Artel J. Great (born September 11, 1981) also known as Artel Kayàru, is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Rodney in the 2002 film '' Dahmer''.

Personal life

Great was born and raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He has been married since 2016; Nelsan Ellis was his best man at his wedding.

Career

Acting career

Great moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in acting and landed roles in the films '' Light It Up'' (1999) and '' Save the Last Dance'' (2001). In 2002, Great appeared opposite Jeremy Renner and Bruce Davison in David Jacobson's '' Dahmer'' (2002), a biographical film about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The character he portrayed, Rodney, is based on Tracy Edwards, who was intended to be Dahmer's next murder victim but managed to escape from him and successfully turn him in to the authorities. For his performance in the film, Great was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. He lost the award to Nia Vardalos for '' My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002). Great collaborated with Jacobson again in '' Down in the Valley'' (2005). He also appeared in the 2005 television movie '' Their Eyes Were Watching God'' and the 2009 film '' The Soloist''.

Other work

On June 11, 2010, Great graduated summa cum laude from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Great earned his MA degree at UCLA and is a PhD candidate at New York University. In 2014, Great was announced a Cinema Research Institute Fellow at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Great is the creator of the Project Catalyst app, which he developed at the New York University Cinema Research Institute. Great worked as a film studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington starting in 2019. As of 2023, he is a professor of African-American cinema studies at San Francisco State University.

Select filmography

*'' Save the Last Dance'' (2001) *'' Dahmer'' (2002) *'' Down in the Valley'' (2005) *'' The Alibi'' (2006) *'' Heavens Fall'' (2006) *'' The Soloist'' (2009)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Great, Artel Living people 1981 births Male actors from Chicago American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors University of North Carolina at Wilmington faculty Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics San Francisco State University faculty