Steve Harris (born December 3, 1965) is an American actor. He has played Eugene Young on the

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', Detective Isaiah "Bird" Freeman on the NBC drama '' Awake'' and Charles McCarter in

Tyler Perry Tyler Perry (born Emmitt Perry Jr., September 13, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and playwright. He is the creator and performer of the Madea character, a tough elderly woman. Perry's films vary in style from orthodox filmmak ...

’s '' Diary of a Mad Black Woman''.

Early life

Harris was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, the son of John Harris, a bus driver and Mattie Harris, a housewife. He is the older brother of actor

Wood Harris Sherwin David "Wood" Harris (born October 17, 1969) is an American actor. He has portrayed the drug kingpin Avon Barksdale on the HBO crime drama ''The Wire'', cocaine dealer Ace in '' Paid in Full'' and high school football player Julius Camp ...

. He attended St. Joseph High School in

Westchester, IL Westchester is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 16,892 at the 2020 census. The current Village President is Nick Steker, serving in the special role of acting president after ...

, a private school with a reputation for developing star athletes. Harris was a running back, and later played linebacker for

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a Public university, public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of ...

, where he studied drama. His athletic career was cut short due to a torn ligament in his ankle. After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1989, Harris obtained a master's degree in acting at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 m ...

Career

Harris appeared on ''

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

'' and earlier had a role in '' Homicide: Life on the Street's'' pilot. In 2006, he appeared in the now-cancelled TV series ''

Heist A heist is a robbery or burglary, especially from an institution such as a bank or museum. Heist may also refer to: Places *Heist, Germany, a municipality in Schleswig-Holstein *Heist-aan-Zee, West Flanders, Belgium *Heist-op-den-Berg, Antwerp, ...

''. He also appeared in an episode of ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...

''. He appeared in several episodes of

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torres, ...

. He has appeared in a number of films including; ''

Quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

'',

's '' Diary of a Mad Black Woman'', '' Bringing Down The House'', '' The Rock'', '' The Mod Squad'', Takers'', ''and Minority Report Harris starred in actress Regina King's directorial debut ''Let The Church Say Amen'' which was adapted from ReShonda Tate Billingsley's 2005 best selling novel. The film premiered on

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

(BET) in 2013. He appeared in the TNT show '' Legends'', which aired on TNT from August 13, 2014 to December 28, 2015, playing Nelson Gates, the boss of troubled FBI agent Martin Odum (Sean Bean).

Filmography

Film/Movie

Television

Awards

Harris was nominated six times for an NAACP Image Award for his work on The Practice and won in 2004.

References

External links

*
Steve Harris on TV Guide

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Steve 1965 births African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Living people Male actors from Chicago Northern Illinois Huskies football players Northern Illinois University alumni University of Delaware alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people