# Mykelti Williamson

Mykelti Williamson (/ˈmaɪkəlti/; born Michael T. Williamson; March 4, 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films Forrest Gump, 12 Angry Men (1997), Con Air, and Ali, and the television shows Boomtown, 24, and Justified. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxson in Denzel Washington's acclaimed film adaptation of August Wilson's play Fences, reprising his role from the 2010 Broadway revival.
His other notable roles include Free Willy, Heat, Lucky Number Slevin, Three Kings, Black Dynamite, The Final Destination, ATL, Species II, and The Purge: Election Year.

## Early life

Williamson was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the son of Elaine, a certified public accountant, and a father who was an Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer. He is of African American descent and has stated he has Blackfoot ancestry.
Williamson began performing at the age of nine. Along with acting, he also danced as an alternate member of The Lockers troupe on Soul Train along with Fred Berry (star of TV sitcom What's Happening!!). At age nine, Williamson relocated to Los Angeles with his family. He studied television and film at Los Angeles City College. He audited acting classes at USC under the tutelage of Dr. Frank X. Ford Williamson, and was later transferred to Gene Evans Motion Picture School in San Jose, earning his certificate in Cinematography/Film Production.

## Career

Williamson began acting professionally as a child. His first TV appearances include Starsky & Hutch, Father Murphy, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, China Beach, and Midnight Caller. Perhaps his best-known television role was as program director Donovan Aderhold in the syndicated series The New WKRP in Cincinnati. Williamson also starred in PBS's TV series The Righteous Apples. The show focuses on the activities of The Righteous Apples, five Boston-area high school musicians, who in a troubled world, seek to help people in distress. Williamson was the lead singer of the group in the show in which he was just a teenager at that time.
His film debut was in Streets of Fire (1984). His credits include Wildcats (1986) with Goldie Hawn, Miracle Mile (1989), The First Power (1990) with Lou Diamond Phillips, Free Willy (1993), Forrest Gump (1994) with Tom Hanks, Waiting to Exhale (1995), Heat (1995), Soul of the Game (1996) with Delroy Lindo, Con Air (1997), Truth or Consequences, N.M. (1997), William Friedkin's TV version of 12 Angry Men (1997), Three Kings (1999), Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (1999), Holiday Heart (2000), Black Dynamite (2009), The Final Destination (2009), and The Purge: Election Year (2016).
Williamson is best known as Private Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in the Academy Award–winning 1994 film Forrest Gump. He also received favorable reviews when he played Negro league baseball player Josh Gibson in the HBO film Soul of the Game (1996).
Williamson has made many guest appearances in TV and film. His most recent film appearances have included Ali (2001),The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), ATL (2006), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), August Rush (2007), High School (2010), Convergence (2015), and Fences (2016). He was Juror #10 in the 1997 TV movie remake of 12 Angry Men (picking up the Ed Begley role). He also appeared in a short-lived TV series remake The Fugitive (CBS, 2000–2001). CBS cancelled the series after one season with a total of 22 episodes.
In 2002, he co-starred as Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in the critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful crime drama Boomtown.
Between 2007 and 2009, he appeared in seven episodes of CSI: NY as Chief Sinclair, reuniting him with his Forrest Gump co-star Gary Sinise. He was a main character in season 8 of 24 starring as Brian Hastings, the special agent in charge of the New York CTU.
He had a recurring role as Ellstin Limehouse on the FX drama Justified. He was also cast as a homeless man named Terry in the third season of the ABC drama Nashville. Since October 2016, Williamson has had a recurring role as Admiral Chernow in Designated Survivor. In 2017, he began appearing on Chicago P.D..

## Personal life

Williamson was married to Miami Vice star Olivia Brown from July 2, 1983 until they divorced in 1985. He later married Cheryl Chisholm in 1989 with whom he had his first child, Phoenix.
He has been married to Sondra Spriggs since April 26, 1997; together they have two daughters, Nicole and Maya. The two were married during the filming of TNT's production of Buffalo Soldiers.
Williamson was charged with attempted murder in 1998 after he allegedly stabbed his ex-wife Cheryl Chisholm's boyfriend. The court reduced the charge to attempted manslaughter and he was found not guilty by jury.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | Sunnyside | Hot Dog | |
| 1984 | Streets of Fire | B.J. - The Sorels | Credited as Mykel T. Williamson |
| 1986 | Wildcats | Levander 'Bird' Williams | Credited as Mykel T. Williamson |
| 1986 | The Delta Force | Delta Force Member | |
| 1987 | Number One with a Bullet | Casey | |
| 1987 | You Talkin' to Me? | Thatcher Marks | |
| 1988 | Miracle Mile | Wilson | as Mykel T. Williamson |
| 1990 | The First Power | Detective Oliver Franklin | as Mykel T. Williamson |
| 1993 | Free Willy | Dwight Mercer | |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue | |
| 1995 | Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | Dwight Mercer | |
| 1995 | How to Make an American Quilt | Winston | |
| 1995 | Heat | Sergeant Drucker | |
| 1995 | Waiting to Exhale | Troy | |
| 1997 | Truth or Consequences, N.M. | Marcus Weans | |
| 1997 | Con Air | Baby-O | |
| 1997 | Double Tap | Agent Hamilton | |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | Dewayne Smith | |
| 1998 | Species II | Dennis Gamble | |
| 1998 | Gideon | Coleman Walker | |
| 1999 | Three Kings | Colonel Horn | |
| 2001 | Ali | Don King | |
| 2004 | The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Harold Mann | |
| 2004 | After the Sunset | Agent Stafford | |
| 2005 | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | Charlene's Stepfather | |
| 2006 | Lucky Number Slevin | Sloe | |
| 2006 | Fatwa | Grady Frank | |
| 2006 | ATL | Uncle George | |
| 2007 | Spinning into Butter | Aaron Carmichael | |
| 2007 | August Rush | Reverend James | |
| 2008 | Ball Don't Lie | Dallas | |
| 2008 | Vice | Sampson | |
| 2009 | Black Dynamite | Chicago Wind | |
| 2009 | My Summer Friend | Romell | Short |
| 2009 | The Final Destination | George Lanter | |
| 2010 | High School | Paranoid | |
| 2014 | Hollows Grove | F.B.I. Agent Jones | |
| 2015 | Convergence | Captain Miller | |
| 2015 | You Bury Your Own | Detective Goodman | |
| 2016 | The Purge: Election Year | Joe Dixon | |
| 2016 | Fences | Gabriel Maxson | |
| 2018 | Run the Race | Coach Hailey | |
| 2018 | Canal Street | Jackie Styles | |
| 2018 | Saint Judy | Dikembe Mustafa | |
| 2018 | Thriller | Detective Raymond Johnson | |
| 2019 | Don't Let Go | Bobby Owens | |
| 2020 | Butter | Professor Dunn | |
| 2020 | Emperor | Truesdale | |
| 2020 | The 24th | 1st Sgt. Hayes | |
| 2021 | Clean | Travis | |
| 2022 | North of the 10 | Cole Pruit | |
| 2024 | Unstoppable | Eddie | |
| 2025 | The Last Rodeo | Charlie Williams | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Starsky & Hutch | Bruce | Episode: "Black and Blue" (as Michael T. Williamson) |
| 1978 | Salvage 1 | Eddie | Episode: "Golden Orbit: Part 1" (as Michael T. Williamson) |
| 1979–1981 | The White Shadow | Malcolm Gruner/Fred | Episodes: "We're in the Money" & "Burnout" |
| 1980 | The Righteous Apples | Charles "Big Neck" McMorris | Main cast |
| 1981 | Freebie and the Bean | Lemar Washington | Episode: "Highway Robbery" |
| 1981 | Father Murphy | Lijah | Episode: "Establish Thou the Works of Our Hands" |
| 1982 | Desperate Lives | Jack | TV movie |
| 1983 | Alice | Player #1 | Episode: "Carrie on the Rebound" |
| 1983 | Hill Street Blues | Raymond Hawkins Jr. | Episode: "Moon Over Uranus: The Final Legacy" |
| 1983–1984 | Bay City Blues | Deejay Cunningham | Main cast |
| 1984 | Gimme a Break! | Waiter | Episode: "Nell's Birthday" |
| 1984–1985 | Cover Up | Rick | Recurring cast |
| 1984–1985 | Miami Vice | Leon Jefferson/Sylvio Romulus | Episodes: "Brother's Keeper" & "Tale of the Goat" |
| 1984–1986 | Hill Street Blues | Officer Ron Garfield | Recurring cast (seasons 5–6), guest (season 7) |
| 1986 | The Love Boat | James Russell | Episode: "Spain Cruise: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1987 | J.J. Starbuck | Calvin | Episode: "First You've Got to Go to the Picnic" |
| 1987–1988 | The Bronx Zoo | Gus Butterfield | Main cast |
| 1988 | Police Story: Monster Manor | Officer Don Luntner | TV movie |
| 1988–1991 | Midnight Caller | Deacon Bridges | Main cast |
| 1989 | China Beach | Jean Jacques Rousseau | Episode: "Psywars" & "Promised Land" |
| 1990 | A Killer Among Us | Greg Hopkins | TV movie |
| 1991–1993 | The New WKRP in Cincinnati | Donovan Aderhold | Main cast |
| 1993 | Other Women's Children | Leonard | TV movie |
| 1994 | Time Trax | Luther Bell | Episode: "Cool Hand Darien" |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Dr. Michael Alders | Episode: "The Second Soul" |
| 1996 | Soul of the Game | Josh Gibson | TV movie |
| 1997 | 12 Angry Men | Juror #10 | TV movie |
| 1997 | Buffalo Soldiers | Cpl. William Christy | TV movie |
| 1999 | Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years | Papa Delany | TV movie |
| 1999–2000 | The Hoop Life | Marvin Buxton | Main cast |
| 2000 | Holiday Heart | Silas | TV movie |
| 2000–2001 | The Fugitive | Lt. Philip Gerard | Main cast |
| 2002 | Our America | Graham Ellis | TV movie |
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel | Tevis Lockwood | Episode: "Ship-in-a-Bottle" |
| 2002–2003 | Boomtown | Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith | Main cast |
| 2004 | The Secret Service | Mike Bradford | TV movie |
| 2004 | Monk | Captain Walter Cage | Episode: "Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan" |
| 2005 | Third Watch | Detective Dante Rice | Episodes: "The 'L' Word" & "The Other 'L' Word" |
| 2006 | Justice | Joshua Mortin | Episode: "Prior Convictions" |
| 2006–2007 | Kidnapped | Virgil Hayes | Main cast |
| 2007 | Raines | Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007–2009 | CSI: NY | Chief Brigham Sinclair | Recurring cast (seasons 3-6) |
| 2008 | One Hogan Place | Lt. Dardin | TV short |
| 2009 | Psych | Coach Sammy Winslow | Episode: "Any Given Friday Night at 10PM, 9PM Central" |
| 2010 | 24 | Brian Hastings | Main cast (season 8) |
| 2010 | The Good Wife | Mathew Wade | Episode: "On Tap" |
| 2011 | Have a Little Faith | Donnie | TV movie |
| 2011 | Rizzoli & Isles | U.S. Marshal Whitmore | Episode: "Don't Stop Dancing, Girl" |
| 2012 | Single Ladies | Pierce | Episode: "All or Nothing" |
| 2012–2015 | Justified | Ellstin Limehouse | Recurring cast (seasons 3-4 & 6) |
| 2013 | Twist of Faith | Uncle Moe | TV movie |
| 2013 | Touch | Detective Lang | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2013 | Lauren | Prince | Episode: "Episode #2.12" |
| 2014 | Scorpion | General Ned Walker | Episode: "Plutonium Is Forever" |
| 2014 | Nashville | Terry George | Recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2014 | Wild Blue | Master Chief Donald Bowman | TV movie |
| 2014 | Clementine | Ray | TV movie |
| 2015–2016 | Hawaii Five-0 | Clay Maxwell | Episode: "Ike Hanau" & "Umia Ka Hanu" |
| 2016 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Brigadier General Yazee Zwane | Episode: "Iqiniso" |
| 2016 | Underground | Moses | Recurring cast (season 1) |
| 2016–2017 | Designated Survivor | Admiral Chernow | Guest (season 1), recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2017 | Rebel | Rene Knight | Main cast |
| 2017–2018 | Chicago P.D. | Lieutenant Denny Woods | Guest (season 4), recurring cast (season 5) |
| 2018 | Insecure | Preacher | Episode: "Obsessed-Like" |
| 2018–2019 | Lethal Weapon | Tom Barnes | Recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2020 | Two Degrees | T | Episode: "Cigar Cave" |
| 2021–2022 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Preston Webb | Recurring cast (season 2) |
| 2022 | The Holiday Stocking | Robert | TV movie |
| 2024 | Fallout | Honcho | Episode: "The End" |