# Steve Harris (actor)

Steve Harris (born December 3, 1965) is an American actor. He has played Eugene Young on the legal drama The Practice, Detective Isaiah "Bird" Freeman on the NBC drama Awake, and Charles McCarter in Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
For The Practice, Harris was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

## Early life

Harris was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of John Henry Harris, a bus driver and Mattie Harris, a housewife. He is the older brother of actor Wood Harris. He attended St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a private school with a reputation for developing star athletes. Harris was a running back, and later played linebacker for Northern Illinois University, where he studied drama. His athletic career was cut short due to a torn ligament in his ankle. After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1989, Harris obtained a master's degree in acting at the University of Delaware.

## Career

Harris appeared on Law & Order and earlier had a role in Homicide: Life on the Street's pilot. In 2006, he appeared in the now-cancelled TV series Heist. He also appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. He appeared in several episodes of New York Undercover. He has appeared in a number of films including; Quarantine, Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Bringing Down the House, The Rock, The Mod Squad, Takers, and Minority Report.
From 1997 to 2004, Harris starred as Eugene Young in David E. Kelley's legal drama The Practice. He was nominated for 2 Emmys and starred in all 8 seasons.
Harris starred in actress Regina King's directorial debut Let The Church Say Amen which was adapted from ReShonda Tate Billingsley's 2005 best selling novel. The film premiered on Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 2013. He appeared in the TNT show Legends, which aired on TNT from August 13, 2014 to December 28, 2015, playing Nelson Gates, the boss of troubled FBI agent Martin Odum (Sean Bean).

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Don't Mess With My Sister | Radio Announcer | |
| 1988 | Seven Hours to Judgment | Reardon's Van Driver | |
| 1993 | Sugar Hill | Ricky Goggles | |
| 1993 | The Good Policeman | Big Blue | Television film |
| 1994 | Against the Wall | Cecil | Television film |
| 1996 | The Rock | Private McCoy | |
| 1997 | George Wallace | Neal | Television film |
| 1997 | Lesser Prophets | Brick Thrower | |
| 1998 | Nightmare Street | Detective Miller | Television film |
| 1998 | Lovers and Liars | FBI Agent | |
| 1999 | The Mod Squad | Briggs | |
| 2000 | King of the World | Sonny Liston | Television film |
| 2000 | The Skulls | Detective Sparrow | |
| 2001 | Beyond the City Limits | Troy | |
| 2002 | Minority Report | Jad | |
| 2003 | Bringing Down the House | Widow | |
| 2004 | Death and Texas | Bobby 'Barefoot Bobby' Briggs | |
| 2005 | Diary of a Mad Black Woman | Charles McCarter | |
| 2005 | The Unseen | Roy | |
| 2006 | Silas Hunt: A Documentary | Narrator | |
| 2007 | Protect and Serve | Dennis Harvey | Television film |
| 2008 | Ball Don't Lie | Rob | |
| 2008 | Quarantine | Scott Percival | |
| 2008 | Good Behavior | Will Stone | Television film |
| 2009 | 12 Rounds | FBI Agent George Aiken | |
| 2010 | Takers | Lieutenant Carver | |
| 2013 | Let the Church Say Amen | Simon Jackson | Television film |
| 2014 | The Gable 5 | Lt. Wade | Short |
| 2014 | In Your Eyes | Giddons | |
| 2015 | Chi-Raq | Ole Duke | |
| 2017 | Burning Sands | Dean Richardson | |
| 2017 | Type A | Carson | Television film |
| 2018 | The First Purge | Freddy | |

### Television

| mc | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1993 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Bernard | Episode: "Gone for Goode" |
| 1994 | Heaven and Hell: North and South Book III | Magic Magee | Recurring role |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Bulldog | Episode: "The Friendly Neighborhood Dealer" |
| 1994 | Law & Order | Joey 'Dogs' Lang | Episode: "Wager" |
| 1995 | Murder One | Daryl Jackson | Episode: "Chapter Two" |
| 1995 | New York Undercover | Terry Ellers | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Dark Eyes | Jay Staples | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1995 | Law & Order | Calvin Tiller | Episode: "Act of God" |
| 1997 | Chicago Hope | A.S.A. Charles Lamb | Episode: "Lamb to the Slaughter" |
| 1997-2004 | The Practice | Eugene Young | Main cast |
| 1998 | Ally McBeal | Eugene Young | Episode: "The Inmates" |
| 1999 | Jeopardy! | Himself/Celebrity Contestant | Episode: "1999-A Celebrity Jeopardy! Game 4" |
| 2000 | The List | Himself | Episode: "Best TV Theme Songs" |
| 2000 | The Wild Thornberrys | Makai (voice) | Episode: "Critics Masai" |
| 2002 | Intimate Portrait | Himself | Episode: "LisaGay Hamilton" |
| 2004 | World Poker Tour | Himself | Episode: "Hollywood Home Game I" |
| 2004-06 | The Batman | Ethan Bennett / Clayface (voice) | Recurring role |
| 2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Sports Coach Hero (voice) | Episode: "Havin' a Ball" |
| 2006 | Heist | James Johnson | Main cast |
| 2006 | Grey's Anatomy | Omar Troussant | Episode: "Time Has Come Today" |
| 2008 | Eli Stone | Jayson Turk | Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2009-10 | Friday Night Lights | Virgil Merriweather | Recurring role (season 4) |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | Jeffrey Rollins | Episode: "Innocent Man" |
| 2011 | Eden | Max Hunt | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2012 | Awake | Detective Isaiah 'Bird' Freeman | Main Cast |
| 2014 | Justified | Roscoe | Recurring role (season 5) |
| 2014 | Legends | Nelson Gates | Main cast (season 1) |
| 2015 | NCIS | Gerald Tanner | Episode: "Cadence" |
| 2017 | Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | Captain Jackson #2 | Episode: "Jane D'oh!" |
| 2018 | Santa Clarita Diet | Bill Ramirez | Episode: "Hailbut!" |
| 2018 | The Crossing | Beaumont | Recurring cast |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Neil Harrison | Episode: "Replay" |
| 2019 | Tales | McBride | Episode: "Slippery" |
| 2020 | Chicago PD | Brian Rochester | Episode: "Before The Fall" |
| 2020 | Filthy Rich | Franklin Lee | Main cast |
| 2021 | Law & Order: Organized Crime | Ellsworth Lee | Recurring role (season 1) |
| 2021-present | BMF | Detective Bryant | Main cast |
| 2022 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Dr. Thomas Day | Recurring role |