Omar Epps | |
|---|---|
 Epps in 2008 | |
| Born | Omar Hashim Epps (1973-07-20)July 20, 1973 (age 52) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Omar Hashim Epps[1] (born July 20, 1973)[1] is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Epps's film roles includeJuice,Higher Learning,The Wood,In Too Deep, andLove & Basketball. His television work includes the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on themedical drama seriesER, J. Martin Bellamy inResurrection,Dr. Eric Foreman on the Fox medical drama seriesHouse from 2004 to 2012, Isaac Johnson in the TV seriesShooter from 2016 to 2018, and Detective Malcolm Howard on theStarz crime dramaPower Book III: Raising Kanan. He has been awarded nineNAACP Image Awards, twoTeen Choice Awards, oneMTV Movie Award, oneBlack Reel Award, and oneScreen Actors Guild Award.
Omar Epps was born inBrooklyn.[1] His parents divorced during his childhood and he was raised by his mother, Bonnie Maria Epps, an elementary school principal. He lived in several Brooklyn neighborhoods while growing up (Bedford–Stuyvesant,East New York, andEast Flatbush).[2] He began writing poetry, short stories and songs at the age of ten. He attended the prestigiousFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts,[1] New York City's highly selective public high school for students with artistic talent. Before he started acting, he belonged to arap group called Wolfpack which he formed with his cousin in 1991.
In 1992, Epps made his feature film debut playing a DJ alongside rapper2Pac as the star ofcinematographerErnest Dickerson's directorial film debutJuice.[3] The following year, Epps played one of several roles as an athlete, the first as a running back in thecollege football dramaThe Program alongsideJames Caan. In 1994, he returned to sports, as co-star ofMajor League II, taking over the role of center fielder Willie Mays Hayes from its originator,Wesley Snipes. His next athletic endeavor was playing a track and field star inJohn Singleton'sHigher Learning, a look at the politics and racial tensions of college life.[4] Epps led the cast in the 1996 BBC/HBO filmDeadly Voyage, as a Ghanaian attempting to hide with other stowaways on a major commercial vessel leaving Africa. He won the best actor award at theMonte Carlo Television Festival for portrayingKingsley Ofusu in this true story about the plight of undocumented African stowaways hoping to reach America.[5]
In his network television debut, Epps guest starred as Dr. Dennis Gant, a surgical intern struggling with depression, on the hit medical dramaER for several episodes in its third season.[6] After his television work onER, Epps returned to film in 1997 with a role as a giddy moviegoer, on a date with a woman played byJada Pinkett Smith, who ends up an early victim of apsychopathicslasher in the blockbuster sequelScream 2.[7] Also in 1997, Epps starred in the fact-based HBO movieFirst Time Felon as a small-time criminal who goes through Chicago's boot camp reform system and undertakes a heroic flood rescue, only to be faced with the adjustment of re-entering society with the mark of ex-con. In 1999, Epps was cast as Linc inThe Mod Squad.[8] WhileThe Mod Squad proved a critical and box-office bust, Epps's later 1999 effortThe Wood offered him a serious and multi-dimensional role as Mike Tarver, narrator and lead of this critically acclaimed coming-of-age ensemble comedy.[9] Following a group of middle-class African Americans from youth to adulthood, the debut effort fromdirector-screenwriterRick Famuyiwa co-starredRichard T. Jones andTaye Diggs.[8] Also in 1999, Epps was featured alongsideStanley Tucci andLL Cool J, playing an undercover detective who finds himself caught up in the illegal goings-on he is investigating inIn Too Deep.
In 2000, Epps starred inLove & Basketball, featuringAlfre Woodard andSanaa Lathan. He portrayed Quincy, theNBA hopeful who has a stormy relationship with an equally adept female basketball star Monica, played by Lathan.[10] Epps followed with supporting roles in a wide range of films, includingDracula 2000,Big Trouble, and the telepicConviction. He had a leading role as a gangster inBrother, a movie by the celebrated Japanese actor/directorTakeshi Kitano.
In 2004, Epps played drug-dealer-turned-prizefighter Luther Shaw who falls under the tutelage of boxing promoterJackie Kallen (Meg Ryan) in the film biopicAgainst the Ropes. That same year, Epps was a character in the video gameDef Jam Fight for NY. Epps also returned to a top-rated medical television drama in 2004, with his role as the brilliant neurologist,Dr. Eric Foreman, who stands his ground medically against the routine barbs of the irascible Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) on the award-winning Fox television seriesHouse.[11] The role in the long-running series earned him anNAACP Image Award in 2007, 2008 and 2013 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[12][13]
In 2014, Epps took on the role of agent J. Martin Bellamy in the ABC television series,Resurrection.[14] The series focuses on a number of individuals who return from the dead, and change the lives of their families and friends in Arcadia, Missouri.[8]
In July 2020, Epps starred in theNetflix psychological thrillerFatal Affair.[15][16] Since 2021, Epps has appeared as Detective Malcolm Howard in theStarz crime dramaPower Book III: Raising Kanan.
In 2022, it was announced that Epps would star in theLee Daniels-directed supernatural horrorThe Deliverance alongsideMo'Nique,Andra Day,Miss Lawrence, andTasha Smith.[17][18] The film was released in select theaters and on Netflix in August 2024.[19]
From 1999 to 2001, Epps dated actressSanaa Lathan, whom he met while filmingThe Wood. The pair did not disclose their relationship toLove & Basketball directorGina Prince-Bythewood until they were on the set of the film, fearing that "she could have a beef about it".[20]
Epps married singer Keisha Spivey, from the R&B groupTotal, in 2006. They have two children. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship.[21]
Epps and actor/comedianMarlon Wayans are longtime friends. They met as high school classmates at LaGuardia High, both graduating in 1990.[22] The 1997−1999 theme song used for the sitcomThe Wayans Brothers was co-produced by Epps, with Marlon andShawn Wayans.[23]
In a 2018 interview, Epps denied the long-standing rumor that he is related to fellow actorMike Epps, saying, "Me and Mike Epps ain't related, though, we spoke like, 'Where you from? Where you from?'"[24] He is, however, a cousin of rapper2 Chainz.[25]
Epps authored an autobiography titledFrom Fatherless to Fatherhood that was released by Lulu Publishing in June 2018.[26]
Epps serves on the Cultural Council ofRepresentUs, a nonprofit organization that focuses on passing anti-corruption laws in the United States. In June 2020, he narrated an educational video for the organization about America's criminal justice system.[27]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Green Flash | Charlie | Short film |
| 1992 | Juice | Q | |
| 1993 | Daybreak | Hunter | |
| The Program | Darnell Jefferson | ||
| 1994 | Major League II | Willie Mays Hayes | |
| 1995 | Higher Learning | Malik Williams | |
| 1996 | The Deadly Voyage | Kingsley | |
| Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood | Malik | Cameo | |
| 1997 | Scream 2 | Phil Stevens | |
| First Time Felon | Greg Yance | ||
| 1998 | Blossoms and Veils | Thee | |
| 1999 | Breakfast of Champions | Wayne Hoobler | |
| The Mod Squad | Linc | ||
| The Wood | Mike | ||
| In Too Deep | Jeff Cole / J Reid | ||
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | Quincy McCall | Nominated –Black Reel Award for Best Theatrical Actor Nominated –MTV Movie Award forBest Male Performance Nominated –NAACP Image Award forOutstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated –Teen Choice Award for Choice Film Actor Nominated –Teen Choice Award for Choice Film Chemistry withSanaa Lathan |
| Brother | Denny | ||
| Dracula 2000 | Marcus | ||
| 2001 | Perfume | JB | |
| 2002 | Big Trouble | FBI Agent Alan Seitz | |
| 2004 | Against the Ropes | Luther Shaw | |
| Alfie | Marlon | ||
| 2009 | A Day in the Life | O | |
| 2016 | Almost Christmas | Malachi | |
| 2018 | Traffik | John | |
| 2019 | Trick | Det. Mike Denver | |
| 3022 | John Laine | ||
| 2020 | Fatal Affair | David Hammond | |
| 2022 | The Devil You Know | Marcus Cowans | |
| 2024 | The Deliverance | Melvin | |
| 2026 | Moses the Black | Malik | Post-production[28] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Def Jam: Fight for NY | O.E. | Voice[31] |
I grew up all over Brooklyn – Bed Stuy, East New York, Flatbush...
