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Boris Kodjoe

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Boris Kodjoe
Kodjoe in 2021
Born
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe

(1973-03-08) March 8, 1973 (age 51)
Vienna, Austria
Alma materVirginia Commonwealth University (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
  • model
Years active1994–present
Height6 ft 3.5 in (191.8 cm)
Spouse
​
(m. 2005)​
Children2

Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe[1] (/ˈkoʊdʒuː/; born March 8, 1973) is an Austrian-born German actor and former model, based in the United States. His breakthrough role was as sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the Showtime drama series Soul Food (2000-2004). His other notable television roles include Dr. Will Campbell on CBS's Code Black, Phil Miller on The Last Man on Earth, Robert Sullivan on Station 19, and a fictionalized version of himself on Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Kodjoe has also appeared in films such as Love & Basketball (2000), Brown Sugar (2002), Surrogates (2009), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and its sequel Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and the animated film Ferdinand (2017). He is a two-time NAACP Image Award nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Soul Food and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Early life and education

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Kodjoe was born in Vienna, Austria, the son of Ursula, a German psychologist of Jewish descent, and Eric Kodjoe, a Nzema Ghanaian physician.[1][2] His namesake is the Russian poet and writer Boris Pasternak.[3] Kodjoe's matrilineal great-grandmother was Jewish and was murdered in the Holocaust; his maternal grandmother survived the war in hiding.[1][4]

Kodjoe's parents divorced when he was six years old,[5] and he moved to Germany at that time. He grew up in the town of Gundelfingen, near Freiburg im Breisgau.

He attended Virginia Commonwealth University on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1996.[6] A four-year letterman on the Rams' men's tennis team, he is currently ninth in school history with 75 career singles wins. Tied for third in doubles victories with 66, he was paired with Jonas Elmblad on 37 of them, also third all-time.[7] His brother Patrick Kodjoe played for VCU's basketball team. A back injury ended Boris' tennis aspirations, but he was quickly signed as a model and, soon after, entered acting.[8] In 1995, he was featured in TLC's music video for "Red Light Special".[9]

Career

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Named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" by People magazine in 2002, Kodjoe is perhaps best known as one of the 7 regular cast members from the Showtime drama Soul Food, which aired from 2000 to 2004. He appeared in the 2002 film Brown Sugar and starred in the short-lived sitcom Second Time Around with his Soul Food co-star Nicole Ari Parker, whom he eventually married. He played the role of David Taylor, the wayward son of Pastor Fred Taylor, in the October 2005 film The Gospel. He performed in a play called Whatever She Wants, starring Vivica A. Fox, and made an appearance on the fifth season of Nip/Tuck. He had a supporting role in the 2009 science fiction film Surrogates. Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw starred as a husband-and-wife secret agent team in 2010 J. J. Abrams-produced the NBC TV series Undercovers, but the show lasted less than one season. That year, he also appeared as Luther in the film Resident Evil: Afterlife. He had a guest appearance on the TV show Franklin & Bash in 2012.

From 2013 to 2016, Kodjoe starred as a fictional version of himself in the BET comedy parody series Real Husbands of Hollywood. In 2014, he was cast as a regular on the ABC primetime soap opera Members Only created by Susannah Grant,[10][11] but the show never aired. In 2015, Kodjoe began a recurring guest role on Fox's The Last Man on Earth television series.[12] Kodjoe was part of the ensemble cast for all three seasons of the CBS medical drama Code Black playing surgeon Dr. Will Campbell from 2016 to 2018.

In July 2018, Kodjoe landed a recurring role in the second season of the Grey's Anatomy spin-off series Station 19.[13] In October, he was promoted to a series regular after his appearance in the season premiere as the new fire captain, Robert Sullivan.[14] In "Eulogy", he is promoted to Battalion Chief.

Personal life

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Kodjoe married his Soul Food: The Series co-star Nicole Ari Parker on May 21, 2005, in Gundelfingen, Germany. She gave birth to their first child, Sophia, in March 2005, who was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth.[15] Parker gave birth to the couple's second child, a boy, in October 2006. Kodjoe and his wife are members of Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.[16] The family resides in Los Angeles, California. Parker and Kodjoe competed against one another on a February 2019 episode of Lip Sync Battle.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Love & Basketball Jason
2002 Brown Sugar Kelby Dawson
2004 Doing Hard Time Michael Mitchell Direct-to-video
2005 The Gospel David Taylor
2006 Madea's Family Reunion Frankie Henderson
2007 All About Us Edward Brown
Alice Upside Down Mr. Edgecombe
2008 Starship Troopers 3: Marauder General Dix Hauser Direct-to-video
2009 Surrogates FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Andy Stone
2010 The Confidant Nigel Patterson
Resident Evil: Afterlife Luther West
2012 Resident Evil: Retribution
2013 Baggage Claim Graham
Nurse 3D Det. John Rogan
2014 Addicted Jason Reynard
2017 Ferdinand Klaus (voice)
2025 The Juice O.J. Simpson Principal photography is incomplete.[17]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 The Steve Harvey Show Dexter Episode: "Every Boy Needs a Teacher"
2000 For Your Love Terrence Episode: "The French Lesson"
2003 Boston Public Coach Derek Williams 3 episodes
Street Time Bowman Calloway Episodes: "High Holly Roller" and "Cop Killer"
All of Us Marcus Episode: "Uncle Marcus Comes to Dinner"
2004 Eve Kevin Episode: "Valentine's Day Reloaded"
2000–04 Soul Food Damon Carter Series regular, 27 episodes
Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2002–2004)
2004–05 Second Time Around Jackson Muse Series regular, 13 episodes
2006 If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now Brad Failed pilot
2007 Crossing Jordan Detective Elliot Chandler Episodes: "Post Hoc..." and "In Sickness & in Health"
Women's Murder Club Simon Perry Episode: "Blind Dates and Bleeding Hearts"
Nip/Tuck Elton Forrest Episode: "Chaz Darling"
2010 Undercovers Steven Bloom Series regular, 13 episodes
2012 Scruples Josh Hillman TV pilot
Franklin & Bash Nolan Tate Episode: "Last Dance"
A Killer Among Us Detective Joe Moran TV movie
Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
2013–16 Real Husbands of Hollywood Himself Series regular
Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2014)
2013 The Real Housewives of Atlanta Himself Episode: "Praise the Pageant"
2014 Members Only Deacon Series regular
The Chase Himself 1 episode: "Starry Eyed: Celebrity Episode"
Unforgettable Agent Francis Simms Recurring, 2 episodes
2015–16 The Last Man on Earth Philip Stacy "Phil" Miller Recurring, 12 episodes
2015 The Boris & Nicole Show Himself (co-host) Main role, 20 episodes
2016 Cape Town Sanctus Snook Main role, 6 episodes
2016–18 Code Black Dr. Will Campbell Guest star (season 1), main role (season 2-3)
33 episodes
2017 Tales Ray Vance Episode: "Fuck the Police"
2018–24 Station 19 Robert Sullivan Series regular, Main role (season 2-7) ; 95 episodes
2018 House of Cards Brett Cole Recurring; 4 episodes
2019 Lip Sync Battle Himself Episode: "Boris Kodjoe vs. Nicole Ari Parker"
Grey's Anatomy Robert Sullivan Episode: "What I Did For Love"

Episode: "Thunderstruck"

2022 Real Husbands of Hollywood: More Kevin, More Problems Himself Series regular

References

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  1. ^ a b c Williams, Kam (2009). "Boris Kodjoe: The All about Us Interview with Kam Williams". aalbc.com. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  2. ^ "Boris Kodjoe - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ^ Buckley, Michael. "Stage to Screens: Chats With Whitford, Hurt, Howard, and Kodjoe", Playbill, 5 May 2008.
  4. ^ The Gospel: Boris Kodjoe Archived February 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Boris Kodjoe at superiorpics.com
  6. ^ "Kodjoe's Time Has Finally Come," Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics, Wednesday, June 16, 2010. Archived April 10, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ The Tradition of VCU Men's Tennis (Virginia Commonwealth University men's tennis media guide).
  8. ^ Boris Kodjoe (profile) – Classic TV & Movie Hits. Archived August 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Boris Kodjoe On Experiencing Racism While Growing Up In Germany". BET. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  10. ^ Etkin, Jaimie; Jarett Wieselman (9 May 2014). "Shonda Rhimes Takes Over ABC's Thursday Nights". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Boris Kodjoe Joins ABC's 'The Club'; Yvette Monreal In El Rey's 'Matador'". Deadline.com. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  12. ^ Prudom, Laura (February 5, 2015). "Boris Kodjoe Joins Fox's 'The Last Man on Earth'". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 19, 2018). "'Station 19' Taps Boris Kodjoe for Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  14. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 9, 2018). "Boris Kodjoe Upped To Series Regular On 'Station 19'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "Boris and Nicole Open Up About Sophie's Spina Bifida" Archived February 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Celebrity Baby Blog, 15 January 2009.
  16. ^ Rhone, Nedra; and Gracie Bonds Staples. "In Atlanta’s churches, prayers for president-elect" Archived June 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9 November 2008.
  17. ^ "The Legal Maze Behind a Charlotte Kirk Movie About O.J. Simpson". Hollywood Reporter. 22 October 2020.
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