Harry Lennix facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harry Lennix
Lennix at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con
Born	Harold Joseph Lennix III (1964-11-16) November 16, 1964 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Northwestern University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1983–present
Spouse(s)	Djena Graves ​ (m. 2009)​

Harold Joseph Lennix III (born November 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for playing important roles in movies and TV shows. For example, he was Terrence "Dresser" Williams in the movie The Five Heartbeats (1991). He also played Boyd Langton in the science-fiction TV series Dollhouse.

Lennix is also famous for his role as Harold Cooper. This character is an assistant director in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division. He played this role on the NBC drama The Blacklist. Lennix also appeared as J'onn J'onzz/Calvin Swanwick/Martian Manhunter in the DC Extended Universe superhero films. These movies include Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Early Life and Education

Harry Lennix was born in Chicago, Illinois. He is the youngest of four children. His mother, Lillian C., worked as a laundress. His father, Harry Lennix Jr., was a machinist. His mother was African-American, and his father was a Creole from Louisiana.

Lennix went to Quigley Preparatory Seminary South for high school. Later, he studied at Northwestern University. There, he focused on Acting and Direction. In his last year at Northwestern, he helped lead a group for African-American students called For Members Only.

Acting Career

Lennix has had many interesting roles throughout his career. In 2002, he starred in the TV movie Keep the Faith, Baby. He played the famous reverend and Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr.. He also appeared in the 1999 film Titus. This movie was based on Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.

From 2013 to 2023, Lennix was a main actor in the NBC drama The Blacklist. He played Harold Cooper, who is an assistant director for the FBI.

Movies and TV Shows

Lennix has been in many movies. Some of his supporting roles include The Five Heartbeats (1991), The Matrix series (1999–2004), and Ray (2004). He also appeared in Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) and Stomp the Yard (2007).

On television, he had a recurring role in Diagnosis: Murder. He also appeared in House M.D. and ER. He played Boyd Langton in Joss Whedon's series Dollhouse. He even played U.S. president Barack Obama in the comedy show Little Britain USA.

Recent Work

In 2014, Lennix started his own production company. It is called Exponent Media Group (EMG). He worked with his business partner Steve Harris. They made movies like Mr. Sophistication and H4. H4 was a modern version of William Shakespeare's Henry IV. Lennix also starred in H4.

In 2015, Lennix was in Chi-Raq, a movie directed by Spike Lee. Lennix said the film was "brave and bold" because it talked about violence in Chicago. In 2016, he appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He played Calvin Swanwick. He played the same character in Zack Snyder's Justice League in 2021.

Lennix will also be on stage. In the 2024-2025 season at the Chicago Goodman Theater, he will play Henry Drummond. This role is in the play Inherit the Wind.

Personal Life

In 2009, Harry Lennix married Djena Graves. She is a business executive.

Lennix is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He joined this group in 2012. He is also Catholic.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	The Package	Johnny's Field Soldier
1989	A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story	Nero	TV Movie
1990	Perry Mason: The Case of the Defiant Daughter	Prosecutor Keith Warner
1991	The Five Heartbeats	Dresser
1991	Victimless Crimes	Baker
1992	In the Best Interest of the Children	Tim Coffey	TV Movie
1992	Bob Roberts	Franklin Dockett
1992	Mo' Money	Tom Dilton	Credited as Harry J. Lennix
1994	Guarding Tess	Kenny Young	Credited as Harry J. Lennix
1994	Vanishing Son 2	Andre Laine	TV Movie
1994	Notes in a Minor Key	Teddy	Short
1994	Vanishing Son 4	André Laine	TV Movie
1995	Comfortably Numb	Hamlin Day
1995	Clockers	Bill Walker
1996	Get on the Bus	Randall
1997	Chicago Cab	... Boyfriend	Credited as Harry J. Lennix
1997	Too Close to Home	Prosecuting Attorney	TV Movie
1997	Friends 'Til the End	Prof. Gunderson	TV Movie
1998	Since You've Been Gone	Jordan Cardozo	TV Movie
1999	The Unspoken	Reverend Bob
1999	Titus	Aaron
2000	Love & Basketball	Nathan Wright
2000	The Artist's Journey: Funk Blast	The Guide
2000	All or Nothing	Jackson	Short
2000	American Temp	Fred Caesar	Short
2001	Home Invaders	Himself
2002	Pumpkin	Robert Meary
2002	Collateral Damage	FBI Agent Dray
2002	Keep the Faith, Baby	Adam Clayton Powell Jr.	TV Movie
2002	Don't Explain	Lee
2002	Never Get Outta the Boat	Brandon	Credited as Harry J. Lennix
2003	Black Listed	Karl Bennett	Short
2003	The Matrix Reloaded	Commander Lock
2003	The Human Stain	Mr. Silk
2003	The Matrix Revolutions	Lock
2004	Chrystal	Kalid
2004	Barbershop 2: Back in Business	Quentin Leroux
2004	Suspect Zero	Rich Charleton
2004	Ray	Joe Adams
2005	Trespass	Daddy	Short
2006	Shariff Don't Like It	Tom
2007	Stomp the Yard	Nate
2007	Resurrecting the Champ	Bob Satterfield Jr.
2007	Across the Universe	Army Sergaent
2008	Fly Like Mercury	Coach
2009	State of Play	Detective Bell
2009	The Interview	Draco	Short
2011	Hound Dogs	Skip	TV Movie
2012	The Last Fall	Ron Davis
2012	H4	King Henry IV
2012	A Beautiful Soul	Jeff Freeze
2013	Evidence	Ben Tuttle
2013	Man of Steel	General Swanwick
2013	They Die by Dawn	Sheriff Bass Reeves
2013	Sunny and RayRay	Lenotti
2013	Keep Pushing	Staff Sergeant Hoover	Short
2014	Cruel Will	Dr. Frances
2014	Cru	Diego Glass
2014	The Algerian	Suleyman
2014	The Fright Night Files	Ronald	TV Movie
2014	Stand Down Soldier	Officer Freeman
2015	Justice League: Throne of Atlantis	Black Manta	Voice role
2015	72 Hours	God
2015	Back to School Mom	Lawrence Riley
2015	Chi-Raq	Commissioner Blades
2016	Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice	Swanwick
2016	Macbeth Unhinged	Banquo
2016	Timeless	Johnson
2016	For the Love of Christmas	God
2016	Retribution	Captain Tucker
2016	Alternate Universe: A Rescue Mission	Principal Sheehan
2017	Needlestick	Ray LeGro
2017	Romeo and Juliet in Harlem	Capulet
2018	That's Harrasment	Politician	Short
2018	Rehabilition of the Hill	Davidson Livingston
2018	Canal Street	DJ Terrance Palmer
2018	Revival	Pilate
2020	Grey Streets	Cardinal Ford	Short
2020	Emperor	Frederick Douglas
2020	Lazaretto	Sufyan	Short
2021	Zack Snyder's Justice League	J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter	Director's cut of Justice League
2021	The Almighty Street Team	Calvin James / Black Aizan
2021	A Christmas Together with You	Frank Emory	TV Movie
2022	Super Turnt	Mr. Denver
2022	Winter Ball	Eddie
2022	Curse of the Macbeths	Banquo
2022	Nothing is Impossible	Russell Banks
2024	Cutting Squares	Johnson / Self
2024	Isla Monstro	General Dregg
2024	Godless	Bishop Rolland
TBA	L.A. 4ORCE	Chi-town Harry	In production
TBA	Eyes in the Trees	Dr. Murphy	In production
TBA	William Shakespeare's Macbeth	Macbeth	In production
TBA	The Price for Freedom	Thurgood Marshall	In production
TBA	Love Extreme	David	In development

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Video Games

Radio

Awards and Nominations

Harry Lennix has won and been nominated for several awards for his acting.

See also

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• In Spanish: Harry Lennix para niños