# Danielle Deadwyler

Danielle Deadwyler (born May 3, 1982) is an American actress. She began her career as a theatre actress in Atlanta, Georgia. She then transitioned to film and television roles and made her screen debut in the 2012 drama film A Cross to Bear. Deadwyler appeared in the primetime soap opera The Haves and the Have Nots (2015–2017), the drama series P-Valley (2020), and the miniseries Station Eleven (2021–2022) and From Scratch (2022).
Deadwyler received acclaim for her performances in the western film The Harder They Fall (2021), the biographical drama Till (2022), and the drama The Piano Lesson (2024). Her portrayal of Mamie Till in Till and a troubled mother in The Piano Lesson earned her several accolades, including a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the former and Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics' Choice Awards nominations for both.

## Early life

Deadwyler was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Southwest Atlanta. She is the daughter of a legal secretary and a railroad supervisor and has three siblings. Deadwyler has a son named Ezra. Deadwyler graduated from Grady High School (now Midtown High School) and then Spelman College with an undergraduate degree in History and African American Studies. She received a Master's of Arts in American Studies from Columbia University and another master’s degree in creative writing at Ashland University in 2017.

## Career
### 2009–2020

Deadwyler began her career appearing on stage productions, including Charlotte's Web, The Real Tweenagers of Atlanta, and most notable playing the role of Lady in Yellow in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf at the True Colors Theater in Atlanta in 2009. She received positive reviews for leading performance in Alliance Theatre's The C.A. Lyons Project. Deadwyler made her film debut playing the leading role of a homeless, alcoholic mother in the 2012 drama A Cross to Bear directed by Tandria Potts. Deadwyler later acted in a number of short films, then landed roles on television.
In 2015, Deadwyler guest-starred in the second season of BET's drama series Being Mary Jane. Later that year, she joined the cast of Tyler Perry's series The Haves and the Have Nots, playing antagonist LaQuita "Quita" Maxwell. She left the series during Season 4. Eventually, Deadwyler had secondary roles in the films Gifted and The Leisure Seeker, and appeared in the television series Greenleaf, Atlanta and Watchmen. On Atlanta stage, she appeared in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park at Aurora Theater, portrayed an actress injured doing Shakespeare in Smart People at True Colors Theater, and played multiple roles in The Temple Bombing at the Alliance Theater. In 2018, Deadwyler played the title role of Jane Manning James in the period drama film Jane and Emma. She played a leading role and produced the 2019 thriller film The Devil To Pay. The film and Deadwyler's performance received positive reviews from critics. Cath Clarke from The Guardian wrote in her review: "Deadwyler’s soulful performance really grounds The Devil to Pay even as it cranks into revenge-movie mode."
In 2020, Deadwyler was cast in a series regular role in the series Paradise Lost, with Josh Hartnett, Bridget Regan and Barbara Hershey. The series was not renewed for a second season. That same year, Deadwyler guest-starred on FBI: Most Wanted and had a recurring role as Yoli in the series P-Valley.

### 2021–present

In 2021, Deadwyler played the role of Cuffee in the Netflix western film The Harder They Fall. The character was inspired by Cathay Williams. The film and her performance received positive reviews from film critics. Deadwyler received a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture nomination for her performance and well as number of Best Ensemble awards. Later in 2021, she played Miranda Carroll in the miniseries Station Eleven. Also that year, Deadwyler was in the Netflix miniseries From Scratch, based on Tembi Locke's memoir. She played the role of lead character' older sister, receiving positive reviews.
Deadwyler starred as Mamie Till in the biographical film Till (2022) directed by Chinonye Chukwu. She received positive reviews from critics for her lead performance in the movie. Manohla Dargis in The New York Times: "With fixed intensity and supple quicksilver emotional changes, Deadwyler rises to the occasion as Mamie, delivering a quiet, centralizing performance that works contrapuntally with the story’s heaviness, its profundity and violence." Deadwyler received the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance (shared with Gabriel LaBelle for The Fabelmans) and the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance for her performance.
In 2024, Deadwyler played the leading role in the science fiction thriller film Parallel directed by Kourosh Ahari, a remake of Lei Zheng's feature of the same name. She starred in the horror-thriller film I Saw the TV Glow, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews from critics. Deadwyler also starred in The Piano Lesson, an adaptation of the August Wilson play, and in the Canadian post-apocalyptic thriller film 40 Acres.
Deadwyler appeared in the action thriller Carry-On for Netflix. She will also star in the horror film The Woman in the Yard. Both films were directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. For The Piano Lesson, Deadwyler earned her second SAG Award nomination in the Supporting Actress category, her first having been in Leading Actress for her role in Till.
Deadwyler is set to executive produce and lead in the forthcoming comedic thriller, The Saviors. She has also been cast to play Zelma Redding, the widow of American singer Otis Redding, in an upcoming biographical film titled Otis and Zelma.
In February 2025, it was announced that Deadwyler had been cast as a series regular in an upcoming untitled HBO comedy series, starring opposite Steve Carell. She will portray a poetry professor and published author.

## Filmography

| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Cyburbia | Cyburbia | Short film |
| 2012 | A Cross to Bear | Erica Moses | |
| 2013 | Sweet, Sweet Country | Ndizeye | Short film |
| 2014 | Ir/Reconcilable | Maria | Short film, also producer |
| 2015 | The Youth | Hoda | Short film |
| 2017 | Gifted | Animal Shelter Worker | |
| 2017 | The Leisure Seeker | Hotel Waitress | |
| 2018 | Jane and Emma | Jane Manning | |
| 2019 | The Devil to Pay | Lemon Cassidy | Also producer |
| 2020 | It's Time | Karen Phillips | |
| 2020 | Bygone Billy | Trudy Wake | |
| 2021 | The Harder They Fall | Cuffee | |
| 2022 | Till | Mamie Till | |
| 2024 | I Saw the TV Glow | Brenda | |
| 2024 | Parallel | Vanessa | Also executive producer |
| 2024 | The Piano Lesson | Berniece Charles | Netflix film |
| 2024 | 40 Acres | Hailey Freeman | |
| 2024 | Carry-On | Elena Cole | Netflix film |
| 2025 | The Woman in the Yard † | Ramona | Also executive producer; post-production |
| TBA | The Saviors † | TBA | Also executive producer; post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | Being Mary Jane | Naima | Episode: "Signing Off" |
| 2015–2017 | The Haves and the Have Nots | LaQuita "Quita" Maxwell | Recurring role |
| 2016 | Greenleaf | Stacy | Episodes: "Good Morning, Calvary" and "What Are You Doing Here?" |
| 2018 | Hap and Leonard | Woman | Episode: "T-Bone Mambo" |
| 2018 | Atlanta | Tami | Episode: "Champagne Papi" |
| 2019 | Watchmen | June | Episodes: "This Extraordinary Being" and "An Almost Religious Awe" |
| 2020 | FBI: Most Wanted | Cleo Wilkens | Episode: "Caesar" |
| 2020 | Paradise Lost | Nique Green | Series regular |
| 2020 | P-Valley | Yoli | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Station Eleven | Miranda Carroll | Miniseries |
| 2022 | From Scratch | Zora | Miniseries |

## Awards and nominations
### Major associations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2022 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Acting Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2023 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2025 | Critics' Choice Awards | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2023 | British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role | Till | Nominated |
| 2025 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |

### Other awards

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2019 | Nightmares Film Festival | Best Actress Feature | The Devil to Pay | Nominated |
| 2020 | GenreBlast Film Festival | Best Actress – Feature Film | The Devil to Pay | Won |
| 2021 | Princess Grace Award | "For her filmmaking, which is decidedly more experimental" | | Won |
| 2021 | Gotham Awards | Ensemble Tribute | The Harder They Fall | Won |
| 2021 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | Best Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2021 | National Board of Review Awards | Best Cast | The Harder They Fall | Won |
| 2021 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Performance by an Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2021 | Women Film Critics Circle | The Invisible Woman Award | The Harder They Fall | Won |
| 2022 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Won |
| 2022 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2022 | Hollywood Critics Association Awards | Best Cast Ensemble | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2022 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2022 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | The Harder They Fall | Won |
| 2022 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance, Female | The Harder They Fall | Nominated |
| 2022 | Gotham Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance | Till | Won |
| 2022 | Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Virtuosos Award | Till | Won |
| 2022 | Critics Choice Association Celebration of Black Cinema and Television | Actress Award for Film | Till | Won |
| 2022 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Most Promising Performer | Till | 2nd place |
| 2022 | National Board of Review | Breakthrough Performance - Female | Till | Won |
| 2022 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Lead Performance | Till | Runner-up |
| 2022 | St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Atlanta Film Critics Circle | Best Breakthrough Performer | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | 4th place |
| 2022 | Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Greater Western New York Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Greater Western New York Film Critics Association | Breakthrough Performance | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Lead Performance | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | IndieWire Critics Poll | Best Performance | Till | 4th place |
| 2022 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Online Association of Female Film Critics | Best Female Lead | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Phoenix Critics Circle | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | UK Film Critics Association | Actress of the Year | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Utah Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Runner-up |
| 2022 | Women Film Critics Circle | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2022 | Black Film Critics Circle | Best Actress | Till | Won |
| 2023 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Breakthrough Performance | Till | Won |
| 2023 | Toronto Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Columbus Film Critics Association | Best Lead Performance | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Hollywood Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | DiscussingFilm Critic Awards | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Breakthrough Award | Till | Won |
| 2023 | North Carolina Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Actress | Till | Won |
| 2023 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Breakthrough Artist | Till | Runner-up |
| 2023 | San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series | Station Eleven | Nominated |
| 2023 | Satellite Award | Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama | Till | Won |
| 2023 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Actress | Till | Won |
| 2023 | Denver Film Critics Society | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special | From Scratch | Nominated |
| 2023 | Dorian Awards | Film Performance of the Year | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | DiscussingFilm Critic Awards | Best Actress | Till | Nominated |
| 2023 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Actress | Till | Won |
| 2023 | Latino Entertainment Journalists Association | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Till | Nominated |
| 2024 | Astra Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Black Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2024 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2024 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | 4th place |
| 2024 | Elle's Women in Hollywood Celebration | The Witness | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Gotham Awards | Ensemble Tribute (shared) | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Gotham Awards | Outstanding Supporting Performance | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Middleburg Film Festival | Breakthrough Actor Award | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Mill Valley Film Festival | MVFF Award for Acting | The Piano Lesson | Honored |
| 2024 | Newport Beach Film Festival | Outstanding Performance Female | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2024 | New York Film Critics Online | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Runner-up |
| 2024 | Pandora International Film Critics | Actress Support | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | San Diego Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Online Association of Female Film Critics | Best Acting Ensemble (shared) | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Online Association of Female Film Critics | Best Supporting Female | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2024 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | | | The Piano Lesson |
| 2025 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble (shared) | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Alliance of Women Film Journalist EDA Award | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Supporting Performance | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Chicago Indie Critics Windie Award | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Columbus Film Critics Association | Best Ensemble (shared) | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Columbus Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Performance | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Performance | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Girls On Film Awards | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Kansas City Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Runner-up |
| 2025 | London Film Critics' Circle Awards | Supporting Actress of the Year | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Utah Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Performance, Female | The Piano Lesson | Won |
| 2025 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture (shared) | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NBP Film Community Awards | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | NBP Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | North American Film Critic Association | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Nominated |
| 2025 | Women Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano Lesson | Runner-up |
| 2025 | Offscreen Central Awards | Best Body of Work | Carry-On, I Saw the TV Glow, The Piano Lesson | Pending |