William Jackson Harper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids William Jackson Harper
Harper in 2018
Born	William Fitzgerald Harper (1980-02-08) February 8, 1980 (age 45) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	College of Santa Fe
Occupation	Actor, playwright
Years active	2007–present

William Jackson Harper (born February 8, 1980) is an American actor and writer. He is best known for playing Chidi Anagonye in the TV comedy series The Good Place (2016–2020). For this role, he was nominated for a top award called the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Harper started his acting career on the PBS Kids Go! show The Electric Company (2009–2011). He has also written plays, like We Live Here (2010) and Travisville (2018). He first appeared on Broadway in 2013, playing civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael in the play All the Way.

You might have also seen him in the Amazon series The Underground Railroad (2020). He also starred in the second season of the HBO Max comedy Love Life (2021). In movies, he has had roles in Midsommar (2019) and Dark Waters (2019). He even played Quaz in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

About William Jackson Harper

William Fitzgerald Harper was born on February 8, 1980, in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Garland, Texas, and went to Lakeview Centennial High School. He later graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 2003.

When he joined the Actors' Equity Association, he needed a unique stage name. Many versions of "William Harper" were already taken. He decided to use his mother's maiden name, "Jackson," as his middle name. This is how he became "William Jackson Harper."

His Acting Journey

Harper began his acting career in New York theatre in 2006. In 2008, he performed in the play Ruined, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he played Danny Rebus in the PBS series The Electric Company.

In 2014, Harper made his first appearance on Broadway. He played Stokely Carmichael in the play All the Way. This play was about the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The show won a Tony Award for Best Play.

The cast of The Good Place in 2019. From left to right: Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, D'Arcy Carden, Harper, Manny Jacinto, and Jameela Jamil.

In 2016, Harper got a big role in the NBC comedy The Good Place. He played Chidi Anagonye, a kind but very indecisive ethics professor. Before getting this role, he thought about quitting acting. His performance earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2020.

Between filming seasons of The Good Place, he also acted in other projects. In 2017, he starred with Cristin Milioti in the play After the Blast. He also had a supporting role in the TV series The Breaks.

In 2018, Harper's own play, Travisville, was performed for the first time. He shared that the play was inspired by a Black community in Dallas that was forced to move. In 2019, he appeared in two popular movies: the horror film Midsommar and the legal thriller Dark Waters.

In 2020, he narrated the Marvel audio series Black Panther: Sins of the King. In 2021, he starred in the Amazon Prime Video miniseries The Underground Railroad. This show was based on a famous book about the Underground Railroad. For his role, he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award.

In 2022, Harper joined the cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. It was released in 2023. In 2023, he also starred in the play Primary Trust and won an Obie Award for his performance. He is set to return to Broadway in 2024 in the play Uncle Vanya, for which he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.

Personal Life

William Jackson Harper is in a relationship with actress Ali Ahn. They acted together in a play called Romeo + Juliet in New York in 2012.

Film and TV Roles

Films

Television Shows

Theatre Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: William Jackson Harper para niños