Vondie Curtis-Hall
Emmy Award-nominated actor and director Vondie Curtis-Hall has had memorable performances in film, television and theater. Probably best known for his portrayal of series lead Dr. Dennis Hancock for four seasons in the top-rated CBS drama Chicago Hope, Curtis-Hall also captivated viewers and earned an Emmy Award nomination for his role as a suicidal transvestite in NBC’s ER during the 1994-95 season.
Curtis-Hall appeared on Broadway in It’s So Nice To Be Civilized, the box office smash-hit musicals Lena Horne, The Lady and Her Music and Dream Girls. They were followed by his critically acclaimed performance in the Off-Broadway production of Williams and Walker. Some of his television movie and miniseries credits include Ali, Freedom Song, Sirens, HBO’s Only in America, Best Intentions for CBS.
Curtis-Hall’s breakthrough role came in the 1992 John Sayles feature film Passion Fish. He has also appeared in supporting roles in the feature releases William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet directed by Baz Lurhman, Broken Arrow directed by John Woo, Heaven’s Prisoners with Alec Bladwin, Sugar Hill, Clear and Present Danger, Spike Lee’s Crooklyn, Mystery Train directed by Jim Jarmusch and the blockbuster Die Hard 2. He also played the lead in The DROP Squad produced by Spike Lee, and later starred in the feature hit film Eve’s Bayou, directed by his wife Kasi Lemmons.
In a parallel career behind the cameras, Curtis-Hall wrote and directed his first feature film, Gridlock’d, starring Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur. Gridlock’d earned him the 1997 National Board of Review Award for Excellence in Filmmaking. That was followed by the 2001 release Glitter starring singer Mariah Carey. Most recently, Curtis-Hall directed Redemption starring Jamie Foxx, which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.
Curtis-Hall resides with his family in Los Angeles.
