| If he were an ‘80s Lakers player, he’d be
A.C. Green: always reliable, the virtual glue of the team. We’ll explain
further… Aside from his Grey’s role, we all know we’ve seen
James Pickens, Jr. elsewhere, but we didn’t realize the scope of his prestigious
career. The Cleveland native started acting at the Karamu House, distinguished
as the oldest African-American theater in the U.S. After an impressive theater
run that included performing alongside Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson,
James moved to the West Coast in 1990 and began an impressive run of film and
television performances. On the big screen, he has been directed by some
of the film industry's finest, including Steven Soderbergh in Traffic, Oliver
Stone in Nixon and Warren Beatty in Bulworth, and he appeared in four Barry Levinson
films—Sleepers, Sphere, Jimmy Hollywood and Liberty Heights. He portrayed
slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Ghosts of Mississippi (directed by Rob
Reiner), and he played Angela Bassett's ex-husband in How Stella Got Her Groove
Back. Other films include Menace II Society, Home Room, Gridlock'd and the upcoming
Just Wright, starring Queen Latifah and Common. James is well known to television
audiences for his recurring roles on hit series including NYPD Blue, The X-Files,
The Practice, Philly, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, Rosanne
and Beverly Hills 90210. He starred opposite Rob Lowe in The Lyon’s Den (NBC)
and also starred with William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman in A Slight Case of
Murder (TNT). He has received a Screen Actors Guild Award and four NAACP Image
Award nominations for his role on Grey's Anatomy. A man of wide ranging
interests and passions, James came full circle with his beloved Karamu House when
he served as executive producer of Otis Sallid’s hit musical revue, “Gospel,
Gospel, Gospel,” which opened to rave reviews in Los Angeles. He is a member
of the United States Team Roping Championship, roping cattle on horseback at events
across the country. Pickens recently delivered the keynote address to graduates
at his alma mater, Bowling Green State University, and was honored by the Cleveland
Cavaliers during their annual Black Heritage Celebration. He and his wife,
Gina, a singer, live in the San Fernando Valley. They have a son and a daughter. -
description by ABC.com |
