Trai Byers (born July 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Andre Lyon in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

musical television series, ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'' (2015–2020). In 2020, Byers co-wrote and starred in the historical drama film, '' The 24th''.

Early life

Trai Byers was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. After a year of high school in Kansas City, he completed his high-school education in Georgia. Byers then graduated from Andrew College with an

Associate of Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

in theatre. He then earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in communications from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. Byers also attended the

American Musical and Dramatic Academy The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is a private conservatory for the performing arts in New York City and Los Angeles, California. The conservatory offers master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates ...

in Los Angeles, and the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

, where he obtained his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

Career

Byers made his screen debut in the 2009 comedy-horror film, '' Caesar and Otto's Summer Camp Massacre''. In 2011, Byers had a recurring role on the ABC daytime soap opera, ''

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 ...

'', and the following year had a role in The CW teen soap, '' 90210''. He starred in two films directed by Kevin Willmott: ''Destination Planet Negro'' (2013) and ''

Jayhawkers Jayhawker and red leg are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs were ...

'' (2014). In 2014, he played civil rights activist James Forman in the historical epic film, '' Selma'' directed by

Ava DuVernay Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, NAACP Image Awards, a British Academy Film Awards, ...

. From 2015 to 2020, Byers starred as Andre Lyon in

music-industry primetime soap opera, ''

''. For this role, he received two

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. The award was first given during the 1996 ceremony and since its conception, Joe Morton holds the record for the most wins with ...

nominations. In 2020, he played the leading role and co-wrote screenplay for the historical drama film, '' The 24th''. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2022, Byers made his Broadway debut in the play ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga s ...

'' by

August Wilson August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called '' ...

. In 2023 he guest-starred in the

Grace Byers Grace Byers (née Gealey) is a Caymanian-American actress. She starred as Anika Calhoun in the Fox music-industry drama series, ''Empire'' from 2015 to 2018. In 2021, she began starring as Quinn Joseph in the Amazon Prime Video comedy series, '' ...

' comedy series, ''

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

'' during the show' second season.

Personal life

During the October 7, 2015, episode of the daytime talk show, ''

FABLife ''FABLife'' (''FAB'' being an acronym for "Fun And Beautiful") is an American syndicated daily lifestyle panel talk show that aired from September 14, 2015 until June 22, 2016. Production The series, which made its debut on September 14, 2015, ...

'', Byers's costar Grace Gealey confirmed that they were engaged. He and Gealey married on

Grand Cayman Island Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the territory's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles (121 km) southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles ( ...

on April 14, 2016. On their wedding anniversary in 2023, Gealey gave birth to their son.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
2015 Trai Byers interview
with Jon Niccum {{DEFAULTSORT:Byers, Trai Living people American male soap opera actors American male film actors American male television actors 21st-century American male actors David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni 1983 births 21st-century African-American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors