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 Dutton at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Charles Stanley Dutton |
| Spouse | Debbi Morgan (1989-1994) |
Charles Stanley Dutton (born January 30, 1951) is an American actor and director.
Biography
Career
In 1984, Dutton made his Broadway debut in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, winning a Theatre World Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1988 Dutton played a killer in the television miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan opposite Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey. 1990 brought him a second Best Actor Tony nomination for his role in another Wilson play, The Piano Lesson. From 1991-94 he starred in the Fox Television series Roc. Dutton also co-starred in Alien³, the debut film of director David Fincher, then costarred in 1993's Rudy. Other films he has appeared in include A Time to Kill; Cookie's Fortune; Crocodile Dundee II; Cry, the Beloved Country; Menace II Society; and Secret Window.
Dutton won Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy awards in 2002 and 2003 for his roles in The Practice and Without a Trace. He was previously nominated In 1999 for his guest-starring role as Alvah Case in the HBO prison drama Oz in its 2nd season premiere episode. For this role he was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Also in 1999, he starred in an ensemble cast in Aftershock: Earthquake in New York in which he played the Mayor of New York City. He co-starred with Tom Skerritt. Dutton gained acclaim for his comedy show Roc shown on FOX television (but produced by HBO) from 1991 to 1994, especially mid-run when the show was broadcast live. His work in this role won him an NAACP Image Award. He co-starred in the popular but short-lived 2005 CBS science fiction series, Threshold.
In 2000, Dutton directed the HBO mini series The Corner. The miniseries was close to his heart for Dutton grew up on the streets of East Baltimore. It was adapted from The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (Broadway Books, 1997) by David Simon (a reporter for the Baltimore Sun) and Ed Burns (a retired Baltimore homicide detective). The Corner won several Emmys in 2000, including that for best miniseries. Dutton won for his direction of the miniseries.
He starred as Montgomery County, Maryland Police Chief Charles Moose in the 2003 made-for-TV movie D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear, and appears in Season 2 of The L Word. Dutton also appeared in "Another Toothpick," an episode of The Sopranos. He most recently guest starred on House as the father of Doctor Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) and on Sleeper Cell: American Terror as the father of undercover FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed. He also directed two episodes of Sleeper Cell.
On 9 October 2007, HBO announced that it has arranged a deal with Dutton where he will develop, direct and star in series and movies for the network. He also appeared in the 2007 film Honeydripper.
Personal life
Dutton was born and raised on the Eastside of Baltimore, Maryland to a truck driver father. He discovered a love of the theatre and studied for a college degree, later earning a master's degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama. He is also a Towson University alumnus.
In his youth, Dutton dropped out of school before finishing middle school. He had a short-lived stint as an amateur boxer with the nickname, 'Roc'. When he was seventeen, he was convicted of manslaughter after stabbing a man to death in a street fight. (Dutton maintains that the man attacked and wounded him first.) After serving a seven-and-one-half-year prison term, he was paroled only to return to jail less than two years later for possession of a deadly weapon. While incarcerated, he became involved with theater groups and began to turn his life around, the turning point being when he was assaulted by an ice pick-wielding inmate against whom he refused to retaliate. Dutton obtained a high school equivalency and completed a two-year college program. It was in prison, however, that he finally found his passion.
Several months into his second prison term, Dutton was sentenced to 6 days solitary confinement which allowed prisoners to take one book. By accident, he grabbed an anthology of black playwrights which he read in its entirety by the light streaming beneath the confinement room door. He enjoyed the plays so much that upon his release from confinement he petitioned the warden to start a drama group for the Christmas talent show. The warden agreed on the condition that Dutton go back to school and get his GED, which he did, and more. He eventually completed a two-year college program. Upon his release, he enrolled as a drama major at Baltimore's Towson State University.
Dutton owns a farm in Ellicott City, Maryland, and is an ex-husband of actress Debbi Morgan.
References
- Michael Schneider (2007-10-10). "Dutton back in biz at HBO". Daily Variety. p. 4.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Charles S. Dutton Biography (1951-)
- "Charles S. Dutton" at Allmovie
- Charles Dutton Biography
External links
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- 1951 births
- African American actors
- African American film directors
- American film actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Living people
- Actors from Maryland
- People from Baltimore, Maryland
- American people convicted of manslaughter
- Towson University alumni
- Yale University alumni
- African American television actors