Marlon Wayans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marlon Wayans
Wayans in 2018
Born	Marlon Lamont Wayans (1972-07-23) July 23, 1972 (age 52) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor comedian writer producer
Years active	1988–present
Partner(s)	Angela Zackery (1992–2013)
Children	3
Family	Wayans family

Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) and the comedy films Don't Be a Menace (1996), Scary Movie (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), White Chicks (2004), Little Man (2006), and Dance Flick (2009).

Wayans other film credits include Above the Rim (1994), The 6th Man (1997), Norbit (2007), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), The Heat (2013), A Haunted House (2013) and its sequel A Haunted House 2 (2014), Fifty Shades of Black (2016), Sextuplets (2019), and On the Rocks (2020). He also had several dramatic roles, including the psychological drama film Requiem for a Dream (2000).

Wayans partnered with Randy Adams to create What the Funny, an online destination for urban comedy. He created the comedy competition television show Funniest Wins, which aired on TBS in 2014. In 2014, Wayans and his brothers traveled the U.S. with "The Wayans Brothers Tour". In 2017, he co-wrote and starred in the NBC sitcom Marlon, which ran for two seasons.

Early life

Wayans was born in New York City, the son of Elvira Alethia (Green), a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Stouten Wayans, a supermarket manager. His family were Jehovah's Witnesses. Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Nadia, Shawn, Keenen Ivory, Damon, Dwayne, and Kim. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. After graduating from high school, he attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., before dropping out after two years.

Career

Between 1992 and 1993, Wayans appeared with his siblings on the sketch comedy show In Living Color. From 1995 until 1999, he co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. with his brother Shawn Wayans. He was originally considered for the role of Robin in the 1992 film Batman Returns, but it was felt that the film featured too many characters, so his character was omitted. Wayans was then formally signed to the role in the 1995 sequel Batman Forever to play opposite Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, but the mid-production change in directors from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher resulted in both parts being recast and Wayans being paid out (Williams was not yet signed on, but received a penalty fee as his contract for Batman allowed him the option of reprise), and he still receives royalty payments. He was replaced by Chris O'Donnell. In August 2021, a comic book adaptation of the original concept, Batman '89, began publication, by DC Entertainment, using Wayans's likeness for Robin with his permission, their civilian identity renamed Drake Winston.

Wayans produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. Those films were released in 2000 and 2001. In 2000, Wayans appeared as Tyrone C. Love in Requiem for a Dream and as Snails in Dungeons & Dragons. That same year, he and Shawn hosted the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Wayans also produced the Nickelodeon cartoon series Thugaboo. In 2017, NBC gave him his own sitcom, Marlon; it was canceled after two seasons.

In September 2017, Variety announced that Wayans would partner with LA-based entertainment company Shots Studios to launch a YouTube channel. He has appeared in videos alongside creators such as Anwar Jibawi and Hannah Stocking. In 2020, Wayans signed a deal with HBO Max.

Personal life

Wayans was in a long-term relationship with Angela Zackery from 1992 to 2013, and although he once called her his "ex-wife", he said in 2021 that he had never married. They have two children. Wayans also shares a child with his former girlfriend, Brittany Moreland. Wayans was a close friend of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Filmography

Key

Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	I'm Gonna Git You Sucka	Pedestrian
1992	Mo' Money	Seymour Stewart
1994	Above the Rim	Bugaloo
1996	Don't Be a Menace to South Central	Loc Dog	Also co-writer
1997	The 6th Man	Kenny Tyler
1998	Senseless	Darryl Witherspoon
2000	Requiem for a Dream	Tyrone C. Love
	Scary Movie	Shorty Meeks	Also co-writer
	The Tangerine Bear	Louie Blue (voice)
	Dungeons & Dragons	Snails
2001	Scary Movie 2	Shorty Meeks	Also co-writer
2004	The Ladykillers	Gawain MacSam
	White Chicks	Marcus Copeland	Also co-writer and producer
2006	Behind the Smile	Danny Styles
	Little Man	Calvin "Baby-face" Sims	Also co-writer and producer
2007	Norbit	Buster "Bust-A-Move" Perkin
2009	Dance Flick	Mr Moody	Also co-writer and producer
	G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra	Rip Cord
2010	Marmaduke	Lightning (voice)
2013	A Haunted House	Malcolm Johnson	Also co-writer and producer
	The Heat	Special Agent Levy
2014	A Haunted House 2	Malcolm Johnson	Also co-writer and producer
2016	Fifty Shades of Black	Christian Black	Also co-writer and producer
2019	Sextuplets	Various Roles	Also co-writer and producer
2020	On the Rocks	Dean
2021	Respect	Ted White
	Back Home Again	Mr. Tortoise	Short
2022	The Curse of Bridge Hollow	Howard Gordon	Also producer
2023	Air	George Raveling
2025	Him	TBA
	Scary Movie 6	Shorty Meeks	Also co-writer and producer

Television

Comedy specials

Documentary

Music videos

See also

In Spanish: Marlon Wayans para niños