William Jackson Harper

William Jackson Harper (born William Fitzgerald Harper; February 8, 1980), is an American actor. He portrayed Chidi Anagonye on the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020).[1][2]

William Jackson Harper
Harper at San Diego Comic-Con International in 2018
Born
William Fitzgerald Harper

(1980-02-08) February 8, 1980
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma materCollege of Santa Fe
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present

Early life

William Fitzgerald Harper[3] was born on February 8, 1980, in Dallas, Texas.[4] He graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 2003.[5] Harper chose the stage name "William Jackson Harper" when registering for the Actors' Equity Association; most permutations of "William Harper" were already in use, and he thought that "Fitzgerald" was too long. Harper opted to use the middle name "Jackson", his mother's maiden name, to honor her.[3]

Career

From 2009 to 2011, Harper starred in the PBS children's series The Electric Company.[6] Harper made his Broadway debut in 2014, cast as James Harrison and Stokely Carmichael in All the Way.[7]

In 2016, Harper was cast on the NBC comedy The Good Place.[8] Before landing the role of Chidi Anagonye, he considered quitting acting.[9][10] Harper did not learn about the show's real premise until after he was cast.[6][11] His performance has received critical praise.[6][12][13] In 2017, in between filming the show's first and second seasons, he had a leading role in Zoe Kazan's After the Blast at Lincoln Center's Claire Tow Theatre.[14][15]

In 2019, he starred in two critically acclaimed films, playing Josh in the film Midsommar and James Ross in Dark Waters.[16][17]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2010 All Good Things Moynihan's Assistant
2012 That's What She Said Harry
2015 True Story Zak Rausch
2016 Paterson Everett
2018 They Remain Keith
2019 Midsommar Josh
2019 Dark Waters James Ross
TBA The Man in the Woods Buster Heath Post-production
TBA Lost Holiday Mark Post-production

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2007 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Chayne Danforth Episode: "Self-made"
2009 Great Performances Melville Episode: "Harlem in Montmartre: A Paris Jazz Story"
2009 Mercy David Green Episode: "I Believe You Conrad"
2009–2011 The Electric Company Danny Rebus 52 episodes
2010 Law & Order Officer Derek Waldron Episode: "Boy on Fire"
2011 30 Rock Rioter Episode: "Plan B"
2013 Unforgettable Andry Fotre aka Willis Episode: "Incognito"
2014 High Maintenance Andrew Episode: "Geiger"
2015 Person of Interest Strobel Episode: "Control-Alt-Delete"
2015 The Blacklist Security Episode: "Tom Connolly (No. 11)"
2016–2020 The Good Place Chidi Anagonye Main cast — 53 episodes
2016 Deadbeat Adam Episode: "Death List Three"
2017 The Breaks Stephen Jenkins 3 episodes
2019 Jack Ryan Xander 2 episodes

Stage

Harper has also appeared in stage productions of Ruined and An Octoroon.[18][19]

Awards and nominations
Year Association Category Nominated work Result Ref
2018 Critics' Choice Television Award Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series The Good Place Nominated [20]
2019 Nominated [21]
2020 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Pending [22]
gollark: Isn't that just a fifdemo™?
gollark: Ah yes, of course, I forgot those. A RX 460 is good enough to run SC, I think.
gollark: That won't be very good at anything.
gollark: A *GTX* 460?
gollark: I don't know how or interacts with multiple return values.

References
  1. Saclao, Christian (September 26, 2016). "'The Good Place' Actor William Jackson Harper on Playing Kristen Bell's Onscreen Soulmate in the NBC Series". International Business Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  2. Charles, Marissa (September 19, 2016). "William Jackson Harper on Starring in NBC's 'The Good Place'". Ebony. Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  3. Pape, Allie. "William Jackson Harper on the Other Good Place Character He'd Like to Play". Vulture. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  4. "William Jackson Harper". Playbill. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  5. "Alumni". Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Archived from the original on October 4, 2017. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  6. Meslow, Scott (January 4, 2018). "The Good Place's William Jackson Harper Had No Idea What He Was Auditioning For". GQ. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018.
  7. "Inside Playbill Gallery". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. Andreeva, Nellie (February 12, 2016). "'Good Place' NBC Comedy Series Casts William Jackson Harper". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 27, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  9. Snierson, Dan (July 12, 2017). "'The Good Place' Star William Jackson Harper Promises 'Acupuncture and Pigs' in Season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 3, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  10. Magee, Ny (September 25, 2016). "'The Good Place' Saved William Jackson Harper From Quitting Hollywood". EURweb. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018.
  11. Radish, Christina (October 5, 2017). "'The Good Place': William Jackson Harper on That Big Twist and Season 2 Challenges". Collider. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018.
  12. Perkins, Dennis (January 19, 2017). "The Good Place ends an outstanding first season with its most masterful twist yet". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  13. Cleary, Skye (June 21, 2017). "Philosophy on TV: "The Good Place"". American Philosophical Association. Archived from the original on January 31, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  14. "After The Blast". Lincoln Center Theater. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  15. Brantley, Ben (October 23, 2017). "Review: Romancing the Bot in Zoe Kazan's 'After the Blast'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  16. "'Midsommar' Film Review – Variety". June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019.
  17. Adams, Allen. "'Dark Waters' a low-key legal drama". www.themaineedge.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  18. "William Jackson Harper". Ensemble Studio Theatre. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018.
  19. "William Jackson Harper theatre profile". AboutTheArtists.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. de Moraes, Lisa; Blyth, Antonia; Hipes, Patrick (January 13, 2019). "Critics' Choice Awards: 'Roma' Wins Best Picture To Lead Night; 'The Americans' & 'Mrs. Maisel' Top TV – The Complete Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  21. Tapley, Kristopher (January 13, 2019). "'Roma,' 'The Americans' and 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Win Top Critics' Choice Honors". Variety. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
  22. "2020 Emmy Nominations". Hollywood Reporter. July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.