Lamman Rucker (born October 6, 1971) is an American actor. Rucker began his career on the daytime soap operas ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'' and ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'', before roles in ''

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

'' and

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of Madea, Mabel "Madea" Simmons, a tough elderly woman, and also portrays her brother Joe Simmons and her ...

's ''

Why Did I Get Married? ''Why Did I Get Married?'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film adaptation written, produced, directed, and starring Tyler Perry. It was inspired by Perry's play of the same name. The film also stars Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Sharo ...

'' and ''

Why Did I Get Married Too? ''Why Did I Get Married Too?'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Tyler Perry and starring Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, Tasha Smith, Jill Scott, Louis Gossett Jr., Malik Yoba, Michael Jai White, Sharon Leal, Richard T. Jones, Lamman ...

''. He played Will Brown in the 2008 film '' Meet the Browns'' and its

television adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

. In 2016, he began starring as Jacob Greenleaf in the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

drama series, '' Greenleaf''. , he stars in the

BET+ BET+ is a Video on demand#Subscription models, streaming service operated by Tyler Perry Studios and the BET Networks, BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. The service was first announced on June 24, 2019, ...

drama series '' The Black Hamptons''.

Early life

Rucker was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, the son of Malaya (née Ray) and Eric Rucker. He has partial ancestry from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Rucker spent his formative years in the greater Washington, DC, Maryland area. He developed an interest in acting after he was placed in several child pageants. His first acting role was a portrayal of Martin Luther King in the 4th grade. He joined the drama club in 7th grade and attended high school at the

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syst ...

in Washington, D.C. Rucker then studied at

Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...

and

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

Career

Rucker has appeared in a number of short films and television movies. His first major acting role came in 2002 when he assumed the role of attorney T. Marshall Travers on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

daytime soap opera ''

'' opposite

Tamara Tunie Tamara Tunie (born March 14, 1959) is an American film, stage, and television actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as attorney Jessica Griffin on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' (1987–1995, 1999–2007, 20 ...

. He left the series the following year and portrayed Garret Williams on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

soap opera ''

'' in 2005. During this time, he also had recurring roles on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcoms ''

All of Us ''All of Us'' is an American sitcom that premiered on the UPN network in the United States on September 16, 2003, where it aired for its first three seasons. On October 1, 2006, the show moved to The CW, a new network formed by the merger of UP ...

'' and ''

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik and executive-produced by Yvette Lee Bowser through her Sister Lee Productions banner that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006 (related to the come ...

''. Rucker is best known for his co-starring roles in the

films ''

'' (2007) and ''

'' (2010). He played Will Brown in Perry's 2008 film '' Meet The Browns'', and later had a starring role on the television series of the same name, reprising his role as Will from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, Rucker was cast as the male lead opposite

Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles across a variety of genres in film, television, and theater. She was the recipient of Daytime Emmy, National Board of Review, and GLAAD Media Awards ...

in the NBC comedy series '' Save Me'', but left after the pilot episode. He later starred opposite

Mena Suvari Mena Alexandra Suvari (; born February 13, 1979) is an American actress, producer, fashion designer and model. The accolades she has received include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, along with nominations for a Primetime ...

in the short-lived WE tv drama series, '' South of Hell''. In 2015, Rucker was cast as one of the leads in the

drama series, '' Greenleaf''. For five seasons, he played Jacob Greenleaf, the only son of Bishop James Greenleaf (

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his deep voice and screen presence in over 300 roles in film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' The Thing'' (1982), ''Pla ...

) and his wife, First Lady Daisy Mae Greenleaf (

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

). On August 29, 2019, he shared personal life experiences that he credits for his success with the Hampton University football team.

Filmography

Film

Television

Award nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rucker, Lamman 1971 births Living people Male actors from Pennsylvania American people of Barbadian descent American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Carnegie Mellon University alumni Duquesne University alumni 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors