Andre Braugher

Andre Braugher was born in Chicago on July 1, 1962, the son of Sally and Floyd Braugher, a postal worker and heavy-equipment operator. Braugher had three older siblings and was raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school and earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University. Initially majoring in engineering, Braugher found that he enjoyed acting and graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984. He then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division, graduating in 1988.

Braugher's first film role was in the 1989 film Glory as Thomas Searles, a free, educated black man from the North who joins the first black regiment in the Union Army. He played Kojak's sidekick in the late 1980s ABC television film revival of Kojak. He subsequently moved on to a role on the television series Homicide: Life on the Street as Detective Frank Pembleton, a self-righteous, fiery, unyielding, Jesuit-educated police detective. Braugher won Television Critics Association awards for individual achievement in drama in 1997 and 1998. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and 1998, winning in the latter year. He left Homicide after its sixth season but returned for the reunion television film. He also co-starred in the films City of Angels, Frequency, and Poseidon.

In 1997, he was selected by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World".

As part of the Shakespeare in the Park series at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's Central Park, Braugher played the title role in the 1996 production of Henry V, for which he received an Obie Award. In 2000, he played the title role as Ben Gideon in the series Gideon's Crossing, which lasted one season. In 2002, Braugher narrated the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, produced by Unity Productions Foundation. He narrated The Murder of Emmett Till for PBS. He played Detective Marcellus Washington in the TV series Hack from 2002 to 2004.

In 2006, Braugher starred as Nick Atwater in the miniseries Thief for FX Networks, winning a second Emmy for his performance. He portrayed General Hager in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Braugher appeared on the TV series House, M.D. as Dr. Darryl Nolan, a psychiatrist who helps House recover from his addiction to Vicodin. He also appeared in the TNT series Men of a Certain Age, for which he was nominated twice as Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He also voiced the villain Darkseid in the animated film, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. He took supporting roles in the science fiction film The Mist (2007), the mystery film Passengers (2008), and the action thriller Salt (2010).

Braugher acted in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of the Matthew Lopez play The Whipping Man, off-Broadway, for a limited run from January-March 2011. Braugher co-starred alongside Andre Holland. Marilyn Stasio of Variety described the play as "genuinely moving and Braugher captures the moment with his thrilling evocation of Simon's pride and joy and hope". He narrated the introduction to the Olympic Games on NBC from 2006 to 2010. Braugher narrated James Patterson's Alex Cross book Cross Fire (2010).

Braugher had a recurring role as defense attorney Bayard Ellis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2011 to 2015, and starred as the lead character, Capt. Marcus Chaplin, in ABC's 2012 military drama TV series Last Resort. In 2017, Braugher had a recurring role in season four of the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman as California Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz. From 2013 to 2021, he starred in the Golden Globe-winning TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine as the precinct captain, Raymond Holt. For his performance in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Braugher was cast as Chief Usher A. B. Wynter in Netflix's The Residence, but he died after more than half his scenes had been filmed resulting in the role having to be recast and refilmed. The series was dedicated to Braugher's memory.

In 1991, Braugher married actress Ami Brabson, who later appeared as Frank Pembleton's wife Mary in Homicide: Life on the Street. They had three sons, Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley, and lived in New Jersey.

Braugher died on December 11, 2023, at the age of 61. His death was attributed to lung cancer, with which he had been diagnosed a few months prior. Braugher had previously been a smoker, but quit in 2010. Following his death, many of his co-stars expressed gratitude for his warmth, kindness, and talent as an actor. The Classical Theatre of Harlem dedicated its 2024 season to Braugher's memory; Braugher had served as vice chairman of the company and had been a longtime trustee.

Film

Television