Chaz Lamar Shepherd

Chaz Lamar Shepherd is an American actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his roles as Artis Tower inMe and the Boys (1994–1995), John Hamilton on7th Heaven (1996–2001), and Piranha inLuke Cage (2018). He is also known for his portrayal as Al Bryant in the 1998NBC miniseriesThe Temptations.

Chaz Lamar Shepherd
Other names	Chaz Shepherd
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer-songwriter, host, entertainment personality
Years active	1993–present

Early life

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Shepherd grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was active in Tindley Temple United Methodist Church and graduated from Evelyn Graves Christian Academy. His mother, Cheryl Shepherd, is a dancer and choreographer who left her work in Philadelphia's public schools to manage his career.^[1] He first appeared on stage when he was 5 years old as an MC at a recital for his mother's dance school.^[2]

Career

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Shepherd's professional debut came in a production ofFame staged by theWalnut Street Theatre.^[2] On television, he portrayed Al Bryant in the NBC miniseriesThe Temptations (1998).he also played on the Parkers. He also played Artis Tower, son of Steve Tower (Steve Harvey) onMe and the Boys and appeared onIn the House,Moesha, andSister, Sister.^[1] He played John Hamilton on7th Heaven,^[3] had a recurring role as Trey Wiggs onThe Game, and portrayedRaymond "Piranha" Jones in the second season ofLuke Cage. He was also a guest lead vocalist onJudith Christie McAllister's first album, "Send Judah First" track 7, The Prayer of Recommitment, released in 2000.

Shepherd appeared on film inSet It Off in the role of Stevie,^[1] On Broadway, he portrayed Billy Flynn inChicago (2018) and Harpo inThe Color Purple (2005).^[4] His other work on stage includes appearing as Curtis Taylor, Jr. in a 2009–10 national tour of the musicalDreamgirls.^[2]

Filmography

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Survive the Night	Thad	TV movie
1994–1995	Me and the Boys	Artis Tower	19 episodes
1995	A Pig's Tale	Royce	Direct to video
1996	Moesha	Whitlock	Episode: "Million Boy March"
	Minor Adjustments	Bam	2 episodes
	The Nutty Professor	Student
	The Steve Harvey Show	Dexter	Episode: "Loose Lips Sink Friendships"
	Set It Off	Stevie Newsom	Credited as Chaz Lamar Shepard
1996–1997	Sister, Sister	Shawn Russell	3 episodes
1996–2001	7th Heaven	John Hamilton	33 episodes
1998	Twice the Fear	College student	Direct to video
	In the House	Mark	4 episodes
	The Temptations	Elbridge "Al" Bryant	TV movie
2001	Touched by an Angel	Young Candy McCloud	Episode: The Perfect Game
2001–2002	The Parkers	Aaron	4 episodes
2002	The Division	Keith	Episode: "This Thing Called Love"
2004	Woman Thou Art Loosed	Deacon
2006–2007 & 2012	The Game	Trey Wiggs	4 episodes
2016	Hater's Back Off!	Keith	Recurring role
2018	Blue Bloods	Detective Chamberlin	Episode: "Close Calls"
2018	Marvel's Luke Cage	Raymond "Piranha" Jones	6 episodes
2019	Almost Love	Damon
2022	Never Would Have Made It: The Marvin Sapp Story	Marvin Sapp	TV movie
2023	Saturdays	Doug Jones	Episode: "Skates, Lies & Videos"