009).
Williamson is best known as Private Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in the Academy Award
-winning 1994 film Forrest Gump. He also received favorable reviews when he played Negro League baseball player Josh Gibson
in the HBO film Soul of the Game
(1996).
Williamson has made many guest appearances in movie and film. His most recent film appearances have been Lucky Number Slevin
(2006), Ali
(2001),The Assassination of Richard Nixon
in 2004,Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) ATL
(2006), August Rush
(2007), Black Dynamite
(2009) and The Final Destination (2009). He was Juror #10 in the 1997 TV movie remake of Twelve Angry Men
(picking up the Ed Begley
role). He also appeared in a short-lived TV series remake (CBS, 2000–2001) of the The Fugitive
. CBS canceled the series after one season with a total of 22 episodes.
Williamson also starred in Nickelodeon's TV series The Righteous Apples. The show focuses on the activities of The Righteous Apples, five Boston-area high school musicians, who in a troubled world, seek to help people in distress. Williamson was the lead singer of the group in the show in which he was just a teenager at that time.
In 2002, he co-starred as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown.
He was invited to join AMPAS
in 2005.
Recently, he has appeared in several episodes of CSI: NY
as Chief Sinclair, reuniting him with his Forrest Gump co-star Gary Sinise
.
He is a main character in season 8
of 24
starring as the special agent in charge of the New York CTU named Brian Hastings.
He also appeared as race-track security guard George Lanter in The Final Destination, the 4th entry in the Final Destination film series
.
star Olivia Brown
from July 2, 1983 - 1985. He later married Cheryl Chisholm in 1989 with whom he had his first child, Phoenix. He has been married to Sondra Spriggs since April 26, 1997; together they have two daughters, Nicole and Maya. In 1998, he was arrested for stabbing his ex-wife Cheryl Chisholm's partner Leroy Edwards. He was acquitted of attempted manslaughter
but, in his own words, "I lost my home, which I sold to pay my lawyers, my car and basically lost my career,"
He appeared with Sondra Spriggs in the 1998 film Species II
. The two were married during the filming of TNT
's production of Buffalo Soldiers.
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
, as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown, and recently for appearing as the head of CTU for season 8 of the hit TV series 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...
.
Early life
Williamson was born on March 4, 1960 in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. He is the son of Elaine, a certified public accountant, and a father who was an Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Non-Commissioned Officer.
Williamson began performing at the age of nine. Along with acting, he also danced as an alternate member of The Lockers
The Lockers
The Lockers were a dance group formed by Toni Basil and Don "Campbellock" Campbell in 1971. Active throughout the 1970s, they were pioneers of street dance. Don Campbell is the founder of the locking dance style and originally, Locking was called The Campbellock - a style that was based on the...
troupe on Soul Train
Soul Train
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...
along with Fred Berry
Fred Berry
Fred "Rerun" Berry was an American actor best known for the role of Fred "Rerun" Stubbs on the popular 1970s television show What's Happening!!.-Career:Berry was born in St. Louis, Missouri...
(star of TV sitcom What's Happening!!
What's Happening!!
What's Happening!! is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976 to April 28, 1979. The show premiered as a summer series. With good ratings and reviews, and after the failure of several other shows on the network, What's Happening!! returned in November 1976 as a weekly...
). At age nine, Williamson relocated to Los Angeles with his family. While in high school he excelled in athletics, particularly football and basketball. However, acting was his first love and he no longer pursued sports.
Williamson studied television/film at Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
. He audited acting classes at USC under the tutelage of Dr. Frank X. Ford. Williamson later transferred to Gene Evans Motion Picture School in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and earned his certificate in Cinematography/ Film Production.
Career
Williamson began acting professionally as a child. His first TV appearances include The Righteous Apples, a PBS and Nickelodeon show about a multi-racial singing group. His character was Charles "Big Neck" McMorris, (1981), Starsky and HutchStarsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
, Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, China Beach
China Beach
China Beach is an American dramatic television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Vietnam, which was nicknamed "China Beach" by unknown foreigners, most likely Americans...
, and Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...
. His film debut was in Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire
Streets of Fire is a 1984 film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It was described in previews, trailers, and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable." It is an unusual mix of musical, action, drama, and comedy with elements both of retro-1950s and 1980s...
(1984). His credits include Wildcats
Wildcats (film)
Wildcats is a 1986 film starring Goldie Hawn and costarring Jan Hooks and Swoosie Kurtz. It is the film debut of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. They also appeared together in White Men Can't Jump and Money Train...
(1986) with Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
, Miracle Mile
Miracle Mile (film)
Miracle Mile is a 1988 apocalyptic thriller cult film written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt, and starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham that takes place mostly in real time. It is named after the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles, where most of the action takes place. The movie was...
(1989), The First Power
The First Power
The First Power is a 1990 American horror film/neo-noir, directed by Robert Resnikoff. It starred Lou Diamond Phillips, Tracy Griffith, Jeff Kober and Mykelti Williamson.-Plot:...
(1990) with Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips
Lou Diamond Phillips is an American film, television, and stage actor and director. His breakthrough came when he starred in the film La Bamba. He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I...
, Free Willy
Free Willy
Free Willy is a 1993 family film directed by Simon Wincer, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment label. The film stars Jason James Richter as a young boy who befriends an orca whale, named "Willy."...
(1993), Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
(1994) Waiting to Exhale
Waiting to Exhale
Waiting to Exhale is a 1995 romance film starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett, directed by Forest Whitaker. The movie was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMillan. Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Beach, Gregory Hines, Donald Faison and Mykelti...
(1995), Heat (1995), Con Air
Con Air
Con Air is an Academy Award–nominated 1997 American action-thriller film directed by Simon West and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. It stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich...
(1997), Three Kings (1999), Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (film)
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years is a 1999 American television movie directed by Lynne Littman. The film is an adaptation of the 1993 New York Times bestselling oral history written by Sarah L. Delany, A. Elizabeth Delany, and journalist Amy Hill Hearth. The telefilm adaptation...
(1999), Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite is a 2009 American film starring Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson, Arsenio Hall, Kevin Chapman and Tommy Davidson. It is a spoof of 1970s blaxploitation films...
(2009) and The Final Destination (2009).
Williamson is best known as Private Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning 1994 film Forrest Gump. He also received favorable reviews when he played Negro League baseball player Josh Gibson
Josh Gibson
Joshua Gibson was an American catcher in baseball's Negro leagues. He played for the Homestead Grays from 1930 to 1931, moved to the Pittsburgh Crawfords from 1932 to 1936, and returned to the Grays from 1937 to 1939 and 1942 to 1946...
in the HBO film Soul of the Game
Soul of the Game
Soul of the Game is a 1996 made-for-television movie about Negro league baseball.It starred Blair Underwood as Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige and Mykelti Williamson as Josh Gibson. The film depicts Paige and Gibson as the pitching and hitting stars, respectively, of the Negro...
(1996).
Williamson has made many guest appearances in movie and film. His most recent film appearances have been Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky Number Slevin, renamed for the German/USA DVDs as Lucky # Slevin , is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and Lucy Liu...
(2006), Ali
Ali (film)
Ali is a 2001 American biographical film directed by Michael Mann. The film tells the story of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, played by Will Smith, from 1964 to 1974 featuring his capture as of the heavyweight title from Sonny Liston , his conversion to Islam, criticism of the Vietnam War, banishment...
(2001),The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon
The Assassination of Richard Nixon is a 2004 American film, directed by Niels Mueller. It stars Sean Penn, Don Cheadle and Naomi Watts, and is based on the story of would-be assassin Samuel Byck, who plotted to kill Richard Nixon in 1974. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004...
in 2004,Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) ATL
ATL (film)
ATL is a 2006 American drama film, and the feature film directorial debut of music video director Chris Robinson. The screenplay was written by Tina Gordon Chism from an original story by Antwone Fisher, and is loosely based on the experiences of the film's producers Dallas Austin and Tionne...
(2006), August Rush
August Rush
August Rush is a 2007 drama film directed by Kirsten Sheridan and written by Paul Castro, Nick Castle, and James V. Hart, and produced by Richard Barton Lewis.-Plot:...
(2007), Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite
Black Dynamite is a 2009 American film starring Michael Jai White, Salli Richardson, Arsenio Hall, Kevin Chapman and Tommy Davidson. It is a spoof of 1970s blaxploitation films...
(2009) and The Final Destination (2009). He was Juror #10 in the 1997 TV movie remake of Twelve Angry Men
12 Angry Men (1997 film)
12 Angry Men is a 1997 television film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the Reginald Rose teleplay of the same title.-Plot:After the final closing arguments have been presented to the judge, she gives her instructions to the jury. In the United States , the verdict in criminal cases must...
(picking up the Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
role). He also appeared in a short-lived TV series remake (CBS, 2000–2001) of the The Fugitive
The Fugitive (TV series)
The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
. CBS canceled the series after one season with a total of 22 episodes.
Williamson also starred in Nickelodeon's TV series The Righteous Apples. The show focuses on the activities of The Righteous Apples, five Boston-area high school musicians, who in a troubled world, seek to help people in distress. Williamson was the lead singer of the group in the show in which he was just a teenager at that time.
In 2002, he co-starred as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown.
He was invited to join AMPAS
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
in 2005.
Recently, he has appeared in several episodes of CSI: NY
CSI: NY
CSI: NY is an American police procedural television series that premiered on September 22, 2004, on CBS. The show follows the investigations of a team of NYPD forensic scientists and police officers as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths as well as other crimes...
as Chief Sinclair, reuniting him with his Forrest Gump co-star Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise is an American actor, film director and musician. During his career, Sinise has won various awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed, and played the role of George Milton in the successful film adaptation of...
.
He is a main character in season 8
24 (season 8)
Season Eight, also known as Day 8, is the final season of the American serial television series 24. Filming for the season began on May 27, 2009, and it premiered on January 17, 2010 with a four-hour two-day premiere...
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...
starring as the special agent in charge of the New York CTU named Brian Hastings.
He also appeared as race-track security guard George Lanter in The Final Destination, the 4th entry in the Final Destination film series
Final Destination (film series)
The Final Destination series is a series of horror films based on an unproduced script written by Jeffrey Reddick for the X-Files television series. Distributed by New Line Cinema, all five films are centered on the themes of fatalism, predestination, and precognition, in relation to death...
.
Personal life
Williamson was married to Miami ViceMiami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
star Olivia Brown
Olivia Brown
Olivia Margarette Brown is an American actress.Brown was born in Frankfurt, Germany and raised in Livonia, Michigan, United States. Her family eventually moved to California and she is also a graduate of Santa Monica High School. She played Det. Trudy Joplin on Miami Vice and Vanessa Hargraves on...
from July 2, 1983 - 1985. He later married Cheryl Chisholm in 1989 with whom he had his first child, Phoenix. He has been married to Sondra Spriggs since April 26, 1997; together they have two daughters, Nicole and Maya. In 1998, he was arrested for stabbing his ex-wife Cheryl Chisholm's partner Leroy Edwards. He was acquitted of attempted manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
but, in his own words, "I lost my home, which I sold to pay my lawyers, my car and basically lost my career,"
He appeared with Sondra Spriggs in the 1998 film Species II
Species II
Species II is a 1998 sequel to the 1995 film Species. It stars Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen and Marg Helgenberger, all of whom reprise their roles from the first film. It also features actor James Cromwell as "Senator Judson Ross"...
. The two were married during the filming of TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
's production of Buffalo Soldiers.