Anthony Anderson

For other people named Anthony Anderson, see Anthony Anderson (disambiguation).

Anthony Anderson
Anderson in May 2010
Born	(1970-08-15) August 15, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, writer
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Alvina Anderson ​ ​ (m. 1995⁠–⁠2015)​
Children	2

Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom, All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in drama series K-Ville, The Shield and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on Law & Order. He has also had supporting roles in films such as Me, Myself & Irene (2000), Kangaroo Jack (2003), Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), The Departed (2006), Transformers (2007), and Scream 4 (2011). Anderson is also a regular judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America. Since September 2014, he has starred as Andre Johnson on the ABC sitcom Black-ish.

Early life

Anderson was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Doris (née Hancox), was a telephone operator and actress, and his stepfather, Sterling Bowman, was a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, who moved to Los Angeles to work in the steel mill industry before opening a chain of three clothing stores. According to a DNA analysis, Anderson descends from the Bubi people of Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea), and from the Tikar, Hausa, and Fulani people of Cameroon.

Anderson has stated that his first attempt at stand up comedy was a failure. Although this experience was a blow to his ego, he did meet his future friend and fellow comedic actor Guy Torry there, who consoled him after the show and encouraged him to keep getting up on stage. He and Guy would later act together in the Eddie Murphy film titled Life. Anderson is an alumnus of the Hollywood High School Performing Arts Magnet's Class of 1988 and Howard University. He trained with actors such as Avery Brooks, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.

Career

Anderson in July 2006

Anderson currently writes for and stars in the hit ABC series, Blackish, alongside Laurence Fishburne and Tracee Ellis Ross which airs on Wednesday nights. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for this role. His past television work includes a lead role in the teen series Hang Time as Teddy Broadis. He had many one-off and guest roles on major series such as NYPD Blue, Malcolm & Eddie, In the House, and Ally McBeal. Recurring roles were on several series such as 'Til Death and The Bernie Mac Show. He was the central character in the series All About the Andersons, which lasted for one season on The WB. Anderson joined the cast of the long-running NBC crime drama television series, Law & Order in 2008. He previously starred in two other crime series, Fox's K-Ville (as one of the lead characters) and Fox's cable channel FX's The Shield.

Anderson's series Eating America, with Anthony Anderson was a summer show in 2014, having him go to different towns in America which host "food festivals" highlighting a specific type of food. He also is a regular judge on Iron Chef America. Anderson is one of the few judges to taste dishes from all the Iron Chefs on the show. In the Ultimate Bar Food battle, he served as bartender/sous-chef for Iron Chef Bobby Flay opposite Masaharu Morimoto and fellow judge Simon Majumdar.

Film

After his film debut in Liberty Heights, Anderson has been performing as an actor, often in comedic roles, for many years. Among his more prominent feature films are: Kangaroo Jack, My Baby's Daddy, Hustle & Flow, and Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London. In June 2010, he was cast in a minor role in Scream 4.

Directorial work

In 2009, Anderson directed a one-minute short film featuring his Law & Order co-star, Jeremy Sisto. The short was made for the Responsibility Project, a joint initiative of NBC and Liberty Mutual Group. The short aired during the Law & Order episode "Reality Bites" on October 16, 2009.

Personal life

In 1995, he married his college sweetheart, Alvina. The couple has two children, Kyra and Nathan. Anderson has Type 2 Diabetes, and has been active in diabetes awareness. On September 25, 2015 TMZ announced his wife of 20 years had filed for divorce.

Playing for the Alzheimer's Association, in 2011, Anderson won $250,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Liberty Heights	Scribbles
	Life	Cookie
	Trippin'	Z-Boy
2000	Romeo Must Die	Maurice	First time working with Jet Li, DMX, Isaiah Washington and Andrzej Bartkowiak
	Big Momma's House	Nolan
	Me, Myself & Irene	Jamaal Baileygates
	Urban Legends: Final Cut	Stan Washington
2001	See Spot Run	Benny
	Exit Wounds	T.K. Johnson	Second time working with DMX, Isaiah Washington & Andrzej Bartkowiak; first time working with Tom Arnold
	Kingdom Come	Junior Slocumb
	Two Can Play That Game	Tony
	3 Strikes	Guard	uncredited
2002	Barbershop	J.D.
2003	Kangaroo Jack	Louis Booker
	Cradle 2 the Grave	Tommy	Third time working with DMX & Andrzej Bartkowiak; second time working with Jet Li & Tom Arnold
	Malibu's Most Wanted	PJ
	Scary Movie 3	Mahalik
2004	My Baby's Daddy	G. Bong
	Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London	Derek Bowman
	Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle	Burger Shack Employee
2005	King's Ransom	Malcolm King
	Hustle & Flow	Key
	Hoodwinked!	Detective Bill Stork
2006	Scary Movie 4	Mahalik
	The Last Stand	Jay
	Arthur & the Invisibles	Koolomassai
	The Departed	Trooper Brown
2007	Billy & Mandy: Wrath of the Spider Queen	Irwin's Dad
	Transformers	Glen Whitmann
2010	The Back-Up Plan	Dad
	A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures	Ray
2011	Scream 4	Detective Perkins
	The Big Year	Bill Clemens
2012	The Power of Few	Junkshow
2013	Grudge Match	Mr. Sandpaper Hands
2014	The Town That Dreaded Sundown	"Lone Wolf" Morales
2016	Hot Bot	Agent Frazier
	Barbershop: The Next Cut	J.D.

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996–1998	Hang Time	Teddy Broadis	39 episodes
1998	NYPD Blue	Vondell	Episode: "Weaver of Hate" (season 5)
2001	My Wife and Kids	Dr. Buchay	2 episodes
2003–2004	All About the Andersons	Anthony Anderson	16 episodes
2004–2005	The Shield	Antwon Mitchell	15 episodes
2005	The Bernie Mac Show	Bryan Brown	4 episodes (season 5)
2005	Veronica Mars	Percy "Bone" Hamilton	Episode: "Lord of the Bling"
2005	Entourage	Himself	Episode: "Neighbors"
2005	Chappelle's Show	Shirtless Man	Episode 2.9; "Don't Pitch Me" sketch
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lucius Blaine	Episode: "Fat"
2006–2007	'Til Death	Cofeld	6 episodes
2007	K-Ville	Marlin Boulet	11 episodes
2008–2010	Law & Order	Detective Kevin Bernard	50 episodes
2008	Samantha Who	Rafael Grace	Episode: "Out of Africa"
2011	Shameless	Marty Fisher	Episode: "Three Boys"
2011	Family BrainSurge	Himself
2012–present	Golf in America	Host	10 episodes
2012	Psych	Chef Thane Woodson	Episode: "True Grits"
2012	Raising Hope	Neighbor	Episode: "Inside Probe (part 1)"
2012	The Soul Man	Sweet Brown Taylor	Episode: "Revelations"
2012–2013	Guys with Kids	Gary	18 episodes
2010–2013	Treme	Derek Watson	4 episodes
2013, 2014	Hollywood Game Night	Himself	2 episodes
2014	Rake	Reggie Jarvis	Episode: "Three Strikes"
2014	Celebrities Undercover	Himself
2014	Eating America with Anthony Anderson	Himself/Host	Food Network show; also executive producer (8 episodes)
2014–present	Black-ish	Andre "Dre" Johnson, Sr.	Lead role
2015	Celebrity Family Feud	Himself	Episode: "Anderson vs. Braxton"
2015	Carnival Cravings with Anthony Anderson	Himself/Host	Food Network show; also executive producer (6 episodes)
2016	Lip Sync Battle	Himself	Episode: "Anthony Anderson vs. Tracee Ellis Ross"
2016	Richie Rich	Bulldozah	Episode: "Rapper'$ Delight"	2016	"Blaze and the Monster Machines"(season 2 episode 13) as "Pegwheel"

2016 || "To Tell The Truth" ||Himself/Host || Six Episodes

Video game

Year	Title	Role
2007	Def Jam: Icon	Troy Dollar

Accolades

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2004	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor – Comedy	All About the Andersons	Nominated
2013	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Guys with Kids	Nominated
2015	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Black-ish	Nominated
2015	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Actor in a Comedy Series	Black-ish	Nominated
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actor – Comedy	Black-ish	Nominated

External links

• Anthony Anderson at IMDb
• Anthony Anderson at AllMovie