Eriq La Salle

Infobox actor


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caption = La Salle at the 1995 Emmy Awards
birthname = Erik Ki La Salle
birthdate = birth date and age|1962|7|23
birthplace = Hartford, Connecticut, USA
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Eriq Ki La Salle (born July 23 1962) is an American actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film "Coming to America" and Dr. Peter Benton during the first eight seasons of the NBC drama series "ER".

Biography

Early life

La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. He was raised by mother, Ada Haynes. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800110035/bio Eriq La Salle Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ] La Salle attended New York University's theater program in 1984, after studying for two years at Juilliard, he did not complete the program or receive a degree. After leaving school he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama "One Life to Live" as reporter Mike Rivers.

Career

In 1996, La Salle directed and acted in the HBO made-for-TV movie ', starring Don Cheadle. La Salle has performed in movies such as "One Hour Photo" and has also directed for ' on Showtime. Most recently La Salle was seen playing a Jamaican gangster in the acclaimed independent film "Johnny Was" [ [http://www.myspace.com/johnnywasmovie MySpace.com - Johnny Was - 37 - Garçon - LOS ANGELES, California - www.myspace.com/johnnywasmovie ] ] opposite Vinnie Jones, Samantha Mumba, Lennox Lewis, and Roger Daltrey. La Salle lived in Belfast for four weeks filming the movie, which he supported recently at the North American premiere of the film, at the American Black Film Festival in Miami.

La Salle directed & starred in the movie "Crazy As Hell" and "Rebound: The true story of Earl "The G.O.A.T" Manigault". He has recently directed an episode of "".

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0005113|name=Eriq La Salle