With a myriad of awards under his belt, Andre Braugher is a well known television, film and theatre actor. He was born on July 1, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois to a postal worker named Sally and a heavy equipment operator named Floyd. He initially enrolled at Stanford University as a pre-medical student but later changed his major to theatre, and graduated in 1984. He then enrolled at the prestigious arts school Julliard, where he received his degree, Master of Fine Arts, in 1988, along with the award for “Most Outstanding Theater Student”.

With a promising career ahead of him, Braugher started off with his first film role in 1989, as Corporal Thomas Searles in the movie “Glory”. His character was that of an educated black man who joins the first black regiment of the Union Army. He then played himself in the 1990 TV series “The More You Know”. Another prominent role at the time was that of Detective Winston Blake, the sidekick to New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak in a television based movie revival of the popular TV series “Kojak”.

One of his most famous and career defining roles was in the television series “Homicide: Life on the Street” in which he played the role of Detective Frank Pembleton. His character was that of a no-nonsense police detective and for this role, Braugher won the Television Critics Association awards for individual achievement in drama for two consecutive years in 1997 and 1998. He also received an Emmy nomination in 1996, and won the Emmy Award in 1998. After spending six seasons on the show, Braugher quit the role but returned to star in the television film.

Other than the big and small screens, Braugher is also an accomplished theatre actor. In 1996, he starred in the New York Shakespeare Festival, appearing in plays such as King John, Much Ado About Nothing and Henry V, for the last of which he won an Obie Award. He later co-starred in the off-Broadway production of The Whipping Man produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club.

Some of his other movie roles