Mehcad Brooks | |
|---|---|
 Brooks at London Fan Fest 2017 | |
| Born | Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (1980-10-25)October 25, 1980 (age 45) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Parent(s) | Billy Brooks Alberta Phillips |
Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and formerfashion model. He is known for his roles asMatthew Applewhite in the second season ofABC's seriesDesperate Housewives (2005–2006), Jerome inThe Game, "Eggs" Benedict Talley in the first and second seasons ofHBO's seriesTrue Blood, his leading role as Terrance "TK" King in theUSA seriesNecessary Roughness (2011–2013) andJames Olsen in theCBS/The CW seriesSupergirl. From 2022 to 2025, he portrayed one of the lead roles, that ofNYPD Detective Jalen Shaw, on theNBC police procedural dramaLaw & Order.
Brooks was born and raised inAustin, Texas, where he attendedL.C. Anderson High School. Brooks is the son ofAustin American-Statesman editorial writer Alberta Phillips and former pro football playerBilly Brooks; his stepfather is lawyer Gary Bledsoe.[1] After graduating from high school in 1999, he attended theUniversity of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.Brooks mentioned on a September 2010 episode ofThe Wendy Williams Show that he turned downbasketball scholarships and offers fromIvy League schools in favor of going toUSC.[citation needed] He then left to pursue an acting career.
Brooks' early work includes being aCalvin Klein underwear model.
In 2004, Brooks played a high school basketball player who was killed by a teammate's father on the seriesCold Case (season 1, episode 17). From 2005 to 2006, Brooks played the role ofMatthew Applewhite on theABC TV dramaDesperate Housewives. He appeared inGlory Road, portrayingHarry Flournoy, an athlete atTexas Western University when the five starting black players beat Kentucky for the national championship. He acted in the 2007 filmIn the Valley of Elah. He starred oppositeTia Mowry as her boyfriend, Jerome, on the TV seriesThe Game in 2008. In 2009, he appeared on FOX's TV seriesDollhouse. Brooks played Benedict "Eggs" Talley in the second season of HBO'sTrue Blood. Beginning January 2010, he appeared as attorney Malcolm Bennet in the now-canceled ABC seriesThe Deep End. He plays the "new boyfriend" in a recentState Farm Insurance television commercial alongside formerThe Game co-star Gabrielle Dennis.
Brooks appeared in the ABC documentary-styledramedy television seriesMy Generation, which premiered in Fall 2010. The show was canceled after only two episodes.[2] He was among the cast on theUSA Network seriesNecessary Roughness which debuted on June 29, 2011. The show featured Brooks as Terrence "TK" King, a football player for the New York Hawks whose anger issues cause his team to require him to see a therapist. In 2013,Necessary Roughness was cancelled.[3] Brooks guest starred in theLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit episode as Prince Miller, a basketball superstar who was molested as a child by his coach, and a guest role onJ. J. Abrams' showAlcatraz as a bomb disposal expert. In 2013, Brooks was featured in apublic service announcement for theCenter for Reproductive Rights.[4]
From the series premiere until his departure in the fourth episode of the fifth season, Brooks playedJames Olsen on theCBS/The CW dramaSupergirl as a series regular.[5]
On October 20, 2017, he released his debut single, "Tears Away".[6]
In 2019, he was announced to portrayJax Briggs for theMortal Kombat reboot released on April 23, 2021.[7]
In June 2022, it was announced that Brooks would be joining the cast of the long-running crime seriesLaw & Order as Detective Jalen Shaw in season 22.[8]
He appeared in the July 2010 issue ofGQ, alongsideEmanuela de Paula.[9]
He is the son of formerNFLwide receiverBilly Brooks.
Brooks has stated in an interview withIGN that he is an avid player of video games, including theCall of Duty,Medal of Honor, andMadden series.[10]
His older twin brother, Billy Brooks IV, was a regular on the now defunctSpill.com and currently guests on its successorDouble Toasted.
He was in a relationship withCreature co-starSerinda Swan until their break up in 2011.[11][12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Radimi: Who Stole the Dream | Radimi Wadkins | |
| 2003 | A Token for Your Thoughts | The Jock | Short |
| 2006 | Glory Road | Harry Flournoy | |
| 2007 | In the Valley of Elah | Spc. Ennis Long | |
| 2008 | Fly Like Mercury | Hutch | |
| 2010 | Just Wright | Angelo Bembrey | |
| 2011 | Creature | Niles | |
| 2012 | Magic: The Gathering - The Musical | Doug | Short |
| 2014 | About Last Night | Derek | |
| 2015 | Adulterers | Damien | |
| 2018 | Nobody's Fool | Charlie | |
| 2020 | A Fall from Grace | Shannon Delong/Maurice Mills | |
| 2021 | Mortal Kombat | Jackson "Jax" Briggs | |
| 2026 | Mortal Kombat II | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Do Over | Shawn Hodges | Episode: "Take Me Out of the Ball Game" |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Big Kid | Episode: "Stupid Girl" | |
| 2003 | Boston Public | Russell Clark | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| One on One | Mustafa | Episode: "2 Young, 2 Curious" | |
| 2004 | Cold Case | Herman Lester | Episode: "The Lost Soul of Herman Lester" |
| Tiger Cruise | Kenny | TV movie | |
| 2005–2006 | Desperate Housewives | Matthew Applewhite | Guest: season 1, main cast: season 2 |
| 2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Justin Cotter | Episode: "Giving Up the Ghost" |
| 2007–2008 | K-Ville | Vin Bear | Episode: "Critical Mass" & "Game Night" |
| 2008 | The Game | Jerome "Jerry" Wright | Recurring cast: seasons 2–3 |
| 2008–2010 | True Blood | Benedict "Eggs" Talley | Recurring cast: seasons 1–2, guest: season 3 |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Sam Jennings | Episode: "Echoes" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Malcolm Bennett | 6 episodes |
| My Generation | Rolly Marks | Main cast | |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Prince Miller | Episode: "Personal Fouls" |
| Alcatraz | Matt Tanner | Episode: "Paxton Petty" | |
| 2011–2013 | Necessary Roughness | Terrence King | 38 episodes |
| 2014 | Benched | George Grumbeigh Jr. | Episode: "Shark, Actually" |
| 2015–2021 | Supergirl | James Olsen / Guardian | Main cast: seasons 1–5, guest: season 6 |
| 2022 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Det. Jalen Shaw | Guest |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | |||
| 2022–2025 | Law & Order | Main role | |
| 2025 | And Just Like That | Marion Odin | Recurring role |
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| May 20TH |
|
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Tears Away"[13] | 2017 |
| "Stars" | 2018 |
| "Living Proof" | |
| "Night Owls" | |
| "Nothing to Lose" | |
| "Arrested" | |
| "Kepu" | |
| "Train" | |
| "Ego Talking" | |
| "Coupe Windows" | |
| "Oceans" | 2019 |
| "Early Morning Under a Lilac Sky" | 2020 |
| Year | Award | Category | TV Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Desperate Housewives | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | Won | ||
| 2007 | Nominated | |||
| 2010 | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | True Blood | ||
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Supergirl |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
