Stephen McKinley Henderson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stephen McKinley Henderson
Henderson presenting at Amherst Central High School on March 29, 2018
Born	(1949-08-31) August 31, 1949 (age 75) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Education	Lincoln University, Missouri Juilliard School North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) Purdue University, West Lafayette (MA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Pamela Reed ​ (m. 1978)​
Children	1

Stephen McKinley Henderson is an American actor known for his powerful performances. He trained at the famous Juilliard School for acting. He also spent many years as a main actor at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Henderson became well-known for playing different characters, especially in plays by the famous writer August Wilson. He has been nominated for many important awards, including two Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. In 2021, a website called Vulture named him one of the best character actors working today.

He first appeared on Broadway in August Wilson's play King Hedley II in 2001. He later received Tony Award nominations for his roles in Wilson's Fences (2010) and Stephen Adly Guirgis's Between Riverside and Crazy (2023). He also acted in the Broadway show A Raisin in the Sun in 2014.

Henderson started his film career in 1979. He has appeared in many notable movies like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), Lincoln (2012), Fences (2016), Manchester by the Sea (2016), Lady Bird (2017), and Dune (2021). His television debut was in 1984. He has been in popular TV shows such as Law & Order and Devs.

Early Life and Education

Stephen McKinley Henderson was born in Kansas City, Missouri. His parents were Ruby Naomi and Elihue Henderson. He went to Lincoln University for a year. He also studied at the Juilliard School Drama Division.

He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Acting in 1972. This was from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Later, he continued his studies at Purdue University. There, he received his Master of Arts (MA) degree in Theatre in 1977. He also took summer classes in London and New York City.

Acting Career

Stage Acting

Henderson is most famous for his work on stage. In 2015, he won an Obie Award for Best Actor. This was for his main role as Walter "Pops" Washington in the play Between Riverside and Crazy.

He played Jim Bono in the Broadway show Fences. In this play, he acted alongside Denzel Washington. For this role, Henderson was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played the same character in the 2016 movie version of Fences.

Henderson has performed in many of August Wilson's plays. These include Drowning Crow, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and King Hedley II. His most well-known role in an August Wilson play is Turnbo in Jitney. He won a Drama Desk Award as part of the cast for this role. He first played Turnbo in 1996. The play later moved Off-Broadway in 2000. In 2002, he and other actors took Jitney to London. There, it won the Olivier Award for best new play.

In 2005, Henderson played Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. This play was directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. He also played Van Helsing in the Broadway musical Dracula, the Musical. In 2023, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Lucille Lortel Awards. This award honored his long and successful career in theater.

Film and Television Acting

Henderson has appeared in many films. These include Marie (1985) and A Raisin in the Sun (1989). He was also in Everyday People (2004) and Tower Heist (2011). In Steven Spielberg's film Lincoln (2012), he played William Slade, a White House servant.

In 2016, Henderson acted in Manchester by the Sea. He played the boss of the main character, played by Casey Affleck. The next year, he was Father Leviatch in Greta Gerwig's film Lady Bird. In 2021, he appeared in the science fiction movie Dune.

On television, Henderson was a regular actor on the FOX series New Amsterdam in 2008. He has also had roles in many popular TV shows. These include Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Newsroom, Blue Bloods, and Devs.

Personal Life

Stephen McKinley Henderson is married to Pamela Reed. They have one child together.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role(s)	Notes
1979	A Pleasure Doing Business	Bank teller
1985	Marie	Cooper's husband
2004	Everyday People	Arthur
	Keane	Garage employee
2006	Waltzing Anna	Pete
2008	If You Could Say It in Words	Baseball fan
2009	The Good Heart	Psychiatrist
2011	Tower Heist	Lester
	Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close	Walt the locksmith
2012	Red Hook Summer	Deacon Yancy
	Lincoln	William Slade
2014	Da Sweet Blood of Jesus	Deacon Yancy
	The Romans	Birdman
2016	Manchester by the Sea	Mr. Emery
	The American Side	Stickney
	All at Once	Robert
	Fences	Jim Bono
2017	Lady Bird	Father Leviatch
2019	Native Son	Mr. Green
	The True Adventures of Wolfboy	Nicholas
2020	Bruised	Pops
2021	Dune	Thufir Hawat
2022	Causeway	Dr. Lucas
2023	Beau Is Afraid	Therapist
2024	Dune: Part Two	Thufir Hawat	Deleted scenes
	Civil War	Sammy
2025	The Dutchman	Dr. Amiri
	Good Fortune	TBA	Post-production
TBA	A King's Curtain	Mell

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Stephen McKinley Henderson para niños