Mykelti Williamson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mykelti Williamson
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Williamson in 2016
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| Born |
Michael T. Williamson
March 4, 1957 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
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| Other names | Mykel T. Williamson |
| Alma mater | Los Angeles City College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Cheryl Chisholm
(m. 1989; div. 1991)Sondra Spriggs
(m. 1997) |
| Children | 3 |
Mykelti Williamson (/ˈmaɪkəlti/; born Michael T. Williamson; March 4, 1957) is an American actor. He is famous for his roles in popular movies like Forrest Gump, Con Air, and Ali. He has also appeared in many TV shows, including Boomtown, 24, and Justified. In 2016, he played Gabriel Maxson in the movie Fences, which was directed by Denzel Washington. He had played this same role before in a Broadway play in 2010.
Some of his other well-known movies include Free Willy, Heat, Lucky Number Slevin, Three Kings, and Black Dynamite.
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Early life and acting start
Mykelti Williamson was born in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother was an accountant, and his father was in the Air Force.
Mykelti started performing when he was just nine years old. Besides acting, he also loved to dance. He was even an alternate dancer for a group called The Lockers on the TV show Soul Train. When he was nine, his family moved to Los Angeles. He studied television and film at Los Angeles City College. He also took acting classes and learned about making movies.
Mykelti Williamson's acting career
Mykelti Williamson began acting professionally as a child. His first TV appearances were in shows like Starsky & Hutch and Hill Street Blues. One of his best-known TV roles was as Donovan Aderhold in The New WKRP in Cincinnati. He also starred in a PBS TV series called The Righteous Apples, where he played the lead singer of a high school band that helped people.
Movie roles
Mykelti's first movie was Streets of Fire in 1984. He then appeared in movies such as Wildcats (1986) with Goldie Hawn and Free Willy (1993).
His most famous role is probably Private Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. In this movie, Bubba was Forrest Gump's best friend in the army, and he loved shrimp! Mykelti also received good reviews for playing the baseball player Josh Gibson in the 1996 HBO movie Soul of the Game.
He continued to appear in many other films, including Heat (1995), Con Air (1997), and Three Kings (1999). Later, he was in movies like Ali (2001), ATL (2006), and Fences (2016).
Television appearances
Mykelti has made many guest appearances on TV shows. In 1997, he was in the TV movie remake of 12 Angry Men. He also played Lieutenant Philip Gerard in a TV series remake of The Fugitive from 2000 to 2001.
In 2002, he co-starred as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the crime drama Boomtown. From 2007 to 2009, he appeared in CSI: NY as Chief Sinclair, working again with his Forrest Gump co-star Gary Sinise. He was also a main character in season 8 of 24, playing Brian Hastings, a special agent.
He had a recurring role as Ellstin Limehouse in the TV show Justified. Since 2016, he has played Admiral Chernow in Designated Survivor, and in 2017, he started appearing on Chicago P.D..
Personal life
Mykelti Williamson was married to actress Olivia Brown from 1983 to 1985. He later married Cheryl Chisholm in 1989, and they had a child named Phoenix.
Since April 26, 1997, he has been married to Sondra Spriggs. They have two daughters named Nicole and Maya.
See also
In Spanish: Mykelti Williamson para niños
