Marion "Pooch" Hall Jr. (born February 8, 1976) is an American television and film actor known for his role as Derwin Davis, the football player on the sitcom The Game, and as Ricky in the 2011 film Jumping the Broom. He also played the character of Daryll Donovan in the Showtime drama Ray Donovan.
Hall portrayed Muhammad Ali in the 2016 sports biography film Chuck, about Ali's opponent Chuck Wepner and the Ali–Wepner 1975 world heavyweight title boxing bout.
Early life Marion H. Hall Jr. is the son of Marion and Cindy Hall. He was born in Brockton, Massachusetts and attended Brockton High School. In 1994, he won the Southern New England Golden Gloves for boxing. Hall attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he first began acting with the UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company.
Career Hall started his career doing commercials and modeling. Hall landed his first acting role in the 2001 Lift. That same year, he appeared in Blue Hill Avenue. In 2003, he served as co-host for The N reality series Girls v. Boys. In 2005, he portrayed Ty'ree in the miniseries Miracle's Boys. The following year, he won the role of Derwin Davis on The Game. He was featured as Chrisette Michele's love interest in her music video "What You Do".
Hall had a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Accidentally on Purpose during its 2009–2010 season. He replaced Cory Hardrict (the husband of Tia Mowry, his co-star from The Game). In an interview on The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Hall clarified details about his departure from the series The Game. "My contract came up, I promise you. We negotiated, and we couldn't come up with a number. So my team said we're going to send you out [to auditions]". Hall said the Showtime series Ray Donovan knew about his commitment to BET, but it took so long to respond to his agents; however, he continued to move forward with his new projects. "I never did quit the show," Hall said. "When The Game got canceled, I was offered another job and I booked Ray Donovan the next day." Hall made a guest appearance for the sixth season in one episode "The Blueprint" and in the series finale.
On September 18, 2015, he was cast in A Dog's Purpose.
Personal life Hall met his wife Linda in 1996 when she was a freshman in college. They married in 1999. They have four children.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2001 Lift Derek Blue Hill Avenue Billy "Schlep Rock" Brown Bad Light Manny Short 2003 A Tale of Two Pizzas Eugene Scratch Jay Short 2004 Black Cloud Rocket Ray Tracey Beacon Hill Michael Cannon Christmas at Water's Edge Tre TV movie 2005 The Food Chain: A Hollywood Scarytale Chad Prater Short 2006 Hood of Horror Sod Blind Dating Jay 2008 Courtroom K Orangelo Tell TV movie 2009 Xtra Credit Shawn Hadley TV movie 2010 Stomp the Yard: Homecoming Dane 2011 Jumping the Broom Ricky 2013 Live at the Foxes Den Gary Previn 2015 Carter High Coach Vonner My First Love Omar Video 2016 Chuck Muhammad Ali Mango & Guava Coach Short 2017 A Dog's Purpose Al But Deliver Us from Evil Pete Johnson The Runner Terrence Lowe 2019 All the Way with You Keith 2021 Cherry Sgt. Whomever 2022 Ray Donovan: The Movie Daryll Donovan 2023 A Nashville Legacy Damien TV movie Alarmed Sean Davidson 2024Murder Company Coolidge
Television Year Title Role Notes 2004 The Division D.J. Episode: "Play Ball" Without a Trace Lionel Episode: "The Season" 2005 Miracle's Boys Tyree Main cast 2006 Heist Lucas Episode: "Strife" Pepper Dennis Garfield Recurring role 2006–15 The Game Derwin Davis Main role: Seasons 1–5, guest: Seasons 6 & 9. 2007 Girlfriends Derwin Davis Episode: "It's Been Determined" 2009–10 Accidentally on Purpose Ryan Recurring role 2011–16 Suits Jimmy Kirkwood Recurring role: Seasons 1–5 2012 Royal Pains JJ Small Episode: "Business & Pleasure" Warehouse 13 Cody Bell Episode: "Second Chance" 2013 How to Live with Your Parents Ryan Episode: "How to Fix Up Your Ex" Necessary Roughness Blake Bridges Episode: "Sucker Punch" 2013–20 Ray Donovan Daryll Donovan Main role 2016 Hell's Kitchen Himself Guest diner; Episode: "Surf Riding & Turf Fighting" 2017 Criminal Minds FBI Trainee Clark Episode: "Profiling 202" 2018 Unsolved Frank Alexander Episode: "Nobody Talks" 2021 The Game Derwin Davis Recurring role2022–2023Law & Order: Organized CrimeDante ScottSeason 32022I Got a Story to TellCharlesEpisode: "The Following of Angela Whitaker"2025The Family Business: New Orleans FloydSeries regular2026The Real Housewives of AtlantaHimselfEpisode: "Halloween Hot Pocket"
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