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, which also is the focus of the 1994 documentrary, Hoop Dreams. 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 and 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 two Emmys and starred in all eight seasons. He has also occasionally done voice acting for animation, notably as Ethan Bennett/Clayface in The Batman.
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 as Nelson Gates, the boss of troubled FBI agent Martin Odum (Sean Bean), in the TV show Legends, which aired on TNT from August 13, 2014 to December 28, 2015.
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 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 Lesser Prophets Brick Thrower 1998 Nightmare Street Detective Miller Television film Lovers and Liars FBI Agent 1999 The Mod Squad Briggs 2000 King of the World Sonny Liston Television film 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 The Unseen Roy 2006 Silas Hunt: A Documentary Narrator 2007 Protect and Serve Dennis Harvey Television film 2008 Ball Don't Lie Rob Quarantine Scott Percival 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 In Your Eyes Giddons 2015 Chi-Raq Ole Duke 2017 Burning Sands Dean Richardson Type A Carson Television film 2018 The First Purge Freddy
Television Year 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 New York Undercover Bulldog Episode: "The Friendly Neighborhood Dealer" Law & Order Joey 'Dogs' Lang Episode: "Wager" 1995 Murder One Daryl Jackson Episode: "Chapter Two" New York Undercover Terry Ellers 2 episodes Dark Eyes Jay Staples Episode: "Pilot" 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" The Wild Thornberrys Makai (voice) Episode: "Critics Masai" A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2002 Intimate Portrait Himself Episode: "LisaGay Hamilton" 2004 World Poker Tour Himself Episode: "Hollywood Home Game I" 2004–2006 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 Grey's Anatomy Omar Troussant Episode: "Time Has Come Today" 2008 Eli Stone Jayson Turk Recurring role (season 1) 2009–2010 Friday Night Lights Virgil Merriweather Recurring role (season 4) 2011 Harry's Law Jeffrey Rollins Episode: "Innocent Man" Eden Max Hunt Episode: "Pilot" 2012 Awake Detective Isaiah 'Bird' Freeman Main Cast 2014 Justified Roscoe Recurring role (season 5) 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!" The Crossing Beaumont Recurring cast 2019 The Twilight Zone Neil Harrison Episode: "Replay" Tales McBride Episode: "Slippery" 2020 Chicago PD Brian Rochester Episode: "Before The Fall" 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
References
External links
Steve Harris on TV Guide Steve Harris in NBAE