Blair Underwood

Actor

Birth Date: August 25, 1964

Age: 59 years old

Birth Place: Tacoma, Washington

Awards

With his successful run playing a brash attorney on the popular Stephen Bochco legal drama "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1986-1994), actor Blair Underwood carved out a niche for himself portraying highly educated authority figures on scores of television series and in feature films. Underwood did all this by managing to avoid negative typecasting of African-American men often seen in Hollywood; earning NAACP Image awards for offering audiences multi-faceted lawyers, doctors and executives in films like "Set it Off" (1996) and "Deep Impact" (1998), and on series ranging from "Sex and the City" (HBO, 1998-2004) to "LAX" (NBC, 2004-05). The Golden Globe nominee also enjoyed opportunities to bring important African-American cultural touchstones to life in acclaimed TV movies like "Murder in Mississippi" (NBC, 1990), the Negro League baseball chronicle "Soul of the Game" (HBO, 1996) and Alex Haley's "Mama Flora's Family" (CBS, 1998). At the same time, he remained a consistent series star, appearing on shows including medical drama "City of Angels" (CBS 2000), animated comedy "Fatherhood" (Nick at Nite 2004-05), speculative drama "The Event" (NBC 2010-11) and superhero fantasy "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." (ABC 2013- ). Twice voted one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men," Underwood's versatility and take-charge appeal proved a consistent crowd pleaser with audiences and critics alike.