Blair Underwood
Actor | Director | Producer | Writer
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Blair Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known as headstrong attorney Jonathan Rollins from the NBC legal drama L.A. Law, a role he portrayed for seven years. He has gained critical acclaim throughout his career, receiving numerous Golden Globe Award nominations, three NAACP Image Awards and 1 Grammy Award. In recent years, he has appeared on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dirty Sexy Money and In Treatment and currently stars in NBC's The Event. Underwood's feature film debut was the 1985 movie Krush Groove. His 1985 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, which eventually led to his performance on the TV series L.A. Law, where he appeared from 1987 to 1994. In 1996 Underwood was featured in the July issue of Playgirl. Underwood broke into film with roles in Just Cause (1995), Set It Off (1996) and Deep Impact (1998). He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in ... Show more...
Blair Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American television and film actor. He is perhaps best known as headstrong attorney Jonathan Rollins from the NBC legal drama L.A. Law, a role he portrayed for seven years. He has gained critical acclaim throughout his career, receiving numerous Golden Globe Award nominations, three NAACP Image Awards and 1 Grammy Award. In recent years, he has appeared on The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dirty Sexy Money and In Treatment and currently stars in NBC's The Event. Underwood's feature film debut was the 1985 movie Krush Groove. His 1985 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, which eventually led to his performance on the TV series L.A. Law, where he appeared from 1987 to 1994. In 1996 Underwood was featured in the July issue of Playgirl. Underwood broke into film with roles in Just Cause (1995), Set It Off (1996) and Deep Impact (1998). He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in Gattaca. In 2000, he played the lead role in the short-lived television series City of Angels. In 2003, he guest starred in four episodes on the HBO series Sex and the City playing Cynthia Nixon's love interest. In 2004, he played the role of Roger De Souza opposite Heather Locklear in NBC's LAX. He gained acclaim as the sexy grade school teacher in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus for two years. In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His also had a role as recurring character Alex in the HBO series In Treatment. Also in In 2007, Underwood co-authored the novel Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel with husband-and-wife team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due. Next, Underwood can seen as the President of the United States in the NBC drama series The Event. Underwood has received three NAACP Image Awards, for his film work in Rules of Engagement, and his television work in L.A. Law, City of Angels, Murder in Mississippi and Mama Flora's Family. He was voted one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000, and one of TV Guide's "Most Influential Faces of the 90s". In 1989, Underwood co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to democracy and equality in South Africa. Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS. Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund. He is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, a non-profit theatre group founded by Danny Glover, focusing on plays about the Black experience. On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children. Show less...
Filmography - Acting
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Penguins: Life on the Edge (2020)
As: Narrator (voice)
A witty and tenacious team of filmmakers brave the Antarctic to film Disneynature's "Penguins."
Runtime: 78 min.
Directed by: Alastair Fothergill | Jeff Wilson
Stars: Blair Underwood | Matthew Aeberhard | John Aitchison | Doug Anderson | Tom Beldam
Bad Hair (2020)
As: Amos Bludso
In 1989 an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.
Runtime: 115 min.
Directed by: Justin Simien
Stars: Kelly Rowland | Jay Pharoah | Vanessa Williams | Lena Waithe | Elle Lorraine
Juanita (2019)
As: Blair Underwood
Directed by: Clark Johnson
Stars: Gil Birmingham | Adam Beach | Alfre Woodard | Ashlie Atkinson | Blair Underwood
The After Party (2018)
As: Sgt. Ellison
When an aspiring rapper goes viral for the wrong reasons, he thinks his career is sunk. But a wild party gives him one more chance to make it right.
Runtime: 89 min.
Directed by: Ian Edelman
Stars: Teyana Taylor | Amin Joseph | Andy Buckley | Blair Underwood | Shelley Hennig
Mr. SOUL! (2018)
As: Voice of Ellis Haizlip
Before Oprah, before Arsenio, there was Mr. SOUL!" On the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, one fearless black pioneer reconceived a Harlem Renaissance for a new era, ushering giants and rising stars of black American culture onto the national television stage. He was hip. He was smart. He was innovative, political, and gay. In his personal fight for social equality, this man ensured the Revolution would ...
Runtime: 90 min.
Directed by: Melissa Haizlip | Samuel D. Pollard
Stars: Harry Belafonte | Sidney Poitier | Blair Underwood | Patti LaBelle | Ellis Haizlip
Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (2016)
As: Narrator
In 1936, 18 African American athletes dubbed the "black auxiliary" by Hitler defied Nazi Aryan Supremacy and Jim Crow Racism to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The world remembers Jesse Owens. But, Olympic Pride American Prejudice shows how all 18 are a seminal precursor to the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Runtime: 90 min.
Directed by: Deborah Riley Draper
Stars: Blair Underwood
The Trip to Bountiful (2014)
As: Ludie Watts
Carrie Watts begrudgingly lives with her busy, overprotective son, Ludie and pretentious daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. No longer able to drive and forbidden to travel alone, she wishes for freedom from the confines of the house.
Runtime: 102 min.
Directed by: Michael Wilson
Stars: Clancy Brown | Cicely Tyson | Keke Palmer | Blair Underwood | Vanessa Williams
Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day (2012)
As: David Ames
The Ames' seem to have built the perfect life until their six year old daughter is kidnapped; over the course of seven days they begin to uncover secrets about their past that could rip their marriage and lives apart.
Runtime: 101 min.
Directed by: Neema Barnette
Stars: Sharon Leal | Clyde Jones | Pam Grier | Blair Underwood | Nicole Beharie
The Art of Getting By (2011)
As: Principal
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
Runtime: 83 min.
Directed by: Gavin Wiesen
Stars: Emma Roberts | Elizabeth Reaser | Freddie Highmore | Michael Angarano | Alicia Silverstone
First Generation (2011)
As: Narrator
An award-winning feature-length documentary narrated by Golden Globe nominee Blair Underwood, FIRST GENERATION tells the story of four high school students - an inner city athlete, a small town waitress, a Samoan warrior dancer, and the daughter of migrant field workers - who set out to break the cycle of poverty and bring hope to their families and communities by pursuing a college education. Shot over ...
Runtime: 95 min.
Directed by: Adam Fenderson | Jaye Fenderson
Stars: Blair Underwood
Weather Girl (2009)
As: Fitz
After learning her boyfriend (Harmon) cheated on her with his co-host (Olson), a Seattle morning show weather girl (O’Kelley) freaks out on-air and is fired. Forced to move in with her little brother (Devlin) and deal with his best friend (Adams), she has to learn to cope with being 35, single, unemployed, and unfortunately famous for being the Sassy Weather Girl who lost it on live television.
Runtime: 92 min.
Directed by: Blayne Weaver
Stars: Ryan Devlin | Patrick J. Adams | Mark Harmon | Tricia O'Kelley | Kaitlin Olson
The Hit (2007)
As: Henry Alabaster
The Hit is the sequel to cult favorite Straight Out of Compton, in which Blair Underwood stars as Hen, an up-and-coming record executive whose goal is to bring all rival rap record labels together and form one black-owned label that gives back to the community. While building this label he crosses paths with the Mob. Suddenly he's not just fighting for his business - he's fighting for his life
Runtime: 97 min.
Directed by: Ryan Combs
Stars: James Russo | Blair Underwood | Orazio DeLuca
Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
As: Carlos
Based upon Tyler Perry's acclaimed stage production, Madea's Family Reunion continues the adventures of Southern matriarch Madea. She has just been court ordered to be in charge of Nikki, a rebellious runaway, her nieces, Lisa and Vanessa, are suffering relationship trouble, and through it all, she has to organize her family reunion.
Runtime: 107 min.
Directed by: Tyler Perry
Stars: Boris Kodjoe | Tyler Perry | Lynn Whitfield | Lisa Arrindell | Blair Underwood
Something New (2006)
As: Mark Harper
Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spirited landscaper.
Runtime: 99 min.
Directed by: Sanaa Hamri
Stars: Mike Epps | Simon Baker | Katharine Towne | Sanaa Lathan | Wendy Raquel Robinson
Do Geese See God? (2004)
As: Man
A modern man is obsessed with finding inner salvation.
Runtime: 10 min.
Directed by: David Slade
Stars: Blair Underwood
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003)
As: Tom Gibbsons
A senator arranges for his son, a rich white kid who fancies himself black, to be kidnapped by a couple of black actors pretending to be murderers to try and shock him out of his plans to become a rapper.
Runtime: 86 min.
Directed by: John Whitesell
Stars: Taye Diggs | Anthony Anderson | Jamie Kennedy | Regina Hall | Blair Underwood
G - Eine gefährliche Dreiecksbeziehung, die selbst Geld nicht retten kann! (2002)
As: Chip Hightower
A young Hip Hop star named Summer G falls for a middle to upper class sister while in college. After she rejects him for a fellow social climber, Summer G spends ten years building a Hip Hop empire, then moves to the Hamptons where he finds the object of his affections.
Runtime: 97 min.
Directed by: Christopher Scott Cherot
Stars: Andre Royo | Richard T. Jones | Laz Alonso | Blair Underwood | Chenoa Maxwell
Full Frontal (2002)
As: Nicholas
A contemporary comedy set in Los Angeles, Full Frontal traces the complicated relationship among seven friends as they deal with the fragile connections that bind them together. Full Frontal takes place during a twenty-four hour period - a day in the life of missed connections.
Runtime: 101 min.
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Stars: Nicky Katt | Catherine Keener | David Hyde Pierce | Mary McCormack | David Duchovny
Truth Be Told (2002)
As: Det. Harris
Rayne Johnson is a shrewd investment company assistant who turns a mob slaying into a golden opportunity for a new improved lifestyle, managing to outsmart the crooked cops who are very eager to see her disappear.
Runtime: 83 min.
Directed by: Jeffrey W. Byrd
Stars: Regina King | Monica Calhoun | Blair Underwood | Jenna von Oy | Kandi Burruss
Rules of Engagement (2000)
As: Capt. Lee
Part war movie, part courtroom thriller, this gripping drama finds a war hero put on trial for a rescue mission gone terribly wrong with only his doubtful friend and fellow marine to represent him.
Runtime: 128 min.
Directed by: William Friedkin
Stars: Bruce Greenwood | Ben Kingsley | Samuel L. Jackson | Tommy Lee Jones | Guy Pearce
The Wishing Tree (1999)
As: Thomas
When her storyteller mother (Mary Alice) dies, attorney Clara Collier (Alfre Woodard) returns to her Georgia hometown and is soon captivated by a local legend of the "Magic Man" (Blair Underwood). While looking for the source of the tale, Clara uncovers suprising family secrets. Czech filmmaker Ivan Passer directs this family drama that delves into the storytelling tradition of the Deep ...
Runtime: 87 min.
Stars: Mary Alice | Charles Weldon | Alfre Woodard | Helen Shaver | Blair Underwood
Asunder (1998)
As: Chance Williams
Chance Williams (Underwood), a man whose life is torn apart when his wife and unborn child are killed in a bizarre accident. Chance comes to believe Lauren (Morgan), wife to best friend Michael (Beach), is the only woman who can love and help him, and he's willing to do anything to make her his own.
Runtime: 101 min.
Directed by: Tim Reid
Stars: Marva Hicks | Debbi Morgan | Michael Beach | Blair Underwood
Deep Impact (1998)
As: Mark Simon
A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.
Runtime: 120 min.
Directed by: Mimi Leder
Stars: Morgan Freeman | Elijah Wood | Vanessa Redgrave | Robert Duvall | Téa Leoni
Gattaca (1997)
As: Geneticist
Science fiction drama about a future society in the era of indefinite eugenics where humans are set on a life course depending on their DNA. The young Vincent Freeman is born with a condition that would prevent him from space travel, yet he is determined to infiltrate the GATTACA space program.
Runtime: 106 min.
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Stars: Uma Thurman | Jude Law | Ethan Hawke | Alan Arkin | Loren Dean
Set It Off (1996)
As: Keith Weston
Four black women, all of whom have suffered for lack of money and at the hands of the majority, undertake to rob banks. While initially successful, a policeman who was involved in shooting one of the women's brothers is on their trail. As the women add to the loot, their tastes and interests begin to change and their suspicions of each other increase on the way to a climactic robbery.
Runtime: 123 min.
Directed by: F. Gary Gray
Stars: Jada Pinkett Smith | Vivica A. Fox | Queen Latifah | Blair Underwood | Kimberly Elise
Mistrial (1996)
As: Lieutenant C. Hodges
When a cop-killer goes free, a detective's search for personal justice veers dangerously out of control. Declaring a mistrial, he takes the accused, the judge and the jury hostage...and begins a trial of his own.
Runtime: 89 min.
Directed by: Heywood Gould
Stars: Bill Pullman | Roma Maffia | Robert Loggia | Leo Burmester | Blair Underwood
Soul of the Game (1996)
As: Jackie Robinson
Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson are the greatest players in the Colored leagues, and everyone expects that one of them will make the leap to the Major Leagues, now that there is talk of integration. But, unexpectedly, it's the rookie with the army record, Jackie Robinson, that gets tapped to be the first.
Runtime: 94 min.
Directed by: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Stars: Mykelti Williamson | Salli Richardson-Whitfield | Edward Herrmann | Delroy Lindo | Blair Underwood
Just Cause (1995)
As: Bobby Earl Ferguson
Bobby Earl is facing the electric chair for the murder of a young girl. Eight years after the crime he calls in Paul Armstrong, a professor of law, to help prove his innocence. Armstrong quickly uncovers some overlooked evidence to present to the local police, but they aren't interested - Bobby was their killer.
Runtime: 102 min.
Directed by: Arne Glimcher
Stars: Sean Connery | Laurence Fishburne | Kate Capshaw | Ruby Dee | Blair Underwood
Posse (1993)
As: Carver
A group of mostly black infantrymen return from the Spanish-American War with a cache of gold. They travel to the West where their leader searches for the men who lynched his father.
Runtime: 111 min.
Directed by: Mario Van Peebles
Stars: Stephen Baldwin | Billy Zane | Mario Van Peebles | Big Daddy Kane | Tom Lister Jr.
Father & Son: Dangerous Relations (1993)
As: Jared Williams
Lou Gosset Jr. is a boss-con. A new prisoner, Blair Underwood, is revealed as his long-lost son. When Underwood is released from jail, the parole board stipulates that Gosset live with him. Gosset gets a job as a car mechanic, and falls in with Rae Dawn Chong. Underwood falls in with his old criminal buddies, who decide to rob the dealership where Chong and Gosset work. Underwood gets ...
Runtime: 93 min.
Directed by: Georg Stanford Brown
Stars: Christopher M. Brown | Rae Dawn Chong | Blair Underwood | David Harris | Louis Gossett, Jr.
Heat Wave (1990)
As: Bob Richardson
A rookie black journalist investigates the tensions of the Watts section of Los Angeles in the bloody summer of 1965.
Runtime: 100 min.
Directed by: Kevin Hooks
Stars: James Earl Jones | Sally Kirkland | Cicely Tyson | Margaret Avery | Blair Underwood
Murder in Mississippi (1990)
As: James Chaney
In 1964, members of the Ku Klux Klan murdered three Civil Rights workers who had traveled to the South to encourage African-American voter registration. Examines the last three weeks in the lives of the slain activists.
Runtime: 96 min.
Directed by: Roger Young
Stars: Andre Braugher | Tom Hulce | Blair Underwood | Jennifer Grey | CCH Pounder
The Cover Girl and the Cop (1989)
As: Horace Bouchet
Julia Duffy is the cover girl and Dinah Manoff the cop in this made-for-TV contrivance.
Runtime: 93 min.
Directed by: Neal Israel
Stars: Jonathan Frakes | Julia Duffy | Blair Underwood | John Karlen | Dinah Manoff
Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988)
As: Jonathan Rollins
This film combines live action/original animation and library animation. Mickey steals a magic hat from a Sorcerer and is put under a spell by the angry magi so that no one will recognize him until he finds his own magic within. While Mickey is on his quest, network news teams around the country desperately try to find the famous, beloved mouse who has mysteriously disappeared. On his quest, Mickey ...
Runtime: 45 min.
Directed by: Scott Garen
Stars: Cheech Marin | Woody Harrelson | John Ritter | Burt Reynolds | Kirstie Alley
Krush Groove (1985)
As: Russell Walker
Russell Walker is a young, successful manager of rap performers, handling acts for the Krush Groove label, including Run-DMC and The Fat Boys. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell needs more money to press more copies, he borrows it from a street hustler and soon regrets his decision.
Runtime: 97 min.
Directed by: Michael Schultz
Stars: Blair Underwood | Joseph Simmons | Darryl McDaniels | Sheila E. | Kurtis Blow