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Boris Kodjoe

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Boris Kodjoe
Born
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe

(1973-03-08) March 8, 1973 (age 51)
Vienna, Austria
Alma materVirginia Commonwealth University, (BA)
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, model
Years active1994–present
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Spouse
​
(m. 2005)​
Children2

Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe[1] (/ˈkoʊdʒuː/; born March 8, 1973), better known as Boris Kodjoe, is an Austrian-American actor, producer, and former model best known for his roles as Kelby in the 2002 film Brown Sugar, the sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series Soul Food, and a recurring character on FOX's The Last Man on Earth. He co-stars on BET's Real Husbands of Hollywood and the Grey's Anatomy spin-off, Station 19 as Battalion Chief Robert Sullivan.

Early life

Kodjoe was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Ursula, a German psychologist of partial Jewish descent, and Eric Kodjoe, a Ghanaian physician who is of the Ga-Adangbe people[citation needed].[1] His namesake is the Russian poet and writer Boris Pasternak.[2] Kodjoe's matrilineal great-grandmother was Jewish and was murdered in the Holocaust; his maternal grandmother survived the war in hiding.[1][3] Kodjoe's parents divorced when he was six years old.[4] He grew up in the vicinity of Freiburg im Breisgau. He has a brother named Patrick and two sisters named Nadja and Lara.

Career

Kodjoe attended Virginia Commonwealth University on a tennis scholarship, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1996.[5] A four-year letterman on the Rams' men's tennis team, he is currently ninth in school history with 75 career singles wins. Tied for third in doubles victories with 66, he was paired with Jonas Elmblad on 37 of them, also third all-time.[6] His brother Patrick Kodjoe played for VCU's basketball team. A back injury ended Boris' tennis aspirations, but he was quickly signed as a model and soon after entered acting.[7] In 1995, he was featured in TLC's music video for "Red Light Special." [8]

Named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine in 2002, Kodjoe is perhaps best known as one of the seven regular cast members from the Showtime drama Soul Food, which aired from 2000 to 2004. He appeared in the 2002 film Brown Sugar and starred in the short-lived sitcom Second Time Around with his Soul Food co-star Nicole Ari Parker, whom he eventually married. He played the role of David Taylor, the wayward son of Pastor Fred Taylor, in the October 2005 film The Gospel. He performed in a play called Whatever She Wants, starring Vivica A. Fox, and made an appearance on the fifth season of Nip/Tuck. His most recent role was in the 2009 science fiction film Surrogates. On December 16, 2009, it was announced that Kodjoe had been cast as the male lead, Steven Bloom, in the new J. J. Abrams television series Undercovers; the show premiered in September and was subsequently cancelled in November 2010 on NBC. Also that year, he appeared as Luther in the film Resident Evil: Afterlife. He appeared on Franklin & Bash in 2010.

In 2013, Kodjoe began starring in the BET comedy parody series Real Husbands of Hollywood. In 2014 he was cast as regular on the ABC primetime soap opera Members Only created by Susannah Grant.[9][10] In 2015, Kodjoe began a recurring guest-star role in Fox's The Last Man on Earth television series.[11]

In July 2018, Kodjoe landed a recurring role in second season of the Grey's Anatomy spin-off series, Station 19.[12] In October, he was promoted to a series regular after his appearance in the season premiere as the new fire captain, Robert Sullivan.[13] In "Eulogy", he is promoted to Battalion Chief.

Personal life

Kodjoe married his Soul Food: The Series co-star Nicole Ari Parker on May 21, 2005, in Gundelfingen, Germany. She gave birth to their first child, a girl, in March 2005. She has spina bifida, which was diagnosed at birth.[14] Parker gave birth to the couple's second child, a boy, in October 2006. Kodjoe and his wife are members of Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.[15] The family resides in Los Angeles, California. Parker and Kodjoe competed against one another on a February 2019 episode of Lip Sync Battle.

Kodjoe speaks fluently in different languages such as German, English, and French, and speaks a little Spanish.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Love & Basketball Jason
2002 Brown Sugar Kelby Dawson
2004 Doing Hard Time Michael Mitchell Direct-to-video
2005 The Gospel David Taylor
2006 Madea's Family Reunion Frankie Henderson
2007 All About Us Edward Brown
Alice Upside Down Mr. Edgecombe
2008 Starship Troopers 3: Marauder General Dix Hauser Direct-to-video
2009 Surrogates FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Andy Stone
2010 The Confidant Nigel Patterson
Resident Evil: Afterlife Luther West
2012 Resident Evil: Retribution
2013 Baggage Claim Graham
Nurse 3D Det. John Rogan
2014 Addicted Jason Reynard
2017 Ferdinand Klaus (voice)
TBA Nicole & O.J. O.J. Simpson

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 The Steve Harvey Show Dexter Episode: "Every Boy Needs a Teacher"
2000 For Your Love Terrence Episode: "The French Lesson"
2003 Boston Public Coach Derek Williams 3 episodes
Street Time Bowman Calloway Episodes: "High Holly Roller" and "Cop Killer"
All of Us Marcus Episode: "Uncle Marcus Comes to Dinner"
2004 Eve Kevin Episode: "Valentine's Day Reloaded"
2000–04 Soul Food Damon Carter Series regular, 27 episodes
Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2002–2004)
2004–05 Second Time Around Jackson Muse Series regular, 13 episodes
2006 If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now Brad Failed pilot
2007 Crossing Jordan Detective Elliot Chandler Episodes: "Post Hoc..." and "In Sickness & in Health"
Women's Murder Club Simon Perry Episode: "Blind Dates and Bleeding Hearts"
Nip/Tuck Elton Forrest Episode: "Chaz Darling"
2010 Undercovers Steven Bloom Series regular, 13 episodes
2012 Scruples Josh Hillman TV pilot
Franklin & Bash Nolan Tate Episode: "Last Dance"
A Killer Among Us Detective Joe Moran TV Movie
Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
2013–16 Real Husbands of Hollywood Himself Series regular
Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2014)
2014 Members Only Deacon Series regular
The Chase Himself 1 episode: "Starry Eyed: Celebrity Episode"
Unforgettable Agent Francis Simms Recurring, 2 episodes
2015–16 The Last Man on Earth Philip Stacy "Phil" Miller Recurring, 12 episodes
2015 The Boris & Nicole Show Himself (co-host) Main role, 20 episodes
2016 Cape Town Sanctus Snook Main role, 6 episodes
2016–18 Code Black Dr. Will Campbell Guest star (season 1), main role (season 2-3)
33 episodes
2017 Tales Ray Vance Episode: "Fuck the Police"
2018–present Station 19 Robert Sullivan Main role; 33 episodes
2018 House of Cards Brett Cole Recurring; 4 episodes
2019 Lip Sync Battle Himself Episode: "Boris Kodjoe vs. Nicole Ari Parker"
Grey's Anatomy Robert Sullivan Episode: "What I Did For Love"

References

  1. ^ a b c Williams, Kam (2009). "Boris Kodjoe: The All about Us Interview with Kam Williams". aalbc.com. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  2. ^ Buckley, Michael. "STAGE TO SCREENS: Chats With Whitford, Hurt, Howard, and Kodjoe", Playbill, 5 May 2008.
  3. ^ The Gospel: Boris Kodjoe Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Boris Kodjoe at superiorpics.com
  5. ^ "Kodjoe's Time Has Finally Come," Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Archived April 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ The Tradition of VCU Men's Tennis (Virginia Commonwealth University men's tennis media guide).
  7. ^ Boris Kodjoe (profile) – Classic TV & Movie Hits. Archived August 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Boris Kodjoe On Experiencing Racism While Growing Up In Germany". BET. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  9. ^ Etkin, Jaimie; Jarett Wieselman. "Shonda Rhimes Takes Over ABC's Thursday Nights". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Boris Kodjoe Joins ABC's 'The Club'; Yvette Monreal In El Rey's 'Matador'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  11. ^ Prudom, Laura (February 5, 2015). "Boris Kodjoe Joins Fox's 'The Last Man on Earth'". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  12. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 19, 2018). "'Station 19' Taps Boris Kodjoe for Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  13. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 9, 2018). "Boris Kodjoe Upped To Series Regular On 'Station 19'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  14. ^ "Boris and Nicole Open Up About Sophie's Spina Bifida" Archived February 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Celebrity Baby Blog, 15 January 2009.
  15. ^ Rhone, Nedra; and Gracie Bonds Staples. "In Atlanta’s churches, prayers for president-elect" Archived June 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 November 2008.
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