Albert Hall (actor)

Albert Hall (actor)
Albert W. Hall (born November 10, 1937) is an American actor. He portrayed Chief Phillips in the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now and Judge Seymore Walsh in Ally McBeal and The Practice. He also played Brother Baines in the 1992 Spike Lee film Malcolm X.
Early life and education
Hall was born and raised in Brighton, Alabama. He graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts.
Career
Early work
After portraying Pointer in Willie Dynamite (1974), Hall had a part in the 1976 biopic Leadbelly. He played a co-pilot in the 1978 film The Bermuda Triangle. Hall had a small role in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.
Apocalypse Now
Hall gained mainstream attention for his role as Chief Phillips in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 war classic Apocalypse Now, in which his character leads the rest of crew upriver from Vietnam to Cambodia so that Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) can complete his mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). To prepare for the role, Hall did research to accurately portray someone experiencing the Vietnam War first hand. The actor described filming in the Philippines as "exotic" and added that "it was all fun."
When Hall's Separate but Equal (1991) co-star Jeffrey Wright told him that Apocalypse Now is his favorite film, he gave him a book in which he wrote inside, "Jeffrey, evolution is when a young actor comes up to you and says, 'I've seen your work, you know, a hundred so times, and it has meaning to me.'"
According to Slate, some of Hall's dialogue in Apocalypse Now Redux is semi-improvised. Hall's performance in both versions has been praised by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Variety respectively.
Later work
Hall appeared in the 1981 miniseries The Sophisticated Gents. In 1983, Hall had his first regular role in the short-lived series Ryan's Four. Hall also appeared alongside Sidney Poitier in the 1991 television movie Separate but Equal.
Throughout the 1990s, Hall appeared in a range of films, starting with memorable performances in Malcolm X (1992) and Rookie of the Year (1993). He collaborated with Spike Lee, the director of the former film, again in Get on the Bus (1996). Other films Hall appeared in during that decade include Major Payne (1995), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Courage Under Fire (1996) and Beloved (1998).
In the late 1990s, Hall became known by television audiences for his recurring role as Judge Seymore Walsh in the series The Practice and Ally McBeal, both of which were created by David E. Kelley. Coincidentally, he portrayed the role of a judge in soap operas such as The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives.
Hall has portrayed real life figures such as Hank Aaron in the 1998 television film The Tiger Woods Story and Elijah Muhammad in Michael Mann's 2001 biopic Ali. Hall played the recurring role of Bruce in the series Men of a Certain Age.
Filmography
Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) - Background Detective (uncredited)
Willie Dynamite (1974) - Pointer
Leadbelly (1976) - Dicklicker
Apocalypse Now (1979) - Chief Phillips
Cry Freedom (1987) - Haraka
The Night They Saved Christmas (1984) - Loomis
Trouble in Mind (1985) - Leo
Betrayed (1988) - FBI Agent Al Sanders
The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) - Henry
Music Box (1989) - Mack Jones
Malcolm X (1992) - Baines
Rookie of the Year (1993) - Martinella
Major Payne (1995) - Gen. Decker
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) - Odell
The Great White Hype (1996) - Roper's Manager
Courage Under Fire (1996) - Speaker
Get on the Bus (1996) - Craig
Jimi (1996) - Boxcar
Anarchy TV (1998) - Bobby
Beloved (1998) - Stamp Paid
Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
Ali (2001) - Elijah Muhammad
Honeydripper (2007) - Reverend Cutlip
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) - Dr. Nichols
Not Easily Broken (2009) - Bishop Wilkes
References
External links
1937 births
Living people
African-American male actors
Male actors from Alabama
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
People from Brighton, Alabama
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people