Harold Perrineau (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor. His breakout role was in the independent filmSmoke (1995), for which he was nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He went on to appear asMercutio inRomeo+Juliet (1996) andLink inThe Matrix Reloaded andThe Matrix Revolutions (both 2003). On television, he starred asAugustus Hill in theHBO prison dramaOz (1997–2003),Michael Dawson in theABC seriesLost (2004–2010), and Sheriff Boyd Stevens in theMGM+ horror seriesFrom (2022–present).

Harold Perrineau
Perrineau in 2014
Born	(1963-08-07)August 7, 1963 (age 61) New York City, U.S.
Other names	Harold Perrineau Jr. Harold Williams
Alma mater	Shenandoah University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Brittany Robinson ​ (m. 2002)​
Children	3, includingAurora

Perrineau has also appeared in the filmsThe Edge (1997),The Best Man (1999),Woman on Top (2000), and28 Weeks Later (2007). His other television credits includeSons of Anarchy (2012),Constantine (2014–2015),Claws (2017–2022), andThe Rookie (2019–2021).

Perrineau was born inBrooklyn, New York City.^[1][2] His parents changed his name to Williams when he was a child, but he later changed it back, after discovering there was already a Harold Williams in theScreen Actors Guild.^[3] He attendedShenandoah University andAlvin Ailey American Dance Theater.^[1]

In 1989, Perrineau was cast as the original Tyrone Jackson in the world premiere of the stage adaptation of the 1980 hit movieFame (now known asFame: The Musical) at theWalnut Street Theatre, inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.^[4] He took the role ofLink inThe Matrix series after the original operator Tank was written out of the script whenMarcus Chong was fired over monetary disputes.^[5]Lost co-starAdewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje starred with Perrineau on the HBO seriesOz.

Perrineau playedMichael Dawson on ABC's hit showLost. He was temporarily written off when his character left the island with his son at the end of season two and did not appear in season three. In July 2007, it was announced he would return to the main cast for the show's fourth season.^[6] However, the return was short-lived, as the fourth season was his last as a regular cast member. He madeone guest appearance in the sixth and final season.^[7][8]

Since his debut single "Stay Strong" in 2007 Perrineau has been working on his musical career. He actively collaborated with music producerTomo in der Muhlen, known as DJ Tomo Tom Tom, on his debut album,Seeker. The first single, "Moving On", was released October 15, 2011. Perrineau has also done live shows where he performs with a full band: two guitars, bass, drums and keyboards. He performed at Los Angeles club The Mint in April 2010. Perrineau has appeared in MKTO's "Thank You" music video and J. Cole's "She Knows" music video.

Perrineau starred in30 Days of Night: Dark Days withRhys Coiro,Mia Kirshner,Kiele Sanchez,Diora Baird andMonique Ganderton.^[9] Perrineau appeared in the 2008 music video "Yes We Can".^[10]

Perrineau voiced the title character from Marvel'sBlade anime series on G4 in January 2012. He was cast to play the character of Damon Pope, the main antagonist of season 5 of the hit showSons of Anarchy.^[11][12]

Perrineau starred as Stevie, the bass player, in theTBS comedyWedding Band, which ran from 2012 to 2013.

Perrineau starred as Manny, an angelic messenger, inConstantine,^[13] the short-lived 2015 television series based on theDC Comics/Vertigo characterJohn Constantine.^{[citation needed]}

He made hisBroadway debut in theRoundabout Theatre Company production ofAnton Chekov'sThe Cherry Orchard, adapted byStephen Karam. The play ran from September 2016 to December 4, 2016. Perrineau played Lopakhin, with Diane Lane as Ranevskaya.^[14][15] Also in 2016, Perrineau co-starred in theAmazon Studios legal seriesGoliath.

From 2017 to 2022, Perrineau played Dean, a man on the autism spectrum and the brother of Desna, in TNT's Claws. He won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at theNAACP Awards.^[16] Perrineau starred as a cop, Nick Armstrong, onThe Rookie for most of season 2 and as a guest on season 3.^{[citation needed]}

In November 2022, Harold Perrineau signed with Independent Artist Group for representation.^[17]

In December 2024, Perrineau was announced as a cast member in independent dramaOut Come The Wolves based on theRancid 1995album of the same name.^[18]

Perrineau has been married to Brittany Robinson Perrineau, a former actress and model forTommy Hilfiger andLiz Claiborne throughout the 1990s, since 2002.^[19] They have three daughters, actressAurora, born 1994, Wynter Aria, born on May 7, 2008,^[20][21] and Holiday Gracein, born on March 21, 2013.^[22][23]

She appeared on thefirst season episodeOutlaws, ofLost, as the girlfriend ofSawyer, and in the episodeNumbers, as the woman who read the lottery numbers. Her acting credits also include the role of Dara in the romantic-comedySaving Face (2004), as well as the movieYour Name Here (2008).

• Harold Perrineau atIMDb  
• Harold Perrineau at theInternet Broadway Database 
• Harold Perrineau at theInternet Off-Broadway Database