# Dennis Haysbert

Dennis Dexter Haysbert (born June 2, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, Secret Service agent Tim Collin in the political thriller film Absolute Power, Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the CBS military action drama series The Unit, God on the Netflix show Lucifer, and President David Palmer on the first five seasons of 24. He has also appeared in the films Love Field, Navy SEALS, Heat, Waiting to Exhale, and Far from Heaven, as well as the science fiction series Incorporated. He is currently the narrator for the A&E Network's American Justice television series.

## Early life

Haysbert was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Gladys (née Minor), a homemaker and house cleaner, and Charles Whitney Haysbert Sr., a deputy sheriff and airline security guard. He is the eighth of nine children, having two sisters and six brothers. His parents were from Louisiana. Haysbert was raised Baptist.
Haysbert graduated from San Mateo High School in 1972. After high school, being 6 ft 5 in height, he was offered athletic scholarships but instead chose to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

## Career
### Television

Haysbert has been acting in film and television since 1978, starting with a guest role in The White Shadow. His television guest starring roles include Lou Grant, Growing Pains, Laverne & Shirley, The A-Team, Night Court, Dallas, The Incredible Hulk, 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 one season.
In 2001, Haysbert rose to prominence when he was cast in 24 as U.S. Senator David Palmer, who served as the first black U.S. 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 was nominated for a Golden Globe and for a Golden Satellite Award in 2002 for this role. Haysbert 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. Haysbert believes that his playing of David Palmer on 24 helped Barack Obama—whom Haysbert supported—to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.
Haysbert was the first actor to portray DC Comics character Kilowog, a member of the Green Lantern Corps, in a medium outside of comics. He provided the voice of Kilowog on various episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. 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 black characters, such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo in Outer Space. He also portrayed Nelson Mandela in Goodbye Bafana (also released under the name The Color of Freedom). Haysbert portrayed the lead character Sergeant Major Jonas Blane in the CBS military action-drama The Unit. He 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. In March 2013, Haysbert narrated the documentary The World According to Dick Cheney on the Showtime television channel. On May 19, 2014, Haysbert also featured in the fifth episode of the fourth season of The Boondocks as Reverend Sturdy Harris. In 2015, Haysbert played Detective John Almond in Backstrom.
Since September 6, 2015, Haysbert's has been the opening voice introducing NBC's Meet the Press.
In November 2016, Haysbert began his co-starring role in Incorporated. Set in a dystopian future run by corporations, Haysbert plays Julian, a ruthless security head working for one of the larger corporations. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are co-executive producers on the series, which was shot in British Columbia, Canada, and airs on Showcase in Canada and Syfy in the U.S.
He was also cast to play God for the second half of the fifth season of Lucifer.
On August 20, 2021, A&E announced that Haysbert would host a revival of American Justice, replacing long time narrator Bill Kurtis.

### Film

In 1989, Haysbert made his first major role as Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing Cuban refugee baseball player, in Major League. Haysbert followed that up with a role in 1990's Navy SEALs, which also starred Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn, before moving on to another baseball film, Mr. Baseball with Tom Selleck. In 1991, he also starred in K-9000, where he played a police officer named Nick Sanrio. 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 minor 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 films: The Minus Man, The Thirteenth Floor, and Random Hearts. In 2000, Haysbert played the role of Zeke McCall in Love & Basketball.
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. In 2012, he voiced General Hologram in Wreck-It Ralph and served as an official judge for the Noor Iranian Film Festival. He replaced the deceased Michael Clarke Duncan as Manute in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014). In 2014, Haysbert played the role of Dean Fairbanks in Dear White People and General Lyons Dead Rising: Watchtower.
In December 2018, it was announced that Haysbert was to star in the Netflix psychological thriller Secret Obsession. The film was released on July 18, 2019.

### Commercials

Since 2003, Haysbert has appeared as the official spokesman for the Allstate Insurance Company. His commercials typically end with one of the two Allstate Corporation official slogans, either "Are you in good hands?" or "That's Allstate's stand." However, his commercials have combined the two with "That's Allstate's stand. Are you in good hands?" He has also appeared in Spanish-language commercials with the line "Con Allstate, Estás En Buenas Manos." (With Allstate, you're in good hands.) In his role as spokesman for Allstate, Haysbert officiated the coin toss prior to the 2007 Sugar Bowl between LSU and Notre Dame.
In 2008, Haysbert was featured in national television ads to raise public awareness about lending discrimination. The ads were commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. In one of these ads, Haysbert warns consumers about lenders' targeting minorities for inferior loan products.
For the 2006 college football season, Haysbert did voice work for ticket sales promotions for Brigham Young University. He did it as a favor to his younger brother Adam, who played wide receiver at BYU in the early 1980s.
Haysbert also voices the Military Channel's commercials with their official slogan: "The Military Channel. Go Behind the Lines."

### Video games

Haysbert has also done voice work for various video games, such as Irving Lambert in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, the narrator in Call of Duty: Finest Hour and reprising his television role of David Palmer in 24: The Game.

### Theater

In June 2010, Haysbert joined the cast of David Mamet's Race on Broadway as character Henry Brown, performing alongside actors Eddie Izzard, Richard Thomas and Afton Williamson. The play ran until August 21, 2010.

## Personal life

Haysbert was married to Elena Simms from 1980 to 1984, and Lynn Griffith from 1989 to 2001. They have two children.
Haysbert announced in April 2009 that he was starting a production company. His first project was to be a documentary for HBO about an up-and-coming boxer.
During the 2010 California elections, Haysbert supported Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer by appearing with her at campaign events and recording radio commercials.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Scoring | Lt. Harrigan | |
| 1985 | A Summer to Remember | Sheriff Pierce | |
| 1989 | Major League | Pedro Cerrano | |
| 1990 | Navy SEALs | Chief Special Warfare Operator Billy Graham | |
| 1992 | Mr. Baseball | Max "Hammer" Dubois | |
| 1992 | Love Field | Paul Cater | |
| 1993 | Suture | Clay Arlington | |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Davis | |
| 1994 | Major League II | Pedro Cerrano | |
| 1995 | Heat | Donald Breedan | |
| 1995 | Waiting to Exhale | Kenneth Dawkins | |
| 1996 | Amanda | Seven/Sir Jordan | |
| 1997 | Absolute Power | Tim Collin | |
| 1998 | How to Make the Cruelest Month | Manhattan Parks | |
| 1998 | Major League: Back to the Minors | Pedro Cerrano | |
| 1998 | Standoff | Ty 'Bama' Jones | |
| 1999 | The Minus Man | Graves | |
| 1999 | The Thirteenth Floor | Detective Larry McBain | |
| 1999 | Random Hearts | Detective George Beaufort | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Ronald Williams | |
| 2000 | Love & Basketball | Zeke McCall | |
| 2002 | Ticker | FBI Agent | Segment from the BMW short film series The Hire |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Raymond Deagan | Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2003 | Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas | Kale | Voice |
| 2005 | Jarhead | Major Lincoln | |
| 2007 | Goodbye Bafana | Nelson Mandela | |
| 2007 | Breach | Dean Plesac | |
| 2011 | The Details | Lincoln | |
| 2011 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | Master Storming Ox | Voice |
| 2011 | Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters | Master Storming Ox | Voice |
| 2012 | LUV | Mr. Fish | |
| 2012 | Wreck-It Ralph | General Hologram | Voice |
| 2013 | Welcome to the Jungle | Mr. Crawford | |
| 2013 | The Black Moses | Sir. Lynden O. Pindling | |
| 2014 | Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Judge | Voice |
| 2014 | Think Like a Man Too | Uncle Eddie | |
| 2014 | Life of a King | Searcy | |
| 2014 | Sin City: A Dame to Kill For | Manute | |
| 2014 | Men, Women & Children | Secretluvur | |
| 2014 | Sniper: Legacy | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video |
| 2014 | Dear White People | The Dean | |
| 2015 | Experimenter | Ossie Davis | |
| 2015 | Dead Rising: Watchtower | General Lyons | Digital film |
| 2015 | Ted 2 | Fertility Doctor | |
| 2016 | Jarhead 3: The Siege | Major Lincoln | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | Dead Rising: Endgame | General Lyons | Digital film |
| 2016 | Sniper: Ghost Shooter | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video |
| 2017 | Fist Fight | Superintendent Johnson | |
| 2017 | The Dark Tower | Steven Deschain | |
| 2017 | Naked | Reginald Swope | |
| 2017 | Kodachrome | Larry | |
| 2019 | Breakthrough | Dr. Garrett | |
| 2019 | Secret Obsession | Detective Frank Page | |
| 2019 | Playing with Fire | Commander Richards | |
| 2022 | No Exit | Ed | |
| 2022 | Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers | Zipper | Voice |
| 2022 | Sniper: Rogue Mission | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video |
| 2023 | Flamin' Hot | Clarence C. Baker | |
| 2023 | Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team | Colonel Gabriel Stone | Direct-to-video |
| 2024 | Summer Camp | Tommy | |
| 2024 | Lost & Found in Cleveland | Marty Anderson | |
| 2024 | In Fidelity | Hoyt Johnston | |
| 2026 | Send Help | TBA | Filming |
| TBA | Silent Retreat | TBA | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Lou Grant | Victor | Episode: "Schools" |
| 1979 | The White Shadow | Basketball Player | Episode: "Wanna Bet?" |
| 1979 | Laverne & Shirley | Navy Shore Patrolman | Episode: "What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?" |
| 1980 | Quincy M.E. | Fred | Episode: "New Blood" |
| 1980 | The Incredible Hulk | Guard | Episode: "Nine Hours" |
| 1980 | Galactica 1980 | Colonial Warrior | Episode: "Space Croppers" (Miscredited as "The Creature") |
| 1980–81 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1981 | Quincy M.E. | Driver | Episode: "Headhunter" |
| 1981 | Grambling's White Tiger | James "Shack" Harris | Television film |
| 1981–82 | Code Red | Stuff Wade | 8 episodes |
| 1983 | The A-Team | Psych Ward Staff | Episode: "One More Time" |
| 1983 | The Yellow Rose | Military Police Officer | Episode: "Trail's End" |
| 1984 | Dallas | Dr. Forbes | Episode: "Killer at Large" |
| 1984 | Riptide | Odell | Episode: "Father's Day" |
| 1984 | Gimme a Break! | Rev. Winfield | Episode: "Baby of the Family" |
| 1984–85 | Off the Rack | Cletus Maxwell | 7 episodes |
| 1985 | Magnum P.I. | Lieutenant Jameson, USN | Episode: "Blood and Honor" |
| 1985 | What's Happening Now!! | Policeman | Episode: "I'll Be Homeless for Christmas" |
| 1985 | Growing Pains | Police Officer | Episode: "Weekend Fantasy" |
| 1986 | The Fall Guy | Jeremy Wolf | Episode: "Trial by Fire" |
| 1986 | 227 | Sgt. Banks | Episode: "Redecorating Blues" |
| 1986 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Kimambo | Episode: "Billy's Lost Weekend" |
| 1986 | The Young and the Restless | Ron Clark | 8 episodes |
| 1987 | Growing Pains | Officer Wright | Episode: "Gone But Not Forgotten" |
| 1987 | Knots Landing | Police Officer | Episode: "The Unraveling" |
| 1987 | Easy Street | Chip | Episode: "The Country Club" |
| 1987 | Valerie | Dr. Ervin | Episode: "Oedipus Wrecks" |
| 1987 | Our House | Unknown | Episode: "Sounds from a Silent Clock: Part 2" |
| 1987 | The Facts of Life | Sgt. Evans | Episode: "Before the Fall" |
| 1988 | Growing Pains | Frank | Episode: "State of the Union" |
| 1988 | Out of This World | Rev. Williams | Episode: "a.k.a. Dad" |
| 1988 | Crime Story | Franklin Himes | 2 episodes |
| 1988–89 | Just the Ten of Us | Coach Duane Johnson | 9 episodes |
| 1989 | Night Court | James Morgan | Episode: "Pen Pal" |
| 1989 | The Robert Guillaume Show | Mr. Peterson | Episode: "Guaranteed Not to Shrink" |
| 1991 | K-9000 | Nick Sanrio | Television film |
| 1993 | Alex Haley's Queen | Davis | Television film |
| 1993 | Return to Lonesome Dove | Jack Jackson | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | American Playhouse | Rev. Oliver Crawford | Episode: "Hallelujah" |
| 1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Barkley James | Voice, episode: "Mean Seasons" |
| 1998–99 | Superman: The Animated Series | Agent #1/Doctor #1 | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Godzilla: The Series | General Ekwensi | Voice, episode: "Monster Wars Part 1" |
| 1999–2000 | Now and Again | Dr. Theodore Morris | 22 episodes Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama |
| 2001 | Soul Food | Rick Grant | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | The Outer Limits | Joshua Finch | Episode: "Rule of Law" |
| 2001–06 | 24 | David Palmer | 81 episodes Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Television Series Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2003, 2004) Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2003, 2005) |
| 2001–03 | Static Shock | Chief Barnsdale | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2001–04 | Justice League | Kilowog | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2006–09 | The Unit | Sergeant Major Jonas Blane | 69 episodes Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (2007–2009) |
| 2013 | Newsreaders | Det. Fenster Landau | Episode: "CCSI: Boston" |
| 2013 | Axe Cop | Frog | Voice, episode: "Super Axe" |
| 2013–14 | Trophy Wife | Russ Bradley Morrison | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | The Boondocks | Sturdy Harris | Voice, episode: "Freedom Ride or Die" |
| 2014 | How Murray Saved Christmas | Narrator | Television special |
| 2015 | Blue Bloods | Deputy Chief Donald Kent | Episode: "New Rules" |
| 2015 | Backstrom | Detective Almond | 13 episodes |
| 2016 | The Grinder | Special Agent | Episode: "Delusions of Grinder" |
| 2016 | Brooklyn Nine-Nine | Bob Annderson | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Undercover | Rudy Jones | 5 episodes |
| 2016–17 | Incorporated | Julian | Recurring |
| 2017 | Shots Fired | Mr. Terry | Episode: "Hour Two: Betrayal of Trust"; uncredited |
| 2018 | Reverie | Charlie Ventana | Recurring |
| 2019–21 | Puppy Dog Pals | Crash | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Surveillance | Barry Wilkinson | Television film |
| 2020 | Home Movie: The Princess Bride | Prince Humperdinck | Episode: "Chapter Eight: Ultimate Suffering" |
| 2020–2021 | Lucifer | God | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Masters of the Universe: Revelation | King Grayskull | Voice, episode: "The Forge at the Forest of Forever" |
| 2021–present | American Justice | Narrator | 23 episodes |
| 2023 | Paul T. Goldman | Agent Portman | 3 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2004 | Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow | Irving Lambert |
| 2004 | Call of Duty: Finest Hour | Narrator |
| 2006 | 24: The Game | David Palmer |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Race | Henry Brown | |