Dennis Haysbert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dennis Haysbert
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Haysbert in 2015
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| Born |
Dennis Dexter Haysbert
June 2, 1954 San Mateo, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Elena Simms
(m. 1980; div. 1984)Lynn Griffith
(m. 1989; div. 2001) |
| Children | 2 |
Dennis Haysbert (born June 2, 1954) is an American actor. He is well-known for playing many different characters in movies and TV shows. Some of his most famous roles include the baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League movies, President David Palmer in the TV series 24, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane in the military drama The Unit. He has also voiced characters in cartoons and video games, and you might recognize his voice from Allstate insurance commercials.
Contents
About Dennis Haysbert
Early Life and Education
Dennis Haysbert was born in San Mateo, California, on June 2, 1954. He was the eighth of nine children in his family. His parents were from Louisiana.
Dennis was very tall, standing at 6 feet 5 inches. After graduating from San Mateo High School in 1972, he could have gone to college on a sports scholarship. However, he chose to follow his dream of acting. He decided to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.
Acting Career Highlights
Dennis Haysbert started acting in TV and movies in 1978. He has appeared in many popular shows and films over the years.
Television Roles
Dennis Haysbert has been a guest star on many TV shows, including The A-Team, Dallas, and Magnum, P.I..
In 2001, he became very famous for his role as U.S. Senator David Palmer in the exciting TV show 24. His character later became the first black President of the United States in the show's story. Dennis was nominated for awards like the Golden Globe for this role. He believed that playing President Palmer helped inspire people and might have even played a small part in Barack Obama becoming a real-life president.
Dennis also voiced the character Kilowog from DC Comics in the animated shows Justice League. From 2006 to 2009, he played the main character, Sergeant Major Jonas Blane, in the military drama The Unit. More recently, he played God in the Netflix show Lucifer. Since 2021, he has been the narrator for the TV series American Justice.
Film Roles
Dennis Haysbert's first big movie role was in 1989 as Pedro Cerrano, a baseball player, in Major League. He played this fun character again in Major League II and Major League: Back to the Minors.
He has been in many other movies, such as Navy SEALs, Heat, and Far from Heaven. For his role in Far from Heaven, he won several awards for Best Supporting Actor. In 2007, he played the important role of Nelson Mandela in the movie Goodbye Bafana. He also voiced General Hologram in the animated movie Wreck-It Ralph.
Commercials and Voice Work
Since 2003, Dennis Haysbert has been the official spokesperson for the Allstate Insurance Company. You've probably heard his deep voice asking, "Are you in good hands?" or saying, "That's Allstate's stand."
He has also done voice work for video games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Call of Duty: Finest Hour. He even voiced his character David Palmer in 24: The Game.
Theater Performances
In 2010, Dennis Haysbert performed on Broadway in a play called Race. He played the character Henry Brown.
Personal Life
Dennis Haysbert has been married twice and has two children. He is also interested in producing films and has supported political campaigns.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Scoring | Lt. Harrigan | |
| 1985 | A Summer to Remember | Sheriff Pierce | |
| 1989 | Major League | Pedro Cerrano | |
| 1990 | Navy SEALs | Chief Special Warfare Operator Billy Graham | |
| 1992 | Mr. Baseball | Max "Hammer" Dubois | |
| Love Field | Paul Cater | ||
| 1993 | Suture | Clay Arlington | |
| Alex Haley's Queen | Davis | ||
| 1994 | Major League II | Pedro Cerrano | |
| 1995 | Heat | Donald Breedan | |
| Waiting to Exhale | Kenneth Dawkins | ||
| 1996 | Amanda | Seven/Sir Jordan | |
| 1997 | Absolute Power | Tim Collin | |
| 1998 | How to Make the Cruelest Month | Manhattan Parks | |
| Major League: Back to the Minors | Pedro Cerrano | ||
| Standoff | Ty 'Bama' Jones | ||
| 1999 | The Minus Man | Graves | |
| The Thirteenth Floor | Detective Larry McBain | ||
| Random Hearts | Detective George Beaufort | ||
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Ronald Williams | |
| Love & Basketball | Zeke McCall | ||
| 2002 | Ticker | FBI Agent | Segment from the BMW short film series The Hire |
| Far from Heaven | Raymond Deagan | Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor |
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| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Kale | Voice |
| 2005 | Jarhead | Major Lincoln | |
| 2007 | Goodbye Bafana | Nelson Mandela | |
| Breach | Dean Plesac | ||
| 2011 | The Details | Lincoln | |
| Kung Fu Panda 2 | Master Storming Ox | Voice | |
| Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters | Master Storming Ox | Voice | |
| 2012 | LUV | Mr. Fish | |
| Wreck-It Ralph | General Hologram | Voice | |
| 2013 | Welcome to the Jungle | Mr. Crawford | |
| The Black Moses | Sir. Lynden O. Pindling | ||
| 2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Judge | Voice |
| Think Like a Man Too | Uncle Eddie | ||
| Life of a King | Searcy | ||
| Sin City: A Dame to Kill For | Manute | ||
| Men, Women & Children | Secretluvur | ||
| Sniper: Legacy | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video | |
| Dear White People | The Dean | ||
| 2015 | Experimenter | Ossie Davis | |
| Dead Rising: Watchtower | General Lyons | Digital film | |
| Ted 2 | Fertility Doctor | ||
| 2016 | Jarhead 3: The Siege | Major Lincoln | Direct-to-video |
| Dead Rising: Endgame | General Lyons | Digital film | |
| Sniper: Ghost Shooter | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video | |
| 2017 | Fist Fight | Superintendent Johnson | |
| The Dark Tower | Steven Deschain | ||
| Kodachrome | Larry | ||
| 2019 | Breakthrough | Dr. Garrett | |
| Secret Obsession | Detective Frank Page | ||
| Playing with Fire | Commander Richards | ||
| 2022 | No Exit | Ed | Streaming film |
| Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers | Zipper | Streaming film; voice | |
| Sniper: Rogue Mission | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video | |
| 2023 | Flamin' Hot | Clarence C. Baker | Streaming film |
| Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video | |
| 2024 | Summer Camp | Tommy | |
| TBA | Silent Retreat | TBA | |
| Lost & Found in Cleveland | TBA | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Lou Grant | Victor | Episode: "Schools" |
| 1979 | The White Shadow | Basketball Player | Episode: "Wanna Bet?" |
| Laverne & Shirley | Navy Shore Patrolman | Episode: "What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?" | |
| 1980 | Quincy M.E. | Fred | Episode: "New Blood" |
| The Incredible Hulk | Guard | Episode: "Nine Hours" | |
| Galactica 1980 | Colonial Warrior | Episode: "Space Croppers" (Miscredited as "The Creature") | |
| 1980–81 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1981 | Quincy M.E. | Driver | Episode: "Headhunter" |
| Grambling's White Tiger | James "Shack" Harris | Television film | |
| 1981–82 | Code Red | Stuff Wade | 8 episodes |
| 1983 | The A-Team | Psych Ward Staff | Episode: "One More Time" |
| 1984 | Dallas | Dr. Forbes | Episode: "Killer at Large" |
| Riptide | Odell | Episode: "Father's Day" | |
| Gimme a Break! | Rev. Winfield | Episode: "Baby of the Family" | |
| 1984–85 | Off the Rack | Cletus Maxwell | 7 episodes |
| 1985 | Magnum P.I. | Lieutenant Jameson, USN | Episode: "Blood and Honor" |
| What's Happening Now!! | Policeman | Episode: "I'll Be Homeless for Christmas" | |
| Growing Pains | Police Officer | Episode: "Weekend Fantasy" | |
| 1986 | The Fall Guy | Jeremy Wolf | Episode: "Trial by Fire" |
| 227 | Sgt. Banks | Episode: "Redecorating Blues" | |
| Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Kimambo | Episode: "Billy's Lost Weekend" | |
| The Young and the Restless | Ron Clark | 8 episodes | |
| 1987 | Growing Pains | Officer Wright | Episode: "Gone But Not Forgotten" |
| Knots Landing | Police Officer | Episode: "The Unraveling" | |
| Easy Street | Chip | Episode: "The Country Club" | |
| Valerie | Dr. Ervin | Episode: "Oedipus Wrecks" | |
| Our House | Unknown | Episode: "Sounds from a Silent Clock: Part 2" | |
| The Facts of Life | Sgt. Evans | Episode: "Before the Fall" | |
| 1988 | Growing Pains | Frank | Episode: "State of the Union" |
| Out of This World | Rev. Williams | Episode: "a.k.a. Dad" | |
| Crime Story | Franklin Himes | 2 episodes | |
| 1988–89 | Just the Ten of Us | Coach Duane Johnson | 9 episodes |
| 1989 | Night Court | James Morgan | Episode: "Pen Pal" |
| The Robert Guillaume Show | Mr. Peterson | Episode: "Guaranteed Not to Shrink" | |
| 1991 | K-9000 | Nick Sanrio | Television film |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Davis | Television film |
| Return to Lonesome Dove | Jack Jackson | 3 episodes | |
| American Playhouse | Rev. Oliver Crawford | Episode: "Hallelujah" | |
| 1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Barkley James | Voice, episode: "Mean Seasons" |
| 1998–99 | Superman: The Animated Series | Agent #1/Doctor #1 | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Godzilla: The Series | General Ekwensi | Voice, episode: "Monster Wars Part 1" |
| 1999–2000 | Now and Again | Dr. Theodore Morris | 22 episodes Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama |
| 2001 | Soul Food | Rick Grant | 2 episodes |
| The Outer Limits | Joshua Finch | Episode: "Rule of Law" | |
| 2001–06 | 24 | David Palmer | 81 episodes Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Television Series Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2003, 2004) Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2003, 2005) |
| 2001–03 | Static Shock | Chief Barnsdale | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2001–04 | Justice League | Kilowog | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2006–09 | The Unit | Sergeant Major Jonas Blane | 69 episodes Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2007–2009) |
| 2013 | Newsreaders | Det. Fenster Landau | Episode: "CCSI: Boston" |
| Axe Cop | Frog | Voice, episode: "Super Axe" | |
| 2013–14 | Trophy Wife | Russ Bradley Morrison | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Boondocks | Sturdy Harris | Voice, episode: "Freedom Ride or Die" |
| How Murray Saved Christmas | Narrator | Television special | |
| 2015 | Blue Bloods | Deputy Chief Donald Kent | Episode: "New Rules" |
| Backstrom | Detective Almond | 13 episodes | |
| 2016 | The Grinder | Special Agent | Episode: "Delusions of Grinder" |
| Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Bob Annderson | 2 episodes | |
| Undercover | Rudy Jones | 5 episodes | |
| 2016–17 | Incorporated | Julian | Recurring |
| 2017 | Shots Fired | Mr. Terry | Episode: "Hour Two: Betrayal of Trust"; uncredited |
| 2018 | Reverie | Charlie Ventana | Recurring |
| 2019–21 | Puppy Dog Pals | Crash | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Surveillance | Barry Wilkinson | Television film |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Prince Humperdinck | Episode: "Chapter Eight: Ultimate Suffering" |
| 2020–2021 | Lucifer | God | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Masters of the Universe: Revelation | King Grayskull | Voice |
| 2021–present | American Justice | Narrator | 23 episodes |
| 2023 | Paul T. Goldman | Agent Portman | 2 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow | Irving Lambert | |
| Call of Duty: Finest Hour | Narrator | ||
| 2006 | 24: The Game | David Palmer |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Race | Henry Brown |
Images for kids
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Dennis Haysbert in 1998
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See also
In Spanish: Dennis Haysbert para niños
