Eriq La Salle
Eriq La Salle | |
|---|---|
 La Salle at the 1995 Emmy Awards | |
| Born | Eriq Ki La Salle |
| Occupation | Actor/Director |
| Years active | 1985–present |
Eriq Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962) is an American actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film Coming to America and Dr. Peter Benton on the NBC drama series ER.
Biography
Early life
La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut by his mother, Ada Haynes.[1] La Salle studied at Juilliard for two years, then moved on to New York University's theater program in 1984, but did not complete either degree. After leaving school, he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live as reporter Mike Rivers.
In 1988 Eric starred in Eddie Murphy's breakthrough movie 'Coming to America'. He played Lisa's 'slick' and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl with an even slicker 'soulglow' haircut.
Career
In 1994 the medical drama ER premiered on NBC with La Salle starring as Dr. Peter Benton. He held the role until leaving during the eighth season. In 2009, La Salle returned to ER for two episodes (including the series finale) during its 15th and final season. He also returned to direct one episode.[2]
In 1996, La Salle directed and acted in the HBO made-for-TV movie Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault, starring Don Cheadle. After ER, La Salle has had relatively small roles in movies such as One Hour Photo and has also directed for Soul Food: The Series on Showtime. La Salle played a Jamaican gangster in the independent film Johnny Was [3] opposite Vinnie Jones, Samantha Mumba, Lennox Lewis, and Roger Daltrey. La Salle lived in Belfast for four weeks filming the movie, which he supported recently at the North American premiere of the film, at the American Black Film Festival in Miami.
La Salle directed & starred in the movie Crazy As Hell. He has recently directed an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
After a fairly extensive absence from acting, La Salle starred in the Hallmark Channel original movie, Relative Stranger, which premiered on March 14, 2009. Also in the movie were La Salle's former ER castmates Michael Michele (Dr. Cleo Finch) and Michael Beach (Al Boulet). In 2010 he played the United Nations Secretary General in the series finale of 24.
References
- ^ Eriq La Salle Biography - Yahoo! Movies
- ^ Eriq La Salle Back in the ER — to Direct" TV Guide. November 5, 2008. Retrieved on November 5, 2008.
- ^ MySpace.com - Johnny Was - 37 - Garçon - LOS ANGELES, California - www.myspace.com/johnnywasmovie
External links
 | This article about a United States film and television actor born in the 1960s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1962 births
- Actors from Connecticut
- African American actors
- African American television actors
- American film actors
- American film directors
- American members of the Churches of Christ
- American screen actor, 1960s birth stubs
- American television actors
- American television directors
- Juilliard School alumni
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Hartford, Connecticut