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Daniel Sunjata

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Daniel Sunjata
Born (1971-12-30) December 30, 1971 (age 52)
Evanston, Illinois

Daniel Sunjata (born Daniel Sunjata Condon;[1] December 30, 1971) is an American actor who performs in film, television and in the theater. He is best known for his role as Franco Rivera in the FX TV series, Rescue Me.

Sunjata's latest role is as Paul Briggs in USA Network's 2013 series Graceland.

Early life

Sunjata was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is the adopted son of a police dispatcher and a civil rights worker. He is of Irish, German, and African-American heritage.

Sunjata graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, where he played linebacker for two state championship football teams. He completed his undergraduate studies at Florida A&M University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He then received a master's degree in fine arts from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[2]

Career

Sunjata played the role of a sailor on shore leave on the first post-9/11 themed episode of Sex and The City. He has portrayed Langston Hughes in the film Brother to Brother and James Holt, a fashion designer in The Devil Wears Prada. He starred as firefighter Franco Rivera on the television program Rescue Me. During the summer of 2007, he also starred in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx is Burning as Reggie Jackson. He appeared as a Special Forces Operative in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

In 2003, he won a Theatre World Award for his breakout Broadway performance as a gay Major League Baseball player who comes out to the public in Take Me Out, the Tony award-winning play, which also earned him nominations for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award.

Sunjata will star in upcoming USA Network 2013 television series Graceland.

9/11 conspiracy theories

On April 30, 2009, Sunjata announced his participation as narrator in Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, which was the last in a series of documentaries, collectively known as Loose Change, that argue that the September 11 attacks were planned by the United States government.[3] Sunjata has stated that he believes "absolutely, 100 percent" in this theory.[4]

Producers of the show Rescue Me, inspired by Sunjata's views, created a subplot of the show that year (the show's fifth season) in which Sunjata's character, Franco Rivera, stirs up controversy in the firehouse when he announces these same views to a journalist.[4]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Twelfth Night, or What You Will Valentine TV movie
2000 D.C. Lewis Freeman 7 episodes
2001 All My Children Zachary Pell Unknown episodes
2001 The Feast of All Saints Christophe Mercier TV movie
2002 ToCA Race Driver Nick Landers/James Randall (voice) Video game
2002 Bad Company Officer Carew
2002 Sex and the City Louis Leroy, USN Episode: "Anchors Away"
2003 Take Me Out Darren Lemming Theatre World Award
Nominated—Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
2003 Ed Danny Martin Episode: "The Case"
2004 Melinda and Melinda Billy Wheeler
2004 Noel Marco
2004 Brother to Brother Langston Hughes
2000–04 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit CSU Technician Burt Trevor / Bomb Squad Officer 16 episodes
2005 Law & Order Kenny Tremont Episode: "Mammon"
2006 Love Monkey Diego 4 episodes
2006 The Devil Wears Prada James Holt
2007 The Bronx is Burning Reggie Jackson 8 episodes
2008 Great Performances Christian de Neuvillette Episode: "Cyrano de Bergerac"
2009 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Brad
2009 Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup Himself, Narrator Released on September 22, 2009
2009 Lie to Me Andrew Jenkins Episode: "Blinded"
2010 Patricia Cornwell's At Risk and The Front Detective Win Garano TV movie
2010 Weakness Alejandro
2010 30 Rock Chris Episode: "College"
2004–11 Rescue Me Franco Rivera 93 episodes
2012 One for the Money Ranger
2012 Gone Powers
2012 The Dark Knight Rises Captain Jones
2010–present Grey's Anatomy Nurse Eli
2012–present Smash Peter Gillman
2013 Graceland Paul Briggs TV series
Post-production
2013 Lullaby Unknown Post-production

References

  1. ^ "Daniel Sunjata on www.filmreference.com". Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  2. ^ "NYU Graduate Acting Alumni". 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  3. ^ Gil, Billy. “Microcinema Gets Rights to ‘Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup’,” Home Media Magazine. 4 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b Stelter, Brian. “The Political Suspicions of 9/11,” The New York Times. February 1, 2009.

Audio Interviews on 9/11:

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