Phil Morris (actor) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phil Morris
Morris at the 2009 New York Comic Con
Born	(1959-04-04) April 4, 1959 (age 65)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966–present
Spouse(s)	Carla Gittelson ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Greg Morris (father)
Relatives	Iona Morris (sister), Francis Williams (grandfather)

Phil Morris (born April 4, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He played Jackie Chiles on Seinfeld, John Jones on The CW series Smallville and voiced Doc Saturday on The Secret Saturdays. He is also the voice of Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet in the franchise of Atlantis: The Lost Empire and recently played Silas Stone in Doom Patrol.

Early life

Morris is the son of actor Greg Morris (1933–1996). His paternal grandfather was jazz trumpeter Francis Williams. Phil Morris has two siblings, one of whom is actress Iona Morris.

His father was best known for appearing in the TV series Mission: Impossible, during the show's full run from 1966 to 1973. His father was friends with other successful African American actors, including Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby, and Phil grew up viewing them as role models. His father was also good friends with Mission: Impossible lead Peter Graves, whom Morris came to consider his acting mentor. Through his childhood, Morris knew Graves' real-life children. The friendship continued, until Peter Graves' death on March 14, 2010, which devastated Morris.

Career

Morris's first acting role was as a child when he appeared in the 1966 Star Trek episode "Miri". Star Trek was, at the time, shot at the same studio (Desilu Productions) that produced Mission: Impossible, where his father was working. He made his feature film debut in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in a small role and later guest starred on Babylon 5, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.

In the mid-1980s, Morris portrayed law student (later attorney) Tyrone Jackson in The Young and the Restless. During a major storyline, his character used heavy theatrical make-up to appear Caucasian, in order to go undercover to expose an organized crime organization. In the 1990s, after starring in Andriana furs commercials Morris played a recurring character, the Johnnie Cochran-inspired defense attorney Jackie Chiles, on the comedy Seinfeld. The episode "The Abstinence" depicts Chiles suing a tobacco company, which Morris said he took great pleasure in, having been made fun of his whole life due to having the same name as the tobacco brand Philip Morris. Morris also co-starred in the TV remake of Mission: Impossible as tech wizard Grant Collier (son of Barney Collier, who was played in the original series by Morris's real-life father Greg Morris). He also said in an interview that he grew up watching the original Mission: Impossible, with series' lead Peter Graves, whom Morris came to consider his acting mentor. Through his childhood, Morris knew Graves' real-life children. The friendship continued, until Peter Graves' death on March 14, 2010, which devastated Morris. He voiced the supporting role of Dr. Sweet in Disney's 2001 film Atlantis: The Lost Empire as well as its 2003 sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return. He played one of Will Smith's college professors on the NBC show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and played Dr. Clay Spencer on the then-UPN television show Girlfriends.

In the January 25, 2007 episode of the CW television series Smallville, Morris portrayed the DC Comics superhero Martian Manhunter, which is a recurring but small character in the series. He reprised that role on the show's sixth-season finale on May 17, 2007, as well as the episodes "Bizarro" and "Cure" in the seventh season and the episodes "Odyssey", "Prey" and "Bulletproof" in the eighth season. He reprised this role in the ninth-season episodes "Absolute Justice", "Checkmate" and "Salvation".

As a voice actor, he portrayed the villains Imperiex in Legion of Super Heroes, and Vandal Savage in Justice League and Justice League: Doom. He voiced W'Kabi in the animated series Black Panther. He appeared on one episode each of the series CSI: Miami and Seven Days. Though largely unnoticed, Morris also was the voice of Paul the Apostle in Zondervan's The Bible Experience. Morris also made a cameo appearance as Miles Dyson in photographs in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He provided the voice of the character Doc Saturday in the animated show The Secret Saturdays. He also played a major supporting role in the PlayStation 2 game Ratchet: Deadlocked, as Merc, one of the combat bots that accompany the main character Ratchet. He also worked as a voice actor on The PJs; according to Morris, he acted as a temporary replacement for co-creator and star Eddie Murphy whenever he was unavailable or did not want to record the voice of Thurgood Stubbs. He did several voices in the animated film Dead Space: Downfall as Hansen and Glenn. ..... He also voices Plank in the Sofia the First episode "The Floating Palace", Green Arrow and Hawkman in the film Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League and Vandal Savage in the film Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash.

Personal life

Morris has been married to interior designer Carla Gittelson since 1983. Together they have two children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

See also

In Spanish: Phil Morris para niños In Spanish: Phil Morris para niños