André Holland

André Holland (born December 28, 1979) is an American actor, widely known for his 2016 performance as Kevin in the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight.

André Holland
Holland in 2019
Born	(1979-12-28) December 28, 1979 Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Education	Florida State University (BFA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2006–present

Throughout his career, Holland has acted in film, television, and theatre productions. On television, he has starred as Dr. Algernon Edwards in the Cinemax series The Knick (2014–2015) and as Matt Miller in the FX series American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016). He portrayed politician and activist Andrew Young in the 2014 film Selma and sportswriter Wendell Smith in the 2013 film 42. On stage, he has starred in August Wilson's play Jitney on Broadway in 2017. In 2020, he plays a lead role on the Netflix musical drama series The Eddy, directed by Damien Chazelle.

Early life

Holland was born and raised in Bessemer, Alabama. He graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School.[1] His first stage performance was in a production of Oliver! at the Birmingham Summerfest Theatre, at the age of eleven.[2]

He attended Florida State University and studied abroad at the FSU London study centre during his time there. He also received a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University in 2006.[2][3]

Career

2006–2015: Early work

Holland's first on-screen performance was in an episode of Law & Order in 2006. Around this time, Holland began to perform more regularly on stage as well. In 2006, he portrayed three characters in the play Blue Door. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times gave his performance a positive review.[3]

In 2008, he played Eric in the play Wig Out! and took his first film role in the sports drama Sugar.[4] The following year, he portrayed Elegba and Marcus in The Brother/Sister Plays.[5] In 2010, he was cast in the Matthew Lopez play The Whipping Man,[6] for which he won the Vivian Robinson/Audelco Award for Best Supporting Actor.[7]

In 2011, he starred as Julian "Fitz" Fitzgerald in several episodes of the NBC sitcom Friends with Benefits. In 2013, he portrayed Wendell Smith in the film 42. In 2014, he portrayed Andrew Young in Ava DuVernay's historical drama film Selma.[8] For his performance, he was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.

From 2014 to 2015, he starred in a supporting role opposite Clive Owen in the Cinemax original drama series The Knick.[9]

2016–present: Moonlight and beyond

Holland at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival

In 2016, he achieved widespread notice for his performance as Kevin in Barry Jenkins' drama film Moonlight, for which he received critical acclaim and numerous accolades.[10] The film won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture, at the 89th annual ceremony.[11]

Holland's performance was singled out by some film critics, including those at Rolling Stone and GQ, who dubbed him a "standout" in the film.[12][13] As a member of the film's ensemble cast, he received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards.[14] He also received nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the Florida Film Critics Circle and Outstanding Supporting Actor at the Black Reel Awards.[15][16]

Following the success of Moonlight, in 2017, Holland portrayed Youngblood in August Wilson's play Jitney on Broadway.[17] He next appeared in DuVernay's fantasy adventure film A Wrinkle in Time, released in March 2018.[18] The film received mixed reviews from critics.[19] Later that year, he portrayed the leading character Henry Matthew Deaver on the Hulu series Castle Rock; his turn on the series has earned positive reviews from critics, including Amy Woolsey of Vulture, who praised his performance as "textured."[20]

Since July 2018, he has starred in a production of Othello at Shakespeare's Globe, costarring with Mark Rylance.[21] In 2018, he also made his Off Off Broadway directing debut with a production of Greg Keller's Dutch Masters.[22]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Sugar	Brad Johnson	Nominated – Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance
	Miracle at St. Anna	Private Needles
	Last Call	Pete
2009	Bride Wars	DJ Jazzles
	Us: A Love Story	Carjack Victim	Short film
2011	Small, Beautifully Moving Parts	Leon
2012	Nobody's Nobody's	Jason	Short film
2013	42	Wendell Smith
2014	Black or White	Reggie Davis
	Selma	Andrew Young	Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2016	Moonlight	Kevin Jones	Boston Online Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated – Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated – Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Nominated – Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Runner-up – Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting Nominated – San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2018	A Wrinkle in Time	Principal James Jenkins
2019	High Flying Bird	Ray Burke
	Battle at Big Rock	Dennis	Short film
TBA	Passing	Brian Redfield	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Law & Order	David Sachs	Episode: "Public Service Homicide"
2007	The Black Donnellys	Frank Thomas	Episode: "Wasn't That Enough?"
	The News	DeShawn Burkett	Television film
2009	Lost & Found	Gayle Dixon	Television film
2010	The Rockford Files	Angel Martin	Television film
	Damages	Bank Manager	Episode: "You Haven't Replaced Me"
2011	Friends with Benefits	Julian "Fitz" Fitzgerald	13 episodes
	Burn Notice	Dion Carver	Episode: "Breaking Point"
2012–2013	1600 Penn	Marshall Malloy	13 episodes
2014–2015	The Knick	Dr. Algernon Edwards	20 episodes Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series Nominated – Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2016	American Horror Story: Roanoke	Matt Miller	9 episodes
2018	Castle Rock	Henry Deaver	10 episodes
2020	The Eddy	Elliot Udo	8 episodes

References

1. "From Bessemer to Brooklyn: John Carroll graduate Andre Holland arrives in Jackie Robinson film '42'". AL.com. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
2. Bird, Alan (June 6, 2011). "André Holland - Questions and Answers - Interview". New York Theatre Guide. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
3. Isherwood, Charles (October 9, 2006). "Blue Door - Theater - Review". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
4. Blankenship, Mark (September 30, 2008). "Wig Out!". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
5. Hetrick, Adam (September 15, 2009). "Holland, Simms, Johnson and More Set for The Brother/Sister Plays at the Public". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
6. Gans, Andrew (November 22, 2010). "Andre Holland and Jay Wilkison Will Join Andre Braugher in MTC's Premiere of Whipping Man". Playbill. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
7. Bacalzo, Dan (November 17, 2011). "Andre De Shields, Andre Holland, Sanaa Lathan et al. Win Audelco Awards". Theatermania. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
8. Kit, Borys (May 7, 2014). "'42' Actor Joins Martin Luther King Drama 'Selma'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
9. Niles, Jon. "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: 'The Knick' Star André Holland Talks Algernon Edwards & Cornelia Robertson's Relationship, Race Issues & More About New Cinemax Series". MStarz.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
10. Viera, Bené (October 26, 2016). "Moonlight's André Holland Talks About His Unforgettable Performance". GQ. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
11. Horowitz, Jordan (December 19, 2017). "The Oscars best picture fiasco: 'I can sort of laugh about it now'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 19, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
12. Viera, Bené (October 26, 2016). "Moonlight's André Holland Talks About His Unforgettable Performance". GQ. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
13. Travers, Peter (October 19, 2016). "'Moonlight' Review: African-American Coming-of-Age Tale Is a Gamechanger". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
14. "SAG Award Nominations 2017: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
15. "17th Annual Black Reel Awards Nominations". Black Reel Awards. December 14, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
16. "'Moonlight' leads 2016 Florida Film Critics Awards Nominations". Florida Film Critics Circle. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
17. "'Moonlight' Star André Holland Opens in August Wilson's 'Jitney' on Broadway: REVIEW - Towleroad". Towleroad. January 23, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
18. Hipes, Patrick (November 2, 2016). "'A Wrinkle In Time' Adds Michael Peña, Zach Galifianakis, André Holland & More To Round Out Cast – Update". Deadline Hollywood.
19. Chuba, Kirsten (March 7, 2018). "'A Wrinkle in Time' Reviews: What the Critics Are Saying". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
20. Woolsey, Amy. "How André Holland Keeps Castle Rock Afloat". Vulture. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
21. Wood, Alex (April 11, 2018). "'Michelle Terry to play Hamlet in her inaugural season at Shakespeare's Globe". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
22. Soloski, Alexis (April 10, 2018). "Review: In 'Dutch Masters,' Subway Seatmates, So Close and Yet So Far". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

External links

• André Holland on IMDb