Joe Morton
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
American actor Joe Morton crafted an award-winning career that brought him acclaim on stage, television, and film. A native of Harlem in New York City, he began his professional acting career with a role in the Broadway production of "Hair." Shortly after, he landed his first roles on television with guest spots on "Mission: Impossible" (CBS, 1966-73) and "Bracken's World" (NBC, 1969-70). As his stage career continued, he added to his resume with a role on the daytime soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" (CBS, 1951-86), and appearances on "M*A*S*H" (CBS, 1972-83) and "What's Happening!!" (ABC, 1976-79). An earlier guest role on "Sanford and Son" (NBC, 1972-77), led to his being cast as one of the leads in the short-lived spinoff series "Grady" (NBC, 1975-76). He followed with a starring role in another short-lived TV effort, "Watch Your Mouth" (PBS, 1978). His big break in features came with the title role in John Sayles' "The Brother From Another Planet" (1984). The inner city sci-fi tale quickly gained a cult following, and gave Morton his calling card. He continued stringing together TV appearances, including a recurring role on "The Equalizer" (CBS, 1985-89), before another foray into sci-fi again raised his profile. Playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, he appeared as Miles Dyson, the unwitting developer of the evil Skynet, in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991). Returning to television, he was part of the ensemble cast of the drama "Equal Justice" (ABC, 1990-91), had a recurring role on "A Different World" (NBC, 1987-93), was a series regular on Robert De Niro's anthology show "Tribeca" (Fox, 1993), and starred opposite James Earl Jones on "Under One Roof" (CBS, 1995). In films, he played the police captain in "Speed" (1994) and starred in "The Inkwell" (1994). Morton had the opportunity to show off his musical side when he joined Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman for "Blues Brothers 2000" (1998). He continued pursuing television, starring in the short-lived series "Mercy Point" (UPN, 1998-99) and "Prince Street" (NBC, 1997). After another string of guest appearances on shows like "JAG" (CBS, 1995-2005) and "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010), he found sustained success as scientist Henry Deacon on "Eureka" (SyFy, 2006-2012). After contributing to a story arc on "The Good Wife" (CBS, 2009-16), Morton began an award-winning turn on Shonda Rhimes' political drama "Scandal" (ABC, 2012-18). Playing the duplicitous father of Kerry Washington's Olivia Pope, he earned the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2014. He also appeared as a series regular in the drama "Proof" (TNT, 2015). Morton later joined the DC superhero universe, playing the scientist father of Cyborg first in Zack Snyder's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016) and more extensively in "Justice League" (2017). Returning to television, he joined the cast of the spiritual drama "God Friended Me," playing the pastor father of Brandon Michael Hall's lead character.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1958
Moved with family to Dachau, Germany (date approximate)
1968
Broadway debut at age 20 in the trendsetting musical, "Hair"
1972
Starred in the musical version of "Two Gentlemen of Verona"
1973
Starred as Walter Lee Younger in "Raisin", the Broadway musical version of Lorraine Hansberry's drama "A Raisin in the Sun"
1975
Appeared as Hal Marshall, a regular character on the NBC sitcom "Grady", a short-lived NBC spinoff of "Sanford and Son"
1977
Played first notable role in a feature, as Ahmed in Joan Micklin Silver's "Between the Lines", a character study of the counterculture
1984
Played first lead in a major feature, as the title character in John Sayles' "The Brother From Another Planet"; first collaboration with writer-director Sayles
1991
Starred in Sayles' "City of Hope"
1993
Narrated the well-received PBS documentary series, "The Great Depression"
1993
Appeared as Carleton, one of two recurring characters on the Fox-TV anthology drama, "Tribeca"
1993
TV directorial debut with "The Loft" episode of "Tribeca"
1994
Appeared in ensemble drama "Under One Roof" (CBS)
1994
Narrated PBS documentary series, "Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance"
1995
Cast as a regular in CBS drama series "New York News"
1996
Re-teamed with Sayles for the indie drama "Lone Star"
1997
Appeared in the award-winning HBO movie "Miss Evers Boys" as one of the doctors treating black men with syphillis
1997
Co-starred in short-lived NBC drama "Prince Street"
1998
Acted in the Broadway play "Art"; also performed in the London production alongside Judd Hirsch
1998
Starred in the short-lived UPN sci-fi medical series "Mercy Point"
1999
Had supporting role in "The Astronaut's Wife"
2001
Appeared in the Off-Broadway play "Brutal Imagination"
2001
Cast as the Duke in the New York Shakespeare Festival Central Park staging of "Measure for Measure"
2001
Rejoined the London production of "Art", featured with Judd Hirsch and Richard Thomas
2002
Portrayed Dr. Zeke McMillan on "All My Children"
2003
Cast in the film by director John Woo "Paycheck"
2005
Starred as Capt. Dick Marshfield in the big budget "Stealth," with Jamie Foxx
2006
Cast in an adaptation of Armistead Maupin's novel "The Night Listener"
2013
Began Emmy-wining turn playing Rowan Pope on "Scandal"
Family
Companions
