Obba Babatundé

Obba Babatundé Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: December 1, 1951

Age: 72 years old

Birth Place: Queens, New York City, New York

An accomplished singer and dancer, Obba Babatunde first garnered praise for his theater work in NYC before branching into films and TV. Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, the handsome, lithe performer was bitten by the showbiz bug early. From the age of 6, he staged shows for his family. Babatunde made his professional debut as a member of the Metropolitan Brass Ensemble on a tour of the West Indies. After graduating from Brooklyn College, he and his brother worked as teachers and administrators at Harriet Tubman School, a private educational institution geared to talented children of color. The dual demands of his growing acting career and working at the school finally came to a head around 1978 and Babatunde made the commitment to pursue his dreams. He racked up credits as a voice-over artist for TV commercials and appeared in various productions Off-Off- and Off-Broadway. One of his first breaks came in 1976 with a touring company of "Guys and Dolls" starring Leslie Uggams and Richard Roundtree. The following year, he made his film debut in a small role in the prison drama "Short Eyes." Babatunde earned notice for his supporting role in the Broadway musical "Timbuktu" (1977-78), a role that required him to perform on stilts. When the show closed, he became one of the featured performers in Liza Minnelli's concert tour (which included playing Carnegie Hall); Babatunde was given a solo, "Mr. Cellophane."
The 80s brought continued theater and TV work. After Babatunde appeared as a dancer in the ABC variety special "Baryshnikov on Broadway" (1980), he was cast C.C., as the composer-brother of Jennifer Holliday's Effie, in Michael Bennett's acclaimed "Dreamgirls," loosely inspired by Diana Ross and the Supremes. Babatunde was nominated for a Featured Actor Tony Award and found himself in demand. By the mid-80s, he was headlining in theater (a revival of "Golden Boy"), nightclubs and had landed a regular role on the ABC soap "All My Children."
Moving to L.A. in the late 80s, Babatunde began to move into primetime with guest appearances on dramas ("China Beach") and sitcoms ("A Different World") and found small roles in features as well. He has appeared in three films directed by Jonathan Demme ("Married to the Mob" 1988; "The Silence of the Lambs" 1991; and "Philadelphia" 1993). Other credits include "Dead Again" (1991), an all-black version of "The Importance of Being Earnest" (1992, as the servant Lane), "That Thing You Do," "Life" (both 1996), "How High" (2001), "John Q" (2002), "After the Sunset" and "The Manchurian Candidate" (both 2004). The small screen has provided the actor with meaty roles, like his guest appearance as an AIDS patient on "Chicago Hope" in 1994 and, most notably, his Emmy-nominated performance as dancer Willie Johnson, one of the participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, in the HBO original movie "Miss Evers' Boys" (1997). The actor also made a strong showing as Motown impressario Berry Gordy in the NBC telepic "The Temptations" (1998) and as dance man Harold Nicholas, one of the famed Nicholas Brothers and the husband of Dorothy Dandridge (Halle Berry) in the HBO biopic "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" (1999). He turned to series TV in a recurring roles on The WB's "Dawson's Creek" (as Principal Greene in the 1999-2000 seasons), Showtime's "Soul Food" (2000-2004), UPN's "Half & Half" (2002 - ) and ABC's "Karen Sisco" (2002-2004). Despite leaving Broadway behind, Babatunde has not abandoned the theater completely. He has frequently appeared on stage in musicals in Southern California, including in the title role of the world premiere of "Jelly's Last Jam" in 1991. More recently, Babatunde co-starred with Jasmine Guy and Charlotte d'Amboise in the national tour of "Chicago" (1997-98).

Credits

45 Seconds

Actor
Lt. Reginald Morrow
Movie
2023

45 Seconds

Producer
Movie
2023

Horse Talk

Host
Show
2022

Noble Intentions

Actor
Pastor Stevens
Movie
2022

A Polished Soul

Actor
Solomon
Movie
2022

A Polished Soul

Executive Producer
Movie
2022

The Men in My Life

Actor
Movie
2021

The Millennial

Actor
Mr. Burke
Movie
2020

Kiss Me for Christmas

Actor
Mr. Porter
Movie
2020

For the PeopleStream

Guest Star
Philip Kaws
Series
2018
69%

Kinky

Actor
Mr. Bernard
Movie
2018

Jingle BelleStream

Actor
Charles Williams
Movie
2018

S.W.A.T.Stream

Guest Star
Daniel Harrelson Sr.
Series
2017

Raven's Watch

Actor
Stark
Movie
2016

American Bad Boy

Actor
Pastor Lovely
Movie
2015

American Bad Boy

Director
Movie
2015

American Bad Boy

Executive Producer
Movie
2015

If I Tell You I Have to Kill You

Actor
Jonathan Black
Movie
2015

If I Tell You I Have to Kill You

Executive Producer
Movie
2015

Death's Door

Actor
Mesmer
Movie
2015

Madam SecretaryStream

Guest Star
President Silvanus Fabre
Series
2014

Clarissa's Gift

Director
Movie
2014

Clarissa's Gift

Screenwriter
Movie
2014

Cult

Guest Star
Show
2013

Dolls of Voodoo

Actor
Iklif
Movie
2013

Go Beyond the Lens With Obba Babatundé

Host
Show
2012

Santa Paws 2: The Santa PupsStream

Actor
Mayor Denny
Movie
2012

Great Hearts of Courage

Actor
Show
2011

The Trap Door

Actor
Mesmer
Movie
2011

Trapped: Haitian Nights

Actor
Ikliff
Movie
2010

Why Am I Doing This?

Actor
Cliff
Movie
2009

I Do... I Did!

Actor
Mr. Johnson
Movie
2009

The EyeStream

Actor
Dr. Haskins
Movie
2008
22%

Private PracticeStream

Guest Star
Dr. Larry Cannon
Series
2007

Saving GraceStream

Guest Star
Series
2007
76%

April Fools

Actor
Movie
2007

The Celestine Prophecy

Actor
Miguel
Movie
2006

Material Girls

Actor
Craig
Movie
2006

Criminal Minds: EvolutionStream

Guest Star
Series
2005

Grey's AnatomyStream

Guest Star
Series
2005
84%

TV in Black: The First 50 Years

Producer
Show
2005

Oscar's Black Odyssey: From Hattie to Halle

Director
Show
2004

Oscar's Black Odyssey: From Hattie to Halle

Producer
Show
2004

Oscar's Black Odyssey: From Hattie to Halle

Writer
Show
2004

Boston LegalStream

Guest Star
Dr. Victor Rivers
Series
2004
86%

The Manchurian CandidateStream

Actor
Senator Wells
Movie
2004
80%

After the Sunset

Actor
Zacharias
Movie
2004

Kangaroo Jack: G'Day U.S.A.!

Voice
Chief Ankamuti
Movie
2004

Joy Road

Actor
Dr. Howard Perkins
Movie
2004

Karen Sisco

Guest Star
Series
2003
95%

Cold CaseStream

Guest Star
Series
2003

NCISStream

Guest Star
Joe Banks
Series
2003

Half & HalfStream

Actor
Series
2002

Half & HalfStream

Guest Star
Series
2002

Redeemer

Actor
Charles Henderson
Movie
2002

John QStream

Actor
Sgt. Moody
Movie
2002
25%

The Wild Thornberrys Movie

Voice
Boko
Movie
2002

The Beast

Guest Star
Show
2001

One Special Moment

Actor
Movie
2001

How High

Actor
Dean Carl Cain
Movie
2001

Soul Food

Guest Star
Series
2000

The Visit

Actor
Tony
Movie
2000

Xyber 9

Voice
Show
1999

Family LawStream

Guest Star
Series
1999

LifeStream

Actor
Willie Long
Movie
1999
52%

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge

Actor
Harold Nicholas
Movie
1999

The Apartment Complex

Actor
Chett
Movie
1999

Dawson's CreekStream

Guest Star
Series
1998

Spy Game

Guest Star
Show
1997

Miss Evers' Boys

Actor
Willie Johnson
Movie
1997

The Burning Zone

Guest Star
Show
1996

Sparks

Guest Star
Show
1996

Soul of the Game

Actor
Cum Posey
Movie
1996

That Thing You Do!Stream

Actor
Lamarr
Movie
1996
94%

The Tomorrow Man

Actor
Brian Parish
Movie
1996

The Outer LimitsStream

Guest Star
Dr. Joseph Lennox
Series
1995

SlidersStream

Guest Star
Series
1995

Under One Roof

Guest Star
Show
1995

A Reason to Believe

Actor
Prof. Thurman
Movie
1995

FriendsStream

Guest Star
The Director
Series
1994
78%

Touched by an AngelStream

Guest Star
Series
1994

Chicago Hope

Guest Star
Series
1994

Necronomicon

Actor
Paul
Movie
1994

Fatal Pursuit

Actor
Trinidad
Movie
1994

NYPD BlueStream

Guest Star
Kevin Dupree
Series
1993
83%

Undercover Blues

Actor
Lt. Theodore 'Ted' Sawyer
Movie
1993

The Importance of Being Earnest

Actor
Lane
Movie
1991

The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirStream

Guest Star
Series
1990

The Bold and the BeautifulStream

Actor
Obba Babatunde
Soap
1987

The Bold and the BeautifulStream

Guest Star
Soap
1987

MatlockStream

Guest Star
Series
1986

News aboutObba Babatundé