# Michael Hyatt

Charlene "Michael" Hyatt (born February 17, 1970) is a British-born American actress. Before her work in film and television, she performed on stages throughout the United States, particularly in Ragtime on Broadway. She played Brianna Barksdale on The Wire, Dr. Noelle Akopian on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Detective Sheila Muncie on Ray Donovan, and Cissy Saint on Snowfall.

## Early life

Hyatt was born in Birmingham, West Midlands, to Jamaican-born parents, Vera Hyatt, an art historian, museologist, and former deputy director of the National Gallery of Jamaica, and Charles Hyatt, an actor, broadcaster, and comedian.
As a child, Hyatt was exposed to art and theater from the work of both of her parents during the 1970s in Jamaica. Hyatt migrated to the United States with her mother and two siblings when she was 10 years old. The family lived in Maryland and then Washington, D.C. Hyatt has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Howard University and received her Master of Fine Arts from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. During college, she did a theater practicum and worked at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. During grad school, she worked for director Spike Lee as an assistant.

## Career

Hyatt has worked extensively in theater, television, and film. Early in her career, Hyatt performed for five months on Broadway in the musical Ragtime.
She played the role of Rita in the 2009 Los Angeles production of the Danai Gurira play Eclipsed.
Hyatt had a recurring role on the first four seasons of the HBO series The Wire as Brianna Barksdale. She starred in Spike TV's The Kill Point as SWAT team commander Connie Reubens. She has guest starred on both Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. She has also made brief appearances in ER, 24, Law & Order, Six Feet Under, The Big Bang Theory, Veronica Mars, Oz, Criminal Minds, Joan of Arcadia, Dexter, and Glee.
Hyatt had a featured role in the 2014 film Nightcrawler as a police detective. She had a recurring role in the second season of the HBO series True Detective.
She had a recurring role on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as Rebecca's (Rachel Bloom) therapist, Dr. Akopian. Hyatt portrays Detective Sheila Muncie in the TV show, Ray Donovan.
In July 2017, she starred on the FX series Snowfall as Cissy Saint, mother of drug dealer Franklin Saint, a role she first played in its 2016 pilot up until the series reached its conclusion in 2023.

## Personal life

Hyatt has used the name "Michael" since high school, when she was nicknamed for being a fan of American entertainer Michael Jackson. She has one son.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | New Jersey Drive | Tiny Dime's Relative | |
| 1996 | Chocolate Babies | Lauretta | |
| 1998 | Of Love & Fantasy | Lecture Woman | Video |
| 1999 | Pushing Tin | Trudy | |
| 2001 | Acts of Worship | Digna | |
| 2002 | The Good Girl | Floberta | |
| 2002 | Washington Heights | Michelle | |
| 2005 | Crazylove | Nurse Gates | |
| 2006 | Two Weeks | Carol | |
| 2009 | Mississippi Damned | Delores | |
| 2009 | Fame | Malik's Mom | |
| 2010 | See You in September | Eve | |
| 2011 | Like Crazy | Customs Agent | |
| 2013 | The Trials of Cate McCall | Fern | |
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Detective Frontieri | |
| 2017 | The Price | Ife Ogunde | |
| 2019 | Foster Boy | Shaina Randolph | |
| 2020 | Four Good Days | Lisa | |
| 2021 | The Little Things | Flo Dunigan | |
| 2022 | Where the Crawdads Sing | Mabel | |
| 2023 | Phels High | Captain Bailey | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Dharma & Greg | Doctor | Episode: "Unarmed and Dangerous" |
| 1998 | Law & Order | Rachel Willis | Episode: "Bad Girl" |
| 1999 | Oz | Sadiya Khan | Episode: "Out o' Time" |
| 2000 | Law & Order | Elan Holt | Episode: "Black, White and Blue" |
| 2000 | Wonderland | CPEP Nurse | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2001 | Law & Order | Clerk | Episode: "Myth of Fingerprints" |
| 2002 | Ally McBeal | Stage Manager | Episode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again" |
| 2002–06 | The Wire | Brianna Barksdale | Recurring cast (season 1–3), guest (season 4) |
| 2003–04 | The West Wing | Angela Blake | Recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2004 | Six Feet Under | Josette Marshall | Episode: "Coming and Going" |
| 2004 | Joan of Arcadia | Mary Wallace | Episode: "Out of Sight" |
| 2005 | Huff | Dr. Long | Episode: "Crazy Nuts & All Fucked Up" |
| 2005 | 24 | Marcy | Episode: "Day 4: 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m." |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Defense Attorney Julia Shinnear | Episode: "License to Kill" |
| 2005 | E-Ring | Agent Kathryn Thompson | Episode: "Cemetery Wind: Part 1 & 2" |
| 2005 | Veronica Mars | Woman's Studies Professor | Episode: "One Angry Veronica" |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Marian Davidson | Episode: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Maisey | Episode: "The Focus Group" & "The West Coast Delay" |
| 2006 | Shark | Ruth Hartford | Episode: "Love Triangle" |
| 2006 | Smith | Officer Lauper | Episode: "Pilot" & "Four" |
| 2007 | ER | Yvonne Devilliere | Episode: "Breach of Trust" |
| 2007 | Drive | Susan Chamblee | Recurring cast |
| 2007 | The Kill Point | Lt. Connie Reubens | Main cast |
| 2008 | The Big Bang Theory | Charlotte | Episode: "The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis" |
| 2008 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | Dr. Barbara Morris | Episode: "Earthlings Welcome Here" |
| 2009 | NCIS | Judy Williams | Episode: "Caged" |
| 2009 | Criminal Minds | Dr. Ticona Roberts | Episode: "Conflicted" |
| 2009 | Bones | Sheriff Tina Mullins | Episode: "The Beaver in the Otter" |
| 2010 | Brothers & Sisters | Dr. Katherine Cortez | Episode: "The Science Fair" & "Run Baby Run" |
| 2010 | Medium | Cameron's Attorney | Episode: "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day" |
| 2010 | Glee | Joan Martin | Episode: "Never Been Kissed" |
| 2010 | The Wyoming Story | Mrs. Prose | TV movie |
| 2011 | Tyler Perry's House of Payne | Dr. Hughes | Episode: "When the Payne's Away" |
| 2011 | Southland | Renee McBride | Episode: "Fixing a Hole" |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | Sally Epps | Episode: "In the Ghetto" |
| 2011 | Mad Love | Delores | Episode: "The Young and the Reckless" |
| 2011 | Dexter | Admissions Director | Episode: "Those Kinds of Things" |
| 2012 | FutureStates | Angela Young | Episode: "Crossover" |
| 2012 | NCIS: Los Angeles | FBI Assistant Director | Episode: "Patriot Acts" |
| 2012 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jolene Newman | Episode: "Fallen Angels" |
| 2012 | The Mindy Project | Diana | Episode: "Two to One" |
| 2012 | Left to Die | Congresswoman Brown | TV movie |
| 2012–14 | Franklin & Bash | Judge Elizabeth Sheffield | Guest cast (season 2–4) |
| 2013 | Major Crimes | Jada Roads | Episode: "Risk Assessment" |
| 2014 | Blue | Claire | Episode: "A History of Anxiety" & "Make Me Feel Good" |
| 2014 | Castle | Mrs. Leslie Ruiz | Episode: "Child's Play" |
| 2014 | Hello Ladies | H.R. Woman | Episode: "Hello Ladies: The Movie" |
| 2015 | Shameless | Officer Pimental | Episode: "The Two Lisas" |
| 2015 | True Detective | Katherine Davis | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2015–16 | Ray Donovan | Detective Sheila Muncie | Recurring cast (season 3–4) |
| 2015–19 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Dr. Noelle Akopian | Recurring cast |
| 2016 | Better Things | Ms. Dickler | Episode: "Future Fever" |
| 2016 | Crunch Time | Mullins | Main cast |
| 2016 | How to Get Away with Murder | Camila | Episode: "It's About Frank" |
| 2017–23 | Snowfall | Sharon 'Cissy' Saint | Main cast |
| 2018 | Homecoming | Evita | Episode: "Toys" |
| 2020 | The Comey Rule | Loretta Lynch | Episode: "Part 1 & 2" |
| 2023 | The Last Thing He Told Me | Maris Anderson | Recurring cast |
| 2024 | Genius | Helen Malloy | Episode: "Matriarchs" |
| 2024 | Law & Order | Vanessa Carter | Episode: "No Good Deed" |
| 2025 | The Pitt | Gloria | Recurring cast |