HAROLD PERRINEAU
Date of Birth: August 7, 1963
Harold Perrineau is the son of Aurora Perrineau and Harold Williams. When joining the Screen Actors Guild, there was already a Harold Williams, so he used his mother’s last name instead of his father’s.
Having studied music and theater at the Shenandoah Conservatory, Perrineau began his career in theater, where he acted in a number of plays. An accomplished dancer, he made his TV debut on the series
Fame. His film acting debut was in Universal Pictures’
Shakedown (1988). The same year, he made a guest appearance on
The Cosby Show.
In 1990, he received his first major break with a recurring role in the NBC series
I’ll Fly Away, starring
Sam Waterston. Perrineau went on to play the wheelchair-bound Augustus Hill on the hit HBO series
Oz, followed by the role of Michael Dawson on ABC’s hit drama
Lost.
On the big screen, Perrineau received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rashid Cole in
Wayne Wang's critically acclaimed feature,
Smoke (1995). He has also been featured in
Baz Luhrmann's
Romeo + Juliet (1996),
Lee Tamahori's
The Edge (1997) opposite
Anthony Hopkins and
Alec Baldwin,
The Best Man (1999) with Taye Diggs and Nia Long; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) (both 2003) and 28 Weeks Later (2007).
Perrineau continues to work on stage as well. In 2001 he starred in Suzan Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Topdog/Underdog, for which he won an NAACP Image Award.
He and his wife, model/actress Brittany Perrineau, have a daughter, Aurora Perrineau. He sometimes goes by the name Harold Perrineau Jr. although there is no Harold Perrineau Sr.
FILMOGRAPHY:
Your Name Here (2007)
Gardens of the Night (2007)
28 Weeks Later (2007)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
On_Line (2002)
Prison Song (2001)
Someone Like You (2001) (uncredited)
Overnight Sensation (2000)
Woman On Top (2000)
The Best Man (1999)
Macbeth in Manhattan (1999)
A Day in Black and White (1999)
Lulu on the Bridge (1998)
Come to (1998)
The Edge (1997)
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Blood and Wine (1996)
Flirt (1995)
Smoke (1995)
King of New York (1990)
Shakedown (1988)