Dennis Haysbert Biography
Summary
"Dennis Dexter Haysbert" (born June 2, 1954) is an African American film and television actor. He is known for portraying Nelson Mandela in "Goodbye Bafana", baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the "Major League" film trilogy, President David Palmer on the American television series "24", and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane in "The Unit", as well as his work in commercials for Allstate insurance.
Personal life
Haysbert was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Gladys (née Minor), a homemaker, and Charles Haysbert, Sr., a deputy sheriff. He is the eighth of nine children, having two sisters and six brothers. After high school, measuring 6 feet 4.5 inches (1.94 m) tall, Haysbert was offered various athletic scholarships, but instead chose to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Haysbert is a divorced father of two.
Career
TV
Haysbert has been acting in film and television since 1979, starting with a guest role in "The White Shadow". His television guest starring roles include "Lou Grant", "Laverne & Shirley", "The A-Team", "Dallas", "Magnum, P.I.", "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", and "Duckman". In 1993 he had a featured role in Return to Lonesome Dove as outlaw Cherokee Jack Jackson. In 1999, Haysbert starred with Eric Close in "Now and Again", which was cancelled after its first season.
In 2001, Haysbert became better known when he was cast in "24" playing U.S. Senator David Palmer, who served as America's first Black President (in the context of the show) during the second and third seasons. He also returned as a guest star in the last six episodes of season 4 and the first episode of season 5. He stated in an interview for the show that the three men he admires most - Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Colin Powell - collectively embody his idea of what a President should be. He believes that his playing the role of President helped Senator Barack Obama - whom Haysbert supports - to win the Democratic presidential nomination..
On March 4, 2006, Haysbert guest starred on the Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Natalie Portman as the host of a live action/animated TV Funhouse cartoon called "Belated Black History Moment". In his role, Haysbert paid homage to fictional short-lived Saturday morning cartoons featuring African-American characters, such as 'Ladysmith Black Mambazo in Outer Space'.
Haysbert currently portrays the lead character Jonas Blane in the CBS action-drama "The Unit", which is scheduled to begin its fourth season of production.
Mr. Haysbert hosted and narrated the Military History Channel presentation of Secrets of Pearl Harbor which documented his scuba dives with a film team on World War II era Japanese and American warships in the Pacific Theater of action.
Film
In 1989, Haysbert got his first major film role portraying Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing Cuban refugee baseball player, in the Charlie Sheen movie "Major League". In it, he uttered the memorable line: 'Is very bad to steal Jobu's rum; is very bad'. Haysbert followed that up with a role in 1990's Navy Seals, which also starred Sheen, before moving on to another baseball movie, Mr. Baseball with Tom Selleck. In 1992, he co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in "Love Field", a film about a series of events occurring contemporaneously with the assassination and funeral of President John F. Kennedy.
In 1994, Haysbert reprised his role as Cerrano in Major League II. This was followed by low key appearances in "Waiting to Exhale", "Heat", and "Absolute Power". In 1998, Haysbert made another appearance as Cerrano in Major League: Back to the Minors. In 1999, Haysbert played a police detective in three different films: "The Minus Man", "The Thirteenth Floor", and "Random Hearts".
In 2002, Haysbert played the role of gardener Raymond Deagan in "Far From Heaven". He won three awards (Satellite Award, Black Reel Award, and Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award) for Best Supporting Actor for that role. In 2005, he had a supporting role in Sam Mendes's film, Jarhead. In 2007, Haysbert returned to the big screen to portray Nelson Mandela in "Goodbye Bafana" and an FBI agent in "Breach".
Commercials
Haysbert is the official spokesman for the Allstate Insurance Company. His commercials typically end with one of two the Allstate Corporation's official slogans, either "Are you in good hands?" or "That's Allstate's stand." More recently however his commercials have combined the two with 'That's Allstate's stand. Are you in good hands?'. Haysbert also voices the Military Channel's commercials with their official slogan: "The Military Channel -- Go Behind the Lines."
Video games
In addition to his acting, Haysbert has also done voice work for various video games, most notably as Irving Lambert in Pandora Tomorrow the second installment of "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series" and narrator of "Call of Duty: Finest Hour".
Filmography
"227" (1986)
"The A-Team" (1987)
"Major League" (1989)
"Navy SEALs" (1990)
"Mr. Baseball" (1992)
"Love Field" (1992)
"Return to Lonesome Dove (1993)
"Suture" (1993)
"Alex Haley's Queen" (1993)
"Major League II" (1994)
"Heat" (1995)
"Waiting to Exhale" (1995)
"Absolute Power" (1997)
"How to Make the Cruelest Month" (1998)
"Major League: Back to the Minors" (1998)
"Superman: The Animated Series" Agent #1 - 'Where There's Smoke' 042 September 19, 1998
"Now & Again" (1999-2001)
"The Minus Man" (1999)
"Random Hearts" (1999)
"The 13th Floor" (1999)
"Love & Basketball" (2000)
"What's Cooking" (2000)
"24" (2001-2006)
"Far from Heaven" (2002)
"Jarhead" (2005)
"The Unit" (2006 - Present)
"Goodbye Bafana" (2006)
"Breach (2007)
External links
(Dennis Haysbert Bio at CBS - The Unit)
(Dennis Haysbert's bio) at (The Unit Headquarters)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Dennis Haysbert.
