Early life

Underwood was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of Marilyn Ann Scales, an interior decorator, and Frank Eugene Underwood, Sr., a United States Army colonel. Because of his father's military career, Underwood lived on bases and Army Posts in the United States and Stuttgart, Germany, during his childhood. Blair attended Petersburg High School in Petersburg, Virginia. He went on to attend the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is an honorary member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Career

After his film debut, Krush Groove, Underwood's 1985 appearance on The Cosby Show landed him a short stint on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live as Bobby Blue, which eventually led to his performance on the TV series L.A. Law, where he appeared from 1987 to 1994. In 1996 he was featured in the July issue of Playgirl. Blair also appeared in the 1987's TV series 21 Jump Street aside a young Johnny Depp on episode "Gotta Finish the Riff."

Underwood's film career began with roles in Just Cause (1995), Set It Off (1996) and Deep Impact (1998). He also had a supporting role as a geneticist in Gattaca. In 2000, he played the lead role in the short-lived television series City of Angels. In 2003, he guest starred in four episodes on the HBO series Sex and the City playing Cynthia Nixon's love interest. In 2004, he played the role of Roger De Souza opposite Heather Locklear in NBC's LAX. He gained acclaim as the sexy grade school teacher in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus for two years. In 2007, he guest starred in an episode of the NBC series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He played the character Alex in the first season of the HBO series In Treatment, for which he was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2009 Golden Globes.

Underwood has received three NAACP Image Awards, for his film work in Rules of Engagement, and his television work in L.A. Law, City of Angels, Murder in Mississippi and Mama Flora's Family. Underwood was voted one of People 's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2000, and one of TV Guide 's "Most Influential Faces of the 90s". In 2007, Underwood co-authored the novel Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel with husband-and-wife team Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.

In 2010-2011, Underwood portrayed United States President Elias Martinez in the NBC drama series The Event, which premiered in Fall 2010. Underwood portrayed the role of Saint Mark in The Truth & Life Dramatized audio New Testament Bible, a 22-hour, celebrity-voiced, fully dramatized audio New Testament, based on the RSV-CE translation.

In 2012, he played the lead role of Stanley in the Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2013, Underwood played the role of Robert Ironside in the remake of the successful 1960's television series, Ironside, made famous by the late Raymond Burr. The show was cancelled after three episodes.

Personal life

Underwood is a part of several charitable organizations. He won the 1993 Humanitarian Award for his work with the Los Angeles chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. In 2003, along with Ashley Judd, he served as the spokesperson for YouthAIDS. In addition, he is involved with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's Blair Underwood Clinic in Washington, DC.

Underwood also appeared in a 2004 public service announcement for The Fulfillment Fund. He is a Trustee for the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, a non-profit theatre group founded by Danny Glover, focusing on plays about the Black experience.

He supported President Barack Obama's candidacy and spoke at campaign rallies for Obama. Underwood got to know Obama while researching his L.A. Law role at Harvard Law School, while Obama was president of the Harvard Law Review.

Underwood's DNA test showed that he is a descendant of the Babungo people of Cameroon. Additional DNA testing and genealogical research revealed that his African ancestry comes from the Bamum, Brong and lgbo ethnic groups of Western Africa. The DNA test also connected Blair to a distant cousin in Babungo, Cameroon.

On September 17, 1994, he married Desiree DaCosta, with whom he has three children, Paris, Brielle, and Blake.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1985	Krush Groove	Russell Walker
1988	Mickey's 60th Birthday	Jonathan Rollins	Television film
1989	The Cover Girl and the Cop	Horace Bouchet	Television film
1990	Murder in Mississippi	James Chaney	Television film
1990	Heat Wave	Robert Richardson	Television film
1992	The Second Coming	Jesus
1993	Posse	Carver
1993	Father & Son: Dangerous Relations	Jared Williams	Television film
1995	Just Cause	Bobby Earl
1996	Soul of the Game	Jackie Robinson	Television film
1996	Mistrial	Lieutenant C. Hodges	Television film
1996	Set It Off	Keith Weston	Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
1997	Gattaca	Geneticist
1998	Asunder	Chance Williams
1998	Deep Impact	Mark Simon
1998	Mama Flora's Family	Willie	Television film
1999	Wishing Tree, TheThe Wishing Tree	Magic Man
2000	Rules of Engagement	Capt. Lee	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
2002	Truth Be Told	Det. Harris
2002	G	Chip Hightower
2002	Full Frontal	Nicholas/Calvin
2003	Malibu's Most Wanted	Tom Gibbons
2004	Fronterz	(unknown role)
2004	Do Geese See God?	Man
2005	Straight Out of Compton 2	Hen	Also producer
2005	Golden Blaze, TheThe Golden Blaze	Gregory Fletcher/The Golden Blaze	Animated
2006	Something New	Mark Harper
2006	Madea's Family Reunion	Carlos
2006	Covert One: The Hades Factor	Palmer Addison	Television film
2007	Operation Homecoming	Voice role
2007	The Hit	Hen
2009	The Bridge to Nowhere	Director
2011	Art of Getting By, TheThe Art of Getting By	Principal Bill Martinson
2011	I Will Follow	Evan
2012	Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day	David Ames
2012	The True Friendship or Not?..	Principal Bramble
2014	The Trip to Bountiful	Ludie Watts	Television film NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated—Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Knight Rider	Potts	Episode: "Knight of the Juggernaut: Part 1"
1985	Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show	Robert (Denise's Friend)	Episode: "Jitterbug Break"
1985	Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show	Mark	Episode: "Theo and the Other Woman"
1985-1986	One Life to Live	Bobby Blue	Unknown episodes
1986-1987	Downtown	Terry Corsaro	14 episodes
1987	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Stillman	Episode: "All That Glitters"
1987	21 Jump Street	Reginald Brooks	Episode: "Gotta Finish the Riff"
1987-1994	L.A. Law	Jonathan Rollins	149 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1991	Different World, AA Different World	Zelmer Collier	Episode: "War and Peace"
1996-1997	High Incident	Officer Michael Rhoades	22 episodes
2000	City of Angels	Dr. Ben Turner	24 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
2003-2004	Sex and the City	Dr. Robert Leeds	5 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
2004-2005	Fatherhood	Dr. Arthur Bindlebeep	24 episodes
2004-2005	LAX	Roger De Souza	13 episodes
2006-2010	New Adventures of Old Christine, TheThe New Adventures of Old Christine	Mr. Harris	9 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
2007	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Miles Sennett	Episode: "Burned"
2007-2009	Dirty Sexy Money	Simon Elder	20 episodes Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
2008	In Treatment	Alex	9 episodes Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
2010-2011	The Event	President Elias Martinez	22 episodes
2012	Superman of Tokyo	Superman of Tokyo	2 episodes
2013	Thunder and Lightning	Black Lightning	2 episodes
2013	Ironside	Robert Ironside	9 episodes
2015-2016	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	Andrew Garner	8 episodes
2016	The Lion Guard	Makuu	2 episodes
2016	The Good Wife	Harry Dargis	Episode: "Shoot"

Video games

• The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon - Hunter

Bibliography

• Before I Got Here: The Wondrous Things We Hear When We Listen to the Souls of Our Children (2005; editor, with Donyell Kennedy-McCullough (photographer))
• The Tennyson Hardwick Novels:
  • Casanegra (2007; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
  • In the Night of the Heat (2008; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
  • From Cape Town with Love (2010; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)
  • South by Southeast (scheduled for September 2012; with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes)

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1991	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	L.A. Law	Nominated
1992	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Murder in Mississippi	Won
1995		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	L.A. Law	Won
1997		Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Soul of the Game	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Set It Off	Nominated
1999		Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Mama Flora's Family	Won
2001		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	City of Angels	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Rules of Engagement	Won
2004		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Sex and the City	Nominated
2005				Nominated
2008		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Dirty Sexy Money	Nominated
2009	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	In Treatment	Nominated
	Grammy Awards	Best Spoken Word Album	An Inconvenient Truth	Won
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	In Treatment	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	The New Adventures of Old Christine	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Dirty Sexy Money	Nominated
2011		Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	The Event	Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries	The Trip to Bountiful	Nominated
2015	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special		Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]