An intense, classically trained character actor who approaches his screen projects with the same seriousness with which he does Shakespeare plays, Braugher honed his craft on the New York stage before making an auspicious film debut in
Glory as a bespectacled bookworm who enlists in the Civil War. But his five-season, Emmy-winning stint as a seemingly infallible detective humbled by a stroke on the gritty
Homicide: Life on the Streets is what made him a star. Although the role brought him myriad accolades and allowed him to work opposite his real-life wife, Ami Brabson (who played his on-screen spouse), he left the series in 1998 to pursue big-screen roles. Unfortunately, the movies rarely utilized his palpable energy. So he reprised his
Homicide role in a TV-movie and appeared in two more critically acclaimed but short-lived series---
Gideon's Crossing and
Hack---before snagging his second Emmy on the other side of the law, as a cool criminal in the miniseries
Thief. In 2009, he was cast alongside Scott Bakula and Ray Romano for the TNT dramedy
Men of a Certain Age.
Andre Braugher Fast Facts:
- Initially majored in pre-med at Stanford before switching to drama.
- Role models were James Earl Jones and Sidney Poitier.
- Claimed to have stopped watching TV in the 1970s, with the last straw being Three's Company.
- Made TV debut in 1989 as Det. Winston Blake in Kojak: Ariana; first theatrical movie was the 1989 Civil War drama Glory.
- Won fame as Det. Frank Pembleton in Homicide: Life on the Street, appearing from 1993 to '98; returned to the role for 2000's Homicide: The Movie.
- Other TV roles in the '00s included Gideon's Crossing, Thief and Men of a Certain Age.
- Andre Braugher Relationships:
- Ami Brabson - Wife
- Floyd Braugher - Father
- Isaiah Braugher - Son
- Michael Braugher - Son
- Sally Braugher - Mother
- Andre Braugher Awards:
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor for a Drama Series - Nominee
- 1998 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Winner
- 2001 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 1996 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor for a Miniseries or a Special - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 2001 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 2010 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2011 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series - Nominee
- College:
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA (BA in Theater, 1984); The Juilliard School, New York, NY (MFA in Drama, 1988)