Wood Harris facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wood Harris
Harris (center) in 2011
Born	Sherwin David Harris (1969-10-17) October 17, 1969 (age 55) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Northern Illinois University (BA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Rebekah Harris ​ (m. 2001)​
Children	2
Relatives	Steve Harris (brother)

Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He is well-known for his roles in popular movies and TV shows. Some of his most famous parts include Julius Campbell in the film Remember the Titans (2000) and the character Avon Barksdale in the TV series The Wire (2002–2008). He also played Ace in the movie Paid in Full (2002).

Harris has appeared in many other films, such as the superhero movie Ant-Man (2015) and the science fiction films Dredd (2012) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). He is also known for his role as Tony "Little Duke" Evers in the sports drama Creed (2015) and its sequels, Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023).

On television, besides The Wire, Harris played Brooke Payne in the BET miniseries The New Edition Story (2017). He also starred as Barry Fouray in the VH1 miniseries The Breaks (2016–2017) and Damon Cross in the Fox series Empire. Currently, he plays the character "Pat" in the Starz series BMF.

Early Life and Education

Wood Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Mattie, was a seamstress, and his father, John Henry Harris, was a bus driver. Friends in his neighborhood gave him the nickname "Wood" because his first name, Sherwin, was sometimes hard for people to say.

Harris studied at Northern Illinois University (NIU), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts. He later continued his education at New York University, earning a Master of Fine Arts degree. He is the younger brother of actor Steve Harris.

Acting Career Highlights

While he was still at NIU, Wood Harris got his first big movie role in the basketball drama Above the Rim (1994). In this film, he acted alongside Duane Martin and Tupac Shakur. He also performed in many plays in New York City.

Later, Harris appeared in various TV shows and films. In 2000, he played the famous rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix in the Showtime TV movie Hendrix.

That same year, Harris was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his role as Julius "Big Ju" Campbell in Remember the Titans. This movie was about a high school football team. In 2002, he starred as Ace in the film Paid in Full, a story based on real events.

Harris became widely recognized for his role as Avon Barksdale in the HBO series The Wire. This show explored different parts of a city, including its challenges.

In 2009, Harris starred in the film Just Another Day. He played a successful fictional rapper named A-maze. The movie showed a rivalry between a new rapper and an experienced one.

In 2012, Harris narrated the ESPN 30 for 30 film Benji, a documentary about a basketball player. That same year, he also performed on Broadway in the play A Streetcar Named Desire.

In 2015, he joined his The Wire co-star Michael B. Jordan in the movie Creed. Harris played Tony "Little Duke" Evers in this film, which is part of the Rocky movie series. He continued this role in the sequels, Creed II and Creed III.

Film Appearances

Television Roles

Documentary Appearances

See also

In Spanish: Wood Harris para niños