Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in the films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), ''

One False Move ''One False Move'' is a 1992 American crime thriller film directed by Carl Franklin and written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson. The film stars Thornton alongside Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams. The low-budget production was about to ...

'' (1992), ''

Short Cuts ''Short Cuts'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film is set in Los Angeles, in contr ...

'' (1993), ''

Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1995), ''

A Family Thing ''A Family Thing'' is a 1996 American drama film starring Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones and Irma P. Hall. It was written by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson and directed by Richard Pearce. Plot Earl Pilcher ( Robert Duvall), an equip ...

'' (1996), ''

Soul Food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

'' (1997), ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'' (2018), '' If Beale Street Could Talk'' (2018), and ''

Saw X ''Saw X'' is a 2023 American horror film directed and edited by Kevin Greutert, and written by Peter Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg. It is the tenth installment in the Saw (franchise), ''Saw'' film series, following ''Spiral (2021 film), Spiral'' ...

'' (2023). On television, he played Al Boulet on the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in another NBC drama series, ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'', as Monte Parker, and as T.O. Cross in FX's ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

''.

Early life

Beach was born in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for ne ...

, on October 30, 1963. He graduated from

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 ...

with a degree for the

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 ...

. His mother, Barbara Gomes Beach, is of Portuguese and African descent.

Career

Beach's big screen debut was in '' End of the Line'' in 1987, and he went on to appear opposite

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and narrator. In a career spanning six decades, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Tony ...

and Beverly Todd in '' Lean on Me'' (1989). Beach also co-starred in films including '' Internal Affairs'', ''

Cadence In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...

'' (both 1990), ''

'' (1992) with Cynda Williams, ''

'' and ''

True Romance ''True Romance'' is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt ...

'' (both 1993). Beach's big break came in 1995, playing

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. Known for her work in film and television since the 1980s, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Angela Bassett, various accolades, including a Primetime ...

's unfaithful husband in the comedy-drama film ''

''. In 1997, he played Vanessa L. Williams's unfaithful husband in the comedy-drama film ''

''. On television, he played a recurring role as Al Boulet, the ex-husband of

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...

Jeanie Boulet ( Gloria Reuben) in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in the NBC drama series ''

'', playing

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fire Suppression Services, ...

paramedic Monte 'Doc' Parker. Beach has had guest-starring roles on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American police procedural television series starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, G ...

'', and ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

''. He was also a regular on the short-lived NBC series ''

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

'' in 2014, and had recurring roles on ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an Adventure film, adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad W ...

'', ''

The Client List ''The Client List'' is an American television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution s ...

'', '' The Game'', '' Secrets and Lies'', '' S.W.A.T.'' and '' The 100''. Most recently he has had a guest-starring role in seasons 6 and 7 of '' Chicago P.D.'' as Darius Walker, a drug dealer and community philanthropist turned

confidential informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

. In December 2022, Beach was confirmed by ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' to have signed on to appear in ''

'', the tenth installment of the ''

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

'' film series, for release in October 2023.

Personal life

Beach married Tracey Beach in 1990, and their marriage lasted until their divorce in 2006. The following year, he married Elisha Wilson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video Games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Michael 1963 births 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors Living people American male film actors People from Roxbury, Boston Male actors from Boston American male voice actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Noble and Greenough School alumni