Marion "Pooch" Hall, Jr. (born February 8, 1976) is an American television and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

known for his role as Derwin Davis, the football player on the sitcom '' The Game'', and as Ricky in the 2011 film ''

Jumping the Broom ''Jumping the Broom'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Salim Akil and produced by Tracey E. Edmonds, Elizabeth Hunter, T.D. Jakes, Glendon Palmer, and Curtis Wallace. The title of the film is derived from the Black ...

''. He also played the character of Daryll Donovan in the Showtime drama '' Ray Donovan''. Hall portrayed

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

in the 2016 sports biography film ''

Chuck Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer * C ...

'', about Ali's opponent

Chuck Wepner Charles Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notab ...

and the Ali–Wepner 1975 world heavyweight title boxing bout.

Early life

Marion H. Hall, Jr. is the son of Marion and Cindy Hall. He was born in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...

and attended

Brockton High School Brockton High School, established in 1870, is a high school located in Brockton, Massachusetts. It is a part of Brockton Public Schools. As of 2016 Brockton High School, with 4,029 students, is one of the largest high schools in the United States ...

. In 1994, he won the Southern New England Golden Gloves for

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

. Hall attended the

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMass Dartmouth or UMassD) is a public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the southernmost campus of the University of Massachusetts system. Formerly Southeastern Massachusett ...

where he first began acting with the UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company.

Career

Hall started his career doing commercials and modeling. Hall landed his first acting role in the 2001 ''Lift''. That same year, he appeared in '' Blue Hill Avenue''. In 2003, he served as co-host for

The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytim ...

reality series '' Girls v. Boys''. In 2005, he portrayed Ty'ree in the

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

Miracle's Boys ''Miracle's Boys'' is an American drama television series produced for Noggin's teen programming block, The N. The show began production in June 2004 and first previewed on December 17, 2004, with a behind-the-scenes special called "The Making of ...

''. The following year, he won the role of Derwin Davis on ''

Game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

''. He was featured as Chrisette Michele's love interest in her music video " What You Do". Hall had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom '' Accidentally on Purpose'' during its 2009–2010 season. He replaced

Cory Hardrict Cory Hardrict (born November 9, 1979) is an American actor. He has appeared in film and television since the late 1990s. Personal life Hardrict was born in Chicago, Illinois. After dating for six years, Hardrict and actress Tia Mowry were engage ...

(the husband of

Tia Mowry Tia Mowry is an American actress. She first gained recognition for her starring role as Tia Landry in the sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (1994–1999), opposite her twin sister Tamera Mowry. The sisters then starred together in the Disney Channel Or ...

, his co-star from ''The Game''). In an interview on ''

The Tom Joyner Morning Show The ''Tom Joyner Morning Show'' is an American nationally syndicated radio program, hosted by veteran broadcaster Tom Joyner. The program, which aired on Urban contemporary- and Urban adult contemporary-formatted stations across the United States, ...

'', Hall clarified details about his departure from the series ''The Game''. "My contract came up, I promise you. We negotiated, and we couldn't come up with a number. So my team said we're going to send you out

o auditions O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

. Hall said the Showtime series '' Ray Donovan'' knew about his commitment to BET, but it took so long to respond to his agents; however, he continued to move forward with his new projects. "I never did quit the show," Hall said. "When ''The Game'' got canceled, I was offered another job and I booked ''Ray Donovan'' the next day." Hall made a guest appearance for the sixth season in one episode " The Blueprint" and in the series finale. On September 18, 2015, he was cast in '' A Dog's Purpose''.

Personal life

Hall met his wife Linda in 1996 when she was a freshman in college. They married in 1997. They have four children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Pooch 1976 births Living people Musicians from Brockton, Massachusetts American male film actors University of Massachusetts Dartmouth alumni African-American male actors Male actors from Massachusetts 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people