Dennis L. A. White is an American actor noted for portraying Damion "D-Roc" Butler in the

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

biopic entitled ''Notorious''.

Early life

White was born and raised in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

in 1978, to a Grammy nominated mother and a military father. He was exposed to many different cultures and ideas. When his family relocated to

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

White developed his love for music and acting. He was offered a baseball scholarship while a student at Westover High School to play baseball; however, he decided to take an academic scholarship at

Winston-Salem State University Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. History Winston-Salem State University was founded as "Slater Industrial A ...

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

Career

Under the guise of "Dennis Da Menace", Dennis put out his Billboard charted album, ''The Wonderful World of Dennis'' in 2001. In 2003, Dennis became the first African-American host at Fuse Television. He began to host several TV shows: ''Weekend Vibe'', HBO's ''5 Rounds'' and ''Chatzone'', and MTV's ''Hip Hop Life''. White then pursued his love for acting with appearances in ''The Brave One'' with Jodie Foster, ''Law & Order: SVU'', ''The Jury'', ''I Think I Love My Wife'', etc. In 2010, he portrayed a cancer stricken comedian in Marq Overton's Off Broadway play, ''Die Laughing''. White also played Virgil on The N mini-series, Miracle's Boys. Dennis had a recurring role on TNT (TV channel)'s ''The Closer''. In 2009, Dennis created "Act Like You Know", a company that gives acting workshops and seminars to aspiring actors across the country. In 2009, Dennis became the re-occurring character "Mistah Ray" on NBC's ''Parenthood''. In 2013, Dennis started a foundation called "M.O.R.P.H." to help eradicate racial profiling.

Filmography

Film

Television

2024 Kold X Windy Fontain Series Regular Season 2

Video Games

References

* A. O. Scott
"Notorious (2009) A Rapper's Tale, Larger Than Life"
''New York Times''. 16 January 16, 2009 * Williams, Houston
"Dennis White: The Realest Thespian In Hollywood"
allhiphop.com. 11 October 2010. * Colclough, Glenys. "Notorious Elevation: A Conversation with Dennis LA White"
''Prominence Magazine''
p. 43. Fall 2010.

External links

M.O.R.P.H.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Dennis L.A. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Actors from Los Angeles American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors