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Mykelti Williamson
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Miami Vice Characters
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Born
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March 4, 1960
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Active
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1978-present
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Spouse(s)/Children
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Olivia Brown (1983-85)
Cheryl Chisholm (1989-1994, one child) Sondra Spriggs (1997-present, two children) |
Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1960) is an American actor. He appeared in the show Miami Vice as Leon Jefferson, middleman for the Calderone drug empire in the episode "Brother's Keeper" and Sylvio Romulus, member of the Legba cult in the episode, "Tale of the Goat".
Early Life/Career[]
Williamson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of a CPA and an Air Force NCO. He began performing at age 9, acting as well as dancing as an alternate member of The Lockers troupe from Soul Train. While he excelled in sports in high school, he preferred his budding acting career and went that route after he graduated, his family having relocated to Los Angeles. His first TV role was in Starsky & Hutch (with Paul Michael Glaser, David Soul and Antonio Fargas) at the age of 18, then the next year he appeared in his first movie role, in Sunnyside, then returned to TV with appearances in The White Shadow (with Thomas Carter), Father Murphy, Alice, and Gimme A Break!, before landing regular roles in the short-lived series' Bay City Blues (with Perry Lang) and Cover Up. He appeared in another movie, Streets Of Fire (with Bill Paxton).
After his Vice appearance, Williamson went on to a semi-regular role in Hill Street Blues, The Bronx Zoo, Midnight Caller (with Gary Cole), The New WKRP in Cincinnati, and China Beach, while keeping his movie career going with appearances in Wildcats (with Bruce McGill, Wesley Snipes, and Jsu Garcia) and Free Willy (with Lori Petty) before receiving his most famous role, as Private Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in Forrest Gump. His other movie roles were in Free Willy 2, Con Air (with Steve Buscemi, John Diehl and Ving Rhames) and Primary Colors (with Paul Guilfoyle) before reuniting with Michael Mann in Heat (with Xander Berkeley and Martin Ferrero) and Ali (as Don King, with Giancarlo Esposito and McGill). He subsequently appeared in Lucky Number Slevin (with Stanley Tucci). He also returned to television in regular roles on The Fugitive, Boomtown and Kidnapped. In 2007-09, he appeared as the Chief in CSI:NY, Special Agent-In-Charge Brian Hastings in 24, a 2011 episode of Rizzoli & Isles (with McGill) and his most recent TV appearances, in the series' Hawaii Five-0, Underground and Justified (with Pruitt Taylor Vince, Xander Berkeley, David Andrews, John Kapelos, Clarence Williams III and Jeff Fahey) as Ellstin Limehouse. Some of Williamson's other appearances include in Dick Wolf's Chicago P.D., Saint Judy (with Alfred Molina), and the TV version of Lethal Weapon.
Personal Life[]
Mykelti has been married three times, first to Olivia Brown, Trudy Joplin on Miami Vice from 1983-85, then to Cheryl Chisholm from 1989-1994, with who he had a daughter, Phoenix. He is currently married to Sondra Spriggs and has two daughters, Nicole and Maya, with her.