Trevante Nemour Rhodes (born February 10, 1990) is an American actor. He won several accolades and achieved recognition in 2016 for his performance as "Black" (Adult Chiron) in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning film ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

''. He has since starred in '' The Predator'' (2018), '' Bird Box'' (2018), and '' The United States vs. Billie Holiday'' (2021). In his youth, he was an accomplished

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

sprinter, winning a gold medal at the

Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The Pan American U20 Athletics Championships are a biennial sports event for track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and thr ...

in 2009.

Early life and education

Rhodes was born in Ponchatoula,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, to Demour Dangelo and Jessi Rhodes. His family moved to Little Elm,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

when he was ten. He has one brother, Giovanni. At Little Elm High School, Rhodes played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in an

option offense An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on Rus ...

with Cole Beasley at quarterback. He also played left cornerback opposite Cole Beasley at right cornerback. Over his high school career, Rhodes earned four letters in both football and track and field, where he competed as a sprinter specializing in the 100 and 200 meter dash. As a junior, Rhodes finished second behind Whitney Prevost over both distances at the 2007 UIL Track and Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium. While his senior year was cut short by an ACL injury on the football field, he still earned an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

in track and field to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He studied

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, Biomechanics, biomechanical, Pathology, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kines ...

. Rhodes competed for the Texas Longhorns as a sprinter from 2008 to 2012. At the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, Rhodes helped the U.S. squad to a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the 4×100 metres relay.

Career

2012–2015

After graduation, Rhodes moved to KwaThema and immediately began working as an actor, playing supporting roles in the Lokshin Bioskop film ''Ingoma'', the

Nacho Vigalondo Ignacio "Nacho" Vigalondo Palacios (born 6 April 1977) is a Spanish filmmaker. Career Vigalondo's first film was the 2003 Spanish-language short film '' 7:35 in the Morning'', about a suicide bomber who terrorizes a cafe, which was only eight m ...

film '' Open Windows'' opposite

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...

, the Eddie O’Keefe film ''Shangri-La Suite'' and the Matt Jones / Dave Hill film ''The Night Is Young''. Trevante played the role of Ramsey in the

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 ...

/ OWN series '' If Loving You Is Wrong.'' His television credits include the Fox series '' Gang Related'' and 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 ...

series ''

Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction dystopia media franchise that began with the Westworld (film), 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild West, Wild-West-th ...

''.

2016: ''Moonlight''

Rhodes rose to fame for his much praised performance in the 2016 film ''

'', as the adult Chiron. While talking about the movie in an interview with ''

Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...

'', Rhodes said: "Being a black person in America right now is shit, being a homosexual in America right now is shit, and being a black homosexual is the bottom for certain people. That’s why I’m so excited for people to see ''Moonlight''. I don’t feel like there’s a solution for our problems, but this movie might change people. That’s why you do it—because you feel like you’re doing something that matters. This is someone’s story." The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture – Drama and the

for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

2017–present

In February 2017, Rhodes was featured on

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

's 2017 Spring underwear campaign along with ''Moonlight'' stars Mahershala Ali, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert, and in late 2017, he appeared in

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

's music video "Family Feud". In 2018, Rhodes co-starred in the science fiction action film ''The Predator'', and the post-apocalyptic thriller film '' Bird Box''. In 2022, he starred as

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

in the Hulu miniseries '' Mike.'' In 2024, he starred in '' Mea Culpa'' alongside

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling gir ...

. The film, written and directed by

, was released on Netflix on February 23, 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Trevante Rhodes
at MaxPreps (archived)
Texas Longhorns bio
(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Trevante 1990 births Living people 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American track and field athletes American male film actors American male television actors American male sprinters Male actors from Louisiana People from Little Elm, Texas People from Ponchatoula, Louisiana Texas Longhorns men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Louisiana University of Texas at Austin College of Education alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen