Daniel Sunjata
{{Short description|American actor (born 1971)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Daniel Sunjata Condon
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1971|12|30}}
| birth_place = Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
| education = University of Louisiana, Lafayette (BA)
New York University (MFA)
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 1998–present
}}
Daniel Sunjata (born Daniel Sunjata Condon; December 30, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Franco Rivera in the FX television series Rescue Me.{{Cite web|title=Thanks to his darker side, Sunjata shines in 'Rescue Me' {{!}} The Spokesman-Review|url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/jun/21/thanks-to-his-darker-side-sunjata-shines-in/|website=www.spokesman.com|access-date=2020-05-19}}
Early life and education
Sunjata was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. He is the adopted son of Bill and Catherine Condon, a police dispatcher and a civil rights worker.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} His adoptive parents are of Irish and Italian-German descent. He is named in honor of the Mandinka king Sundiata Keita, founder of the Mali Empire; the name means "hungry lion."{{cite web|title=Daniel Sunjata|url=http://www.skiddnet.com/biography/daniel-sunjata|website=www.skiddnet.com|access-date=September 7, 2016}} He was told his biological mother was a white teenager who had run away from home{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/28/nyregion/public-lives-such-a-realistic-portrayal-the-guys-ask-him-out.html?_r=0|title=PUBLIC LIVES; Such a Realistic Portrayal, the Guys Ask Him Out |first=Robin|last=Finn|work=The New York Times|date=May 28, 2003|access-date=October 14, 2016}} and his father was African-American. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, where he played linebacker for two state championship football teams. After attending Florida A&M University, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master of Fine Arts from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.{{cite web|title=NYU Graduate Acting Alumni|url=http://gradacting.tisch.nyu.edu/object/ga_alumbios.html|year=2011|website=Gradacting.tisch.nyu.edu|access-date=December 8, 2011|archive-date=May 30, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120530061847/http://gradacting.tisch.nyu.edu/object/ga_alumbios.html|url-status=dead}} He is of African, German, and Irish descent.{{Cite news|url=http://archive.eurweb.com/2013/02/daniel-sunjata-my-ambiguous-ethnicity-has-helped-me/|title=Daniel Sunjata: 'My Ambiguous Ethnicity has Helped Me' {{!}} EURweb|date=2013-02-14|work=EURweb|access-date=2018-02-18|language=en-US|archive-date=February 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219150556/http://archive.eurweb.com/2013/02/daniel-sunjata-my-ambiguous-ethnicity-has-helped-me/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.tribute.ca/people/daniel-sunjata/39002/|title=Daniel Sunjata biography and filmography {{!}} Daniel Sunjata movies|website=Tribute.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-02-18}}
Career
Sunjata played the role of a sailor on shore leave on the first post-9/11 themed episode of Sex and the City.{{Cite web|title=31 Famous Actors Who've Guest-Starred on 'Sex and the City'|url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/famous-actors-whove-guest-starred-sex-city-8245/|date=2015-10-06|website=www.backstage.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-27}} He portrayed poet Langston Hughes in the film Brother to Brother (2004) and James Holt, a fashion designer, in The Devil Wears Prada (2006).{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
He starred as firefighter Franco Rivera on the television program Rescue Me. During the summer of 2007, he also starred in the ESPN miniseries The Bronx is Burning as Reggie Jackson. He appeared as a Special Forces Operative in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012).{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
In 2003, he won a Theatre World Award for his breakout Broadway performance as a gay Major League Baseball player who comes out to the public in Take Me Out, the Tony award-winning play, which also earned him nominations for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
In 2010-2011, he played "Nurse Eli" on the TV series Grey's Anatomy and had a relationship with Dr. Miranda Bailey.{{Cite web|title=Daniel Sunjata to Join Cast of ABC's Grey's Anatomy {{!}} TheaterMania|url=https://www.theatermania.com/los-angeles-theater/news/daniel-sunjata-to-join-cast-of-abcs-greys-anatomy_32125.html|website=www.theatermania.com|date=November 15, 2010 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-25}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
Beginning in 2013, he played FBI agent Paul Briggs on Graceland, which aired on USA Network. The show was canceled in 2015 after 3 seasons.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
He also starred as Mecca the past lover of Monique in Power Book 2 on Stars for season 2.
Sunjata starred in the ABC/Hulu series High Potential, beginning in 2024. To date (February 18th, 2025,) he has been featured in all 13 episodes of the show.
Views on the September 11 attacks
On April 30, 2009, Sunjata announced that he would narrate Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup, the last in the Loose Change documentary film series that advocates several conspiracy theories about the September 11 attacks.{{Cite web |title=The Truth About Daniel Sunjata's Truther-ism |url=https://chicagoist.com/article/undefined |access-date=2020-06-02 |website=The Chicagoist |archive-date=2017-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106193205/https://chicagoist.com/2013/12/02/the_gathering_of_the_juggalos_leavi.php |url-status=dead}}Gil, Billy. [http://www.homemediamagazine.com/pipeline/microcinema-gets-rights-loose-change-911-american-coup-15598 "Microcinema Gets Rights to 'Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup{{'"}}] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829132622/http://www.homemediamagazine.com/pipeline/microcinema-gets-rights-loose-change-911-american-coup-15598# |date=2009-08-29 }}), Home Media Magazine, May 4, 2009. Producers of Rescue Me created a subplot of the show for that year's fifth season in which Sunjata's character, Franco Rivera, creates controversy in the firehouse when he tells a journalist that he, like Sunjata in real life, believes 9/11 was an inside job.{{Cite web |date=2009-03-10 |title=The Sinister Theory of 9/11 on 'Rescue Me' - NYTimes.com |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/business/media/02fx.html |access-date=2024-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310082158/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/business/media/02fx.html |archive-date=March 10, 2009 }}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1998
| Twelfth Night, or What You Will | Valentine | TV movie |
| 2001
| Christophe Mercier | TV movie |
| 2002
| CIA Agent Carew | |
| rowspan="3"| 2004
| |
| Noel
| Marco | |
| Melinda and Melinda
| Billy Wheeler | |
| 2006
| James Holt | |
| rowspan="2"| 2009
| Brad | |
| Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup
| The Narrator | |
| rowspan="3"| 2010
| At Risk | Detective Win Garano | TV movie |
| The Front
| Detective Win Garano | TV movie |
| Weakness
| Alejandro | |
| rowspan="4"| 2012
| Ranger | |
| Gone
| Powers | |
| Generation Um...
| Charles | |
| The Dark Knight Rises
| Captain Jones | |
| 2014
| Lullaby | Officer Ramirez | |
| 2017
| Detective Whitman | |
| 2021
| Christmas...Again?! | Mike Clybourne | TV movie |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2"| 2000
| D.C. | Lewis Freeman | Main Cast |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
| Bomb Squad Officer | Episode: "Remorse" |
| 2001
| Zachary Pell | Regular Cast |
| 2002
| Louis Leroy, USN | Episode: "Anchors Away" |
| 2002–04
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | CSU Technician Burt Trevor | Recurring Cast: Seasons 3-5 |
| 2003
| Ed | Danny Martin | Episode: "The Case" |
| 2004–11
| Franco Rivera | Main Cast |
| 2005
| Kenny Tremont | Episode: "Mammon" |
| 2006
| Diego | Recurring Cast |
| 2007
| Main Cast |
| 2008
| Christian de Neuvillette | Episode: "Cyrano de Bergerac" |
| 2009
| Andrew Jenkins | Episode: "Blinded" |
| 2010
| 30 Rock | Chris | Episode: "College" |
| 2010–11
| Nurse Eli |
| 2012–13
| Smash | Peter Gillman | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| 2013–15
| FBI Senior Agent Paul Briggs | Main Cast |
| 2016
| Jake Gregorian | Main Cast |
| 2017
| Smurf's Criminal Lawyer | Episode: "Betrayal" |
| 2018–20
| Manifest | Danny | Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 2 |
| 2019
| Happy! | Simon | Recurring Cast: Season 2 |
| rowspan="4"| 2020
| Quinton Vosler | Episode: "Internal Affairs" |
| #FreeRayshawn
| SWAT Commander Nick Alvarez | Main Cast |
| The Twilight Zone
| Detective Peter Reece | Episode: "The Who of You" |
| The Stand
| Cobb | Episode: "The End" |
| 2021–24
| Main Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 4 |
| 2022
| Echoes | Charles "Charlie" Davenport | Main Cast |
| 2023
| Robert Renway | Episode: "All In" |
| 2024
| Det. Adam Karadec{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2023/05/high-potential-abc-series-kaitlin-olson-drew-goddard-upfronts-1235367759/|title=ABC Picks Up Kaitlin Olson-Led 'High Potential' Series From Drew Goddard|work=Deadline Hollywood|first1=Rosy|last1=Cordero|first2=Nellie|last2=Andreeva|date=May 16, 2023|access-date=June 23, 2024}} | Main Cast |
=Video Games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2002
| Nick Landers/James Randall | Voice |
=Theater=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1998
| Valentine | |
| 2003
| Darren Lemming | Theatre World Award |
| 2007
| Christian De Neuvillette | |
| 2013
| Macbeth | Macduff | |
| 2014
| Michael Astor | |
| 2018
| Dunois, Bastard of Orleans | |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Awards ! Category ! Recipient ! Outcome |
|---|
| 2005
| Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series | "Rescue Me" | {{won}} |
| 2008
| NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | {{nom}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{IOBDB name|4072}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunjata, Daniel}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:21st-century African-American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:Male actors from Chicago
Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni
Category:Male actors from Evanston, Illinois
Category:University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of German descent