ACTOR BIO

From Harvard to Hollywood, award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance has graced the stage and screen with a remarkable passion, talent and intellect that continually make him a force to be reckoned with.

This spring, Courtney will co-star opposite Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser in the dramatic film, Crowley.  He’ll also star with Forest Whitaker later this year in the upcoming release of Tim Story’s Hurricane Season, a true story about a basketball team assembled in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He was also seen in last year’s Toronto Film Festival selection, Nothing but the Truth, opposite Kate Beckinsale and Matt Dillon, which was directed by Rod Lurie.

Courtney’s additional feature film credits include Penny Marshall’s The Preacher’s Wife, with Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington; Clint Eastwood’s Space Cowboys, with Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland; Robert Altman’s Cookie’s Fortune, John McTiernan’s The Hunt for Red October and Disney’s The Adventures of Huck Finn.

On television, he was recently seen in the final season of ER playing successful financial executive Russell Banfield.  This marked his return to NBC, where, for five seasons, he starred on the hit series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  Courtney was the recipient of an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Drama series for his portrayal of Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver on the show.   Other distinguished performances include his portrayal of John Williams in Showtime’s Blind Faith, opposite Charles S. Dutton, which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination.  He was also nominated for a Cable Ace Award for Best Actor for his role in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and co -starred opposite Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher in HBO’s Emmy nominated production of The Tuskegee Airmen. He also shared the screen alongside Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott in Showtime’s Twelve Angry Men.

Drawing from his deep passion for great material and extensive experience, Courtney and his wife, Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett, have formed Bassett/Vance Productions.  As their first venture, the two have partnered in optioning the novel Erasure, by Percival Everett, and brought on Dwayne Johnson-Cochran to write the adaptation of the dramatic comedy, now entitled United States.  The film will mark Bassett’s directorial debut.

A graduate of Harvard College and the Yale School of Drama, Courtney headed to New York upon graduation and quickly established himself on the New York stage, being honored with a Tony Award nomination for his performance in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Fences. He received a Theater World Award and Clarence Derwent Award for his role as a seductive con man passing himself off as Sidney Poitier’s son in John Guare’s Six Degrees of Separation. Courtney was also the recipient of an Obie Award for his inspired work in South African playwright Athol Fugard’s My Children! My Africa!, which received accolades for its chronicling of both sides of the country’s apartheid struggle.  He returned to the stage in 2005 for a well-received run as Walter Burns in John Guare’s stage adaptation of His Girl Friday at Minneapolis’ renowned Guthrie Theater.

Courtney is a native of Detroit, Michigan and is a man who believes firmly in giving back to the community.  He is the Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and he and his wife are also U.S. Ambassadors for UNICEF. Courtney and Angela currently reside in Southern California with their twin son and daughter.  The pair recently completed their first book, Friends: A Love Story, chronicling their story about healthy relationships.

HOMETOWN: Detroit, Michigan
BIRTHDATE: March 12