Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor,

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, writer and producer. La Salle is known for his performance as Dr. Peter Benton in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

medical drama '' ER'' (1994–2002; 2008–2009) which earned him three

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

and nominations for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

and three

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

Early life

La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, by his mother, Ada Haynes. He is an alumnus of Weaver High School and the Artists Collective, Inc. in Hartford. He attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

's Drama Division for two years as a member of Group 13 (1980–1984), then attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree from the Graduate Acting Program in 1984.

Career

At the time of his graduation from NYU, La Salle was cast in

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...

's Shakespeare in the Park production of ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

''. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway,

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, and on several daytime TV dramas including ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', where he played the reporter Mike Rivers. In 1988, La Salle co-starred as Darryl Jenks in the

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

movie ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, and starring Murphy (in various roles), Arsenio ...

''. In 1994, the

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

''ER'' premiered on

with La Salle starring as Dr. Peter Benton. He held the role until leaving during the eighth season. He returned to ''ER'' for three episodes during its 15th and final season, including an uncredited appearance as himself in the opening of "Heal Thyself" to tell the audience of the death of the show's creator

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

. During season 15, he returned to direct an episode. On January 31, 2003, he made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in '' Biker Boyz'' as Slick Will, a mechanic. He played a Jamaican gangster in the independent film '' Johnny Was'' opposite

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is an English actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, C ...

, Samantha Mumba,

Lennox Lewis Lennox Claudius Lewis (born 2 September 1965) is a British-Canadian boxing commentator and former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division from 1989 to 2003. He was a three-time world champion, a two-time lineal champion, ...

, and

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

. La Salle lived in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

for four weeks while filming the movie, which he supported at the premiere of the film during the 2006 American Black Film Festival in Miami. La Salle starred in the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

original movie, ''Relative Stranger'', which premiered on March 14, 2009. Also in the movie were

Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...

and La Salle's former ''ER'' castmates Michael Michele (Dr.

Cleo Finch Cleo Finch is a fictional character from the NBC television series '' ER''. She was portrayed by Michael Michele and appeared on the show from the sixth season's episode, "Leave It to Weaver," which aired on September 30, 1999, until the eighth ...

) and Michael Beach (Al Boulet). In 2010, La Salle played the United Nations Secretary General in the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

of '' 24,'' and guest-starred in an episode of ''

Covert Affairs ''Covert Affairs'' is an American action drama television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham that premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. On January 6, 2015, USA Network canceled ''Covert Affairs'' afte ...

'' in August of the same year. In 2011, he played two recurring roles: first as a Caribbean community leader who rallied against the product Rasta Monsta in HBO's '' How to Make it in America'', the second as the neuropsychiatrist E-Mo in CBS' '' A Gifted Man''. In 1996, La Salle began his directorial career with his debut in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

made-for-TV movie '' Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault'', starring

Don Cheadle Donald Frank Cheadle Jr. (, ; born November 29, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his roles in film and television, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Don Cheadle, multiple accolades including two Golden Globe Award ...

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

and

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...

. Shortly after that, La Salle directed the pilot for '' Soul Food: The Series'' on Showtime. In 2002, he produced the feature film '' The Salton Sea''. That same year, he produced, directed and starred in the movie ''

Crazy as Hell ''Crazy as Hell'' is a 2002 psychological film that is based on the 1982 novel '' Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S.'' by Jeremy Leven and follows Dr. Ty Adams ( Michael Beach), an aggressive and overconfid ...

''. In 2003 he wrote, directed and starred in " Memphis", an episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

''. He directed the 2012 Hallmark Channel movie'' Playing Father'', and multiple episodes of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' CSI: NY'', '' Ringer'', and NBC’s spinoff '' Law & Order: Organized Crime''. La Salle's first novel, ''Laws of Depravity'', was published in 2012. In 2015, La Salle returned to television with a role in ''Under the Dome''s third season, after directing one episode of the second season. He also directed an episode in the third season. He both acted in and directed episodes of '' CSI: Cyber.'' He performed in other series, such as ''The Night Shift'' and ''Madam Secretary''. In 2016, La Salle directed the episode "Wingman" in the Fox series ''

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

'' and the episode "Black and Blue" of TNT's '' Murder in the First''. He co-starred as Will Munson in the 2017 superhero film ''Logan''. La Salle also directed and produced multiple episodes of '' Chicago P.D.'' throughout its many seasons.

Filmography

Film

Acting roles

Television

Acting roles

TV movies

Acting roles

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Salle, Eriq 1962 births American male film actors American male television actors African-American television directors American television directors Film directors from Connecticut American television writers American male television writers Juilliard School alumni Living people Tisch School of the Arts alumni Male actors from Hartford, Connecticut 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors Chicago (franchise)