Russell Hornsby (born May 15, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Edward "Eddie" Sutton on ABC Family's Lincoln Heights, as Luke on the HBO drama In Treatment, as Detective Hank Griffin on the NBC series Grimm, and as Lyons in the movie Fences. He also played Carl Gatewood in the Showtime TV series The Affair, and as Charles Flenory in BMF.

Russell Hornsby
Hornsby in 2020
Born (1974-05-15) May 15, 1974 (age 50)
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Denise Walker
(m. 2008)
Children2

Early life and education

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Hornsby was born in San Francisco, California. He was a football player and track star at St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, California. He auditioned for a spring musical and got the role of the Scarecrow in The Wiz. After that, he became very interested in theatre and acting and was highly involved with the rest of the school theatrical productions.

After graduating, he studied theater at Boston University,[1] from which he graduated with a degree in performance. After graduation, Hornsby continued his studies at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford.[1]

Career

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After finishing his studies at Oxford, Hornsby moved to New York City and was subsequently cast in leading roles in Off Broadway productions of To Kill a Mockingbird (as Atticus Finch), Joe Louis Blues, and Six Degrees of Separation (as Paul).

In the late 1990s, he decided to move to Los Angeles in order to transition into television and film. He has appeared in several different television productions including appearing in recurring roles in Haunted as Detective Marcus Bradshaw and Gideon's Crossing as Chief Resident Dr. Aaron Boise. His other television credits include Grey's Anatomy, Law & Order, and In Justice among others. He also played running back Leon Taylor in ESPN's drama series Playmakers.

On the big screen, he has appeared in such films as After the Sunset, Big Fat Liar, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Keep the Faith, Baby, Meet the Parents, and Stuck among others.[2] In 2000, Hornsby appeared in the Off-Broadway production of Jitney for which he won a Drama Desk Award and an Obie Award.[3]

He starred in the NBC fantasy drama Grimm from 2011 to 2017. In 2018, he played Isaiah Butler in the Netflix crime drama Seven Seconds.[4] That same year, Hornsby joined the cast of the movie Creed II.[5] In 2021, he went on to star in the Starz crime drama television series BMF, with costars Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Da'Vinchi and Demetrius Flenory Jr., who played Demetrius Flenory Sr.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Woo Guy
2000 Meet the Parents Late Night Courier (Right Bag)
Train Ride Ellis
2002 Big Fat Liar Marcus Duncan
Milk and Honey Isaiah Short
2004 The Male Groupie Blase' skippy
After the Sunset Jean Paul
2005 Edmond Shill
Get Rich or Die Tryin' Odell
2006 Forgiven Ronald Bradler
Something New Dr. Borcklond
2007 Stuck Rashid
2008 Dear Me He Video Short
2010 Salvation Road Kearn Short
2012 LUV Detective Pratt
2016 The Breaks Sampson King
Fences Lyons Maxson
2018 Fevah Jelani Short
The Hate U Give Maverick 'Mav' Carter
Creed II Buddy Marcelle
2021 R#J Captain Prince
2022 Last Seen Alive Detective Paterson
2024 The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat Richmond
The Woman in the Yard TBA Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Bill Nye the Science Guy Food Truck Assistant Episode: “Digestion”
1999 Law & Order Danny Ruiz Episode: "Marathon"
2000 Wonderland Hospital Receptionist Episode: "20/20 Hindsight"
2000–2001 Gideon's Crossing Dr. Aaron Boies Main cast
2002 Haunted Marcus Bradshaw
Keep the Faith, Baby Joe Schiller TV movie
2003 Girlfriends Antoine Childs Episode: "The Wedding"
Playmakers Leon Taylor Main cast
2004 Century City Mr. Skobel Episode: "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Lose"
2005 Grey's Anatomy Digby Owens Episode: "The Self-Destruct Button"
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Alvin Dutch Episode: "Storm"
2006 In Justice Luther Cain Episode: "Pilot"
2007–2009 Lincoln Heights Edward "Eddie" Sutton Main cast
2008 Fear Itself Sergeant Wiliams Episode: "Eater"
2009 In Treatment Luke Recurring cast (season 2)
2010 The Good Wife Dr. Shawn Wesley Episode: "Painkiller"
2011 FutureStates Kaya Guidry Episode: "Remigration"
Shameless Tony's Partner Episode: "Daddyz Girl" & "Father Frank, Full of Grace"
2011–2015 Suits Quentin Sainz Episode: "Dirty Little Secrets" & "Faith"
2011–2017 Grimm Detective Hank Griffin Main cast
2017 The Breaks Sampson King Episode: "It's Just Begun"
2018 Seven Seconds Isaiah Butler Main cast
2018–2019 The Affair Carl Gatewood Recurring cast (season 4-5)
2019 Proven Innocent Ezekiel "EZ" Boudreau Main cast
2020 Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector Lincoln Rhyme Main cast
2021 Aftershock CO Episode: "Chapter 8: Hell of a night for..."
BMF Charles Flenory Main cast
Lost in Space Grant Kelly Recurring cast (season 3)
2022 Mike Don King

Video games

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Year Title Role
2008 Army of Two Tyson Rios
2009 Terminator Salvation Rogers, Resistance Soldier

References

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  1. ^ a b Barney, Chuck (12 August 2012). "Russell Hornsby Likes the "Grimm" World". The Sacramento Bee. Contra Costa Times. p. 16. Retrieved 25 November 2023. Hornsby, who got the acting bug while attending St. Mary's High School in Berkeley.... After graduating, Hornsby studied acting at Boston University and Oxford University [sic] in England before relocating to New York.
  2. ^ ABC Biography
  3. ^ Internet Broadway Database
  4. ^ Anderson, Nellie (November 17, 2016). "'Seven Seconds': Russel Hornsby, Raul Castillo & Zackary Momoh Cast in Netflix Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. ^ McNary, Dave (April 2, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Russel Hornsby Joins 'Creed' Sequel". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Cushman, Scott (November 12, 2021). "Russell Hornsby on How 'BMF' Brings Deep Level Authenticity". www.tvinsider.com. TVInsider. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
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