Steve Harris
About
Biography
Filmography
Biography
A sports injury curtailed his dreams of playing professional football, so Chicagoan Steve Harris brought his commanding presence to the entertainment arena. The hefty bald black actor honed his craft on stage, tackling roles in Shakespeare and in more contemporary fare before landing work in other media.
Initially billed as Steve J Harris, he landed a tiny part on the first episode of NBC's "Homicide: Life in the Street" followed by guest appearances, often as thugs and villains, on "Law & Order" (NBC), "New York Undercover" (Fox) and "Murder One" (ABC). His first real break occurred during the filming of HBO's "Against the Wall" (1994), about the Attica prison uprising. Spotted by director John Frankenheimer while he ran lines with another actor, Harris soon found his small role as an angry inmate had been enlarged, giving him "a real part." (The same director later tapped him for a supporting role in the award-winning biographical miniseries "George Wallace," TNT 1998). Big screen parts in "Sugar Hill" (1994) and "The Rock" (1996) did little to challenge his abilities, though.
Turning to series TV, he was cast by writer-producer David E Kelley in his star-making role on "The Practice" (ABC, 1997-2004) Playing attorney Eugene Young, the tough, fast-talking lawyer with the win-at-all-costs attitude who often took part in racially sensitive cases, Harris was often cited by TV critics as one of the best performers in the show's ensemble. Certainly his size and natural charisma held viewers' attention whenever he was onscreen. Harris' character became a major player in the show's final season following the departure of several long-standing castmembers, and his clashes with James Spader's amoral Alan Shore helped launch that character into the subsequent spin-off "Boston Legal." With a higher profile, the actor began to land meatier roles in films, beginning with the big screen adaptation of the seminal 60s series "The Mod Squad" (1999). He later essayed supporting turns in "The Skulls" (2000), "Minority Report" (2002), "Bringing Down the House" (2003) and "Death and Texas" (2004). He also portrayed boxer Sonny Liston in the Muhammed Ali telepic "King of the World" (2000) and provided the voice of Detective Ethan Bennett in the animated series "The Batman" (2004 -). Harris also appeared in a major role in the adapation of Tyler Perry's play "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" (2005) as Kimberly Elise' philandering husband.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1993
Landed a tiny part on the first episode of NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street"
1994
Feature acting debut, "Sugar Hill"
1994
Had a supporting role in John Frankenheimer's "Against the Wall," an HBO drama about the Attica Prison uprising of 1971
1996
Played small role in "The Rock" starring Ed Harris and Sean Connery
1997
Re-teamed with Frankenheimer for the TNT movie, "George Wallace"
1997
TV series debut as regular, played attorney Eugene Young on "The Practice" (ABC)
1999
Portrayed an internal affairs detective in the feature version of "The Mod Squad"
2000
Played Detective Sparrow in the thriller "Skulls"
2002
Cast opposite Tom Cruise in "Minority Report"; directed by Steven Spielberg
2004
Lent his voice to the animated series "The Batman"
2005
Starred in the feature adaptation of Tyler Perry's "Diary of a Mad Black Woman"; Perry also co-starred
2006
Cast in the short-lived NBC series "Heist"
2008
Appeared in three episodes of the ABC series "Eli Stone"
2009
Played Special Agent George Aiken in Renny Harlin's "12 Rounds"
Family
