Omar Epps

Omar Epps
Born	Omar Hashim Epps
Spouse	Keisha Epps (2006-present)

Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor and musician. He had roles in movies Juice, Major League II, Higher Learning, Love and Basketball, In Too Deep, and The Wood. He had a small role in Scream 2 and was a recurring character (Dr. Dennis Gant) on the US drama series ER.

Since 2004, he has played the role of Dr. Eric Foreman on the Fox medical drama series House.

Biography

Epps currently co-stars on the critically acclaimed FOX medical drama, “House,” for which he received an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” in 2008 and 2007. He was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series” in 2005 as well as “Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series” in 2006. The highly successful series is in it’s seventh season.

Epps was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for his performance in the December 2002 Showtime Original movie “Conviction” in which he portrayed Carl Upchurch, a hardened criminal from South Philadelphia who spent most of his adult life in prison. It is the story of one man’s journey from prisoner to peacemaker. Omar has starred in three HBO Original movies, “First Time Felon,” directed by Charles “Roc” Dutton, “Deadly Voyage” produced by Danny Glover and “Daybreak” co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr. “First Time Felon” and “Deadly Voyage” are based on true stories.

Epps also portrayed Dr. Dennis Gant on the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama “E.R.” As a surgical resident, he teamed up with Dr. Carter (Noah Wyle) and Dr. Benton (Eriq LaSalle). In one of the most talked about departures, Omar left audiences wondering if his character committed suicide or not.

In addition, Epps recently formed a production company called Brooklyn Works Films, which is producing the films “Love Can’t Hide”, "You, Me & The Circus" & "Sundays in Fort Greene". Epps is serving as writer, producer and star of these projects.

No stranger to the big screen, Epps has appeared in lead roles in feature films including Paramount’s “Against the Ropes” in which he starred opposite Meg Ryan, Paramount’s “Alfie” opposite Jude Law and Susan Sarandon, Paramount/MTV’s “The Wood”, Miramax’s “In Too Deep”, John Singleton’s “Higher Learning” and “Juice”. His supporting roles include “Breakfast of Champions” opposite Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte, “Major League 2” opposite Charlie Sheen, and “The Program” with Halle Berry. Omar was also seen in Hollywood’s best-kept secret, “Scream 2”, MGM’s remake of “The Mod Squad” with Claire Danes and “Love and Basketball.” He also starred in Takeshi Kitano’s “Brother” for Sony Classics.

Epps has a daughter Aiyanna from a previous relationship. He married Keisha Spivey in 2006. They live in California with daughter K'mari (born in July 2004) and son Amir (born on 25 December 2007).

Career

Early in Epps's career, he was most often cast in the roles of troubled teens and/or athletes. He made his film debut with rapper Tupac Shakur as the star of cinematographer Ernest Dickerson's directorial film debut Juice. The film is the violent and tragic story of four young men growing up in Harlem. Epps followed up his performance in Juice as a running back in the college football drama The Program alongside James Caan.

The following year, he switched to baseball as co-star of Major League II, taking over the role of Willie Mays Hayes from originator Wesley Snipes. His next athletic endeavor was playing a track and field star in John Singleton's Higher Learning, a look at the politics and racial tensions of college life.

Epps landed a role on the hit television drama ER for several episodes portraying Dr. Dennis Gant, a troubled surgical intern. After his television work on ER, Epps returned to the big screen in 1997 with a brief turn as a giddy moviegoer on a date with a woman played by Jada Pinkett, who ends up an early victim of a psycho slasher in the blockbuster sequel Scream 2. Also in 1997 Epps was the star of the fact-based HBO movie First Time Felon, a movie he produced. Epps played a small-time criminal who goes through Chicago's boot camp reform system and undertakes a heroic flood rescue, only to then be faced with the adjustment of re-entering society with the mark of ex-con. In 1999 Epps was cast as Linc in The Mod Squad. The feature adaptation of the dated TV series had Epps in attractive but uncomfortable and decidedly unfashionable tight pants, a subject frequently raised by the actor in interviews promoting the film.

While The Mod Squad proved a critical and box office bust, Epps's later 1999 effort The Wood offered him a serious and multi-dimensional role. Following a group of middle-class African-Americans from youth to adulthood, The Wood, the debut effort from director-screenwriter Rick Fumuyiwa, co-starred Richard T. Jones and Taye Diggs and received a push from co-producers MTV Films that ensured turnout of a sizable youth audience. Also in 1999, Epps was featured alongside Stanley Tucci and LL Cool J, playing an undercover detective who finds himself dangerously caught up in the illegal goings-on he is investigating in In Too Deep. 1999 also saw him lens the 1950s set murder mystery When Willows Touch, with James Earl Jones and Jada Pinkett Smith.

In 2000, Epps starred in Love and Basketball, featuring Alfre Woodard & Sanaa Lathan. He portrayed Quincy, the NBA hopeful who has a stormy relationship with an equally adept female basketball star Monica (Sanaa Lathan). The actor held supporting roles in a series of films including Dracula 2000, Big Trouble, and the telepic Conviction. In this year he also had a leading role as a gangster in Brother_(2000_film), a movie by acclaimed Japanese actor/director Takeshi Kitano.

In 2004, Epps landed the role of drug-dealer-turned-prizefighter Luther Shaw who falls under the tutelage of boxing promoter Jackie Kallen (Meg Ryan) in the biopic Against the Ropes.

Epps was a character in the video game Def Jam Fight for NY in 2004.

Also in 2004, Epps returned to television medical drama with his role as Dr. Eric Foreman on the US FOX television series House. The role earned him a NAACP Image Award in 2007 and 2008 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Filmography

Omar Epps

Year	Title	Role
1992	Juice	Quincy 'Q' Powell
1993	Daybreak	Hunter
	The Program	Darnell Jefferson
1994	Major League II	Willie Mays Hayes
1995	Higher Learning	Malik Williams
1996	Deadly Voyage	Kingsley Ofosu
	Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood	Malik
	ER (TV series) (1996 - 1997)	Dr. Dennis Gant
1997	First Time Felon	Greg Yance
	Scream 2	Phil Stevens
1998	Blossoms and Veils	Thee
1999	In Too Deep	Jeff Cole—J Reid
	The Wood	Mike
	The Mod Squad	Linc Hayes
	Breakfast of Champions	Wayne Hoobler
2000	Brother	Denny
	Love & Basketball	Quincy 'Q' McCall
	Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000	Marcus
2001	Perfume	J. B.
2002	Big Trouble	Seitz
	Conviction	Carl Upchurch
2004	House (TV series) (2004 - present)	Dr. Eric Foreman
	Against the Ropes	Luther Shaw
	Alfie	Marlon
2009	A Day in the Life	O

Discography

2004: Omar Epps Presents...The Get Back