Mehcad Brooks
{{Short description|American actor and model (born 1980)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mehcad Brooks
| image = Mehcad Brooks 2017.jpg
| caption = Brooks at London Fan Fest 2017
| birth_name = Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|10|25}}
| birth_place = Austin, Texas, U.S.
| website =
| alma_mater = University of Southern California
| occupation = Actor
| yearsactive = 2002–present
| partner =
| spouse =
| parents = Billy Brooks
Alberta Phillips
}}
Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's series Desperate Housewives (2005–2006), Jerome in The Game, "Eggs" Benedict Talley in the first and second seasons of HBO's series True Blood, his leading role as Terrance "TK" King in the USA series Necessary Roughness (2011–2013) and James Olsen in the CBS/The CW series Supergirl. Since 2022, he has portrayed the lead role of NYPD Detective Jalen Shaw on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order.
Early life
Brooks was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School. Brooks is the son of Austin American-Statesman editorial writer Alberta Phillips and former pro football player Billy Brooks; his stepfather is lawyer Gary Bledsoe.{{cite web|first=Dale|last=Roe|title=Austin's Mehcad Brooks dives into 'Deep End'|url=http://www.austin360.com/news/entertainment/television/austins-mehcad-brooks-dives-into-deep-end-2/nRgGF/|website=austin360.com|date=January 23, 2010|access-date=May 14, 2015}} After graduating from high school in 1999, he attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.
Brooks mentioned on a September 2010 episode of The Wendy Williams Show that he turned down basketball scholarships and offers from Ivy League schools in favor of going to USC. He then left to pursue an acting career.
Career
Brooks' early work includes being a Calvin Klein underwear model.
In 2004, Brooks played a high school basketball player who was killed by a teammate's father on the series Cold Case (season 1, episode 17). From 2005 to 2006, Brooks played the role of Matthew Applewhite on the ABC TV drama Desperate Housewives. He appeared in Glory Road, portraying Harry Flournoy, an athlete at Texas Western University when the five starting black players beat Kentucky for the national championship. He acted in the 2007 film In the Valley of Elah. He starred opposite Tia Mowry as her boyfriend, Jerome, on the TV series The Game in 2008. In 2009, he appeared on FOX's TV series Dollhouse. Brooks played Benedict "Eggs" Talley in the second season of HBO's True Blood. Beginning January 2010, he appeared as attorney Malcolm Bennet in the now-canceled ABC series The Deep End. He plays the "new boyfriend" in a recent State Farm Insurance television commercial alongside former The Game co-star Gabrielle Dennis.
Brooks appeared in the ABC documentary-style dramedy television series My Generation, which premiered in Fall 2010. The show was canceled after only two episodes.{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/05/18/abc-unveils-2010-11-primetime-schedule/20100518abc01/|title=ABC Unveils 2010-11 Primetime Schedule|date=May 18, 2010|work=The Futon Critic|access-date=May 29, 2010}} He was among the cast on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness which debuted on June 29, 2011. The show featured Brooks as Terrence "TK" King, a football player for the New York Hawks whose anger issues cause his team to require him to see a therapist. In 2013, Necessary Roughness was cancelled.{{cite web|title=Mehcad Brooks IMDB Profile |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1419635/ |publisher=IMDB|access-date=16 September 2011}} Brooks guest starred in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode as Prince Miller, a basketball superstar who was molested as a child by his coach, and a guest role on J. J. Abrams' show Alcatraz as a bomb disposal expert. In 2013, Brooks was featured in a public service announcement for the Center for Reproductive Rights.{{cite news |first=Aaron |last=Couch |title='Necessary Roughness' Actor's Pro-Choice PSA Slammed (Video) |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/necessary-roughness-star-mehcad-brookss-414659 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 22, 2013 |access-date=January 27, 2013}}
From the series premiere until his departure in the fourth episode of the fifth season, Brooks played James Olsen on the CBS/The CW drama Supergirl as a series regular.{{cite web |last=Swift |first=Andy |title=Supergirl Recap: James Olsen Says Goodbye to National City |url=https://tvline.com/2019/10/27/supergirl-recap-season-5-episode-4-james-leaves-mehcad-brooks/ |website=TVLine |date=October 27, 2019}}
On October 20, 2017, he released his debut single, "Tears Away".{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/tears-away-single/1293067896|title=Tears Away - Single by Mehcad Brooks on Apple Music|website=iTunes |date=October 20, 2017|access-date=February 11, 2018}}
In 2019, he was announced to portray Jax Briggs for the Mortal Kombat reboot released on April 23, 2021.{{cite web|first1=Borys|last1=Kit|first2=Mia|last2=Galuppo|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/mortal-kombat-movie-adds-fistful-fighters-1232599|title='Mortal Kombat' Movie Adds Fistful of Fighters (Exclusive)|date=August 16, 2019|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=August 16, 2019}}
In June 2022, it was announced that Brooks would be joining the cast of the long-running crime series Law & Order as Detective Jalen Shaw in season 22.{{cite web|first=Borys|last=Kit|url=https://deadline.com/2022/06/law-order-mehcad-brooks-cast-upcoming-season-1235044583/|title='Law & Order': Mehcad Brooks Cast As Detective In season 22|date=June 13, 2022|work=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=June 16, 2022}}
In the media
He appeared in the July 2010 issue of GQ, alongside Emanuela de Paula.{{cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/style/wear-it-now/201007/mehcad-brooks-gq-swimsuits#slide=2|title=Try To Keep Your Trunks On|author=Carter Smith|work=GQ|date=June 28, 2010}}
Personal life
He is the son of former NFL wide receiver Billy Brooks.
Brooks has stated in an interview with IGN that he is an avid player of video games, including the Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, and Madden series.{{cite web|last=John|first=Gaudiosi|title=Necessary Roughness Star Mehcad Brooks Talks Games|url=http://games.ign.com/articles/119/1194738p1.html|publisher=IGN Entertainment|access-date=September 16, 2011|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519002535/https://www.ign.com/games|url-status=dead}}
His older twin brother, Billy Brooks IV, was a regular on the now defunct Spill.com and currently guests on its successor Double Toasted.
He was in a relationship with Creature co-star Serinda Swan until their break up in 2011.{{cite news|last=Cwelich|first=Lorraine|title=Serinda Swan on 'Graceland' and Her Go-To Red-Carpet Designers|url=http://www.elle.com/news/culture/serinda-swan-interview-graceland|access-date=April 25, 2013|newspaper=Elle|date=30 January 2013}}{{cite news|title=Mehcad Brooks & Serinda Swan: 'Creature' Couple!|url=http://www.hollywire.com/2011/08/mehcad-brooks-serinda-swan-creature-couple|access-date=April 25, 2013|newspaper=Hollywire}}
Filmography
=Films=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| 2002
| Radimi: Who Stole the Dream | Radimi Wadkins | |
| 2003
| A Token for Your Thoughts | The Jock | Short |
| 2006
| |
| 2007
| Spc. Ennis Long | |
| 2008
| Fly Like Mercury | Hutch | |
| 2010
| Angelo Bembrey | |
| 2011
| Creature | Niles | |
| 2012
| Magic: The Gathering - The Musical | Doug | Short |
| 2014
| Derek | |
| 2015
| Damien | |
| 2018
| Charlie | |
| 2020
| Shannon Delong/Maurice Mills | |
| 2021
| rowspan=2|Jackson "Jax" Briggs | |
| 2025
| Post-production |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| rowspan=2|2002
| Do Over | Shawn Hodges | Episode: "Take Me Out of the Ball Game" |
| Malcolm in the Middle
| Big Kid | Episode: "Stupid Girl" |
| rowspan=2|2003
| Russell Clark | Recurring cast: season 3 |
| One on One
| Mustafa | Episode: "2 Young, 2 Curious" |
| rowspan=2|2004
| Herman Lester | Episode: "The Lost Soul of Herman Lester" |
| Tiger Cruise
| Kenny | TV movie |
| 2005–2006
| Guest: season 1, main cast: season 2 |
| 2006
| Justin Cotter | Episode: "Giving Up the Ghost" |
| 2007–2008
| K-Ville | Vin Bear | Episode: "Critical Mass" & "Game Night" |
| 2008
| The Game | Jerome "Jerry" Wright | Recurring cast: seasons 2–3 |
| 2008–2010
| Benedict "Eggs" Talley | Recurring cast: seasons 1–2, guest: season 3 |
| 2009
| Sam Jennings | Episode: "Echoes" |
| rowspan=2|2010
| Malcolm Bennett | 6 episodes |
| My Generation
| Rolly Marks | Main cast |
| rowspan=2|2011
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Prince Miller | Episode: "Personal Fouls" |
| Alcatraz
| Matt Tanner | Episode: "Paxton Petty" |
| 2011–2013
| Terrence King | 38 episodes |
| 2014
| Benched | George Grumbeigh Jr. | Episode: "Shark, Actually" |
| 2015–2021
| Main cast: seasons 1–5, guest: season 6 |
| rowspan=2|2022
| rowspan=3|Det. Jalen Shaw | rowspan=2|Recurring role |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit |
| 2022–present
| Main role |
| 2025
|And Just Like That...{{cite web|url=https://tvline.com/news/and-just-like-that-season-3-cast-mehcad-brooks-1235271845/|title=And Just Like That Shakes Up Cast, Adds 3 and Promotes 2 Ahead of Season 3|work=TVLine.com|date=June 27, 2024 |accessdate=June 28, 2024}} |TBD | TBD |
Discography
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="2"| Peak ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album | |
| scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| | |
|---|---|
| scope="row"| "Tears Away"{{cite web|url=https://theknockturnal.com/exclusive-mehcad-brooks-talks-new-single-tears-away/|title=Exclusive: Mehcad Brooks Talks New Single 'Tears Away' - The Knockturnal|date=October 24, 2017|access-date=February 11, 2018}}
| 2017 | || | | N/A | |
| align="center" colspan="15" style="font-size:8pt"|"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |
| scope="row"| "Stars"
| 2018 | | |
| N/A |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! TV Show ! Result |
|---|
| rowspan="2"|2006
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series |rowspan=3| Desperate Housewives | {{nom}} |
| rowspan="3"|Screen Actors Guild Awards
| rowspan="2"|Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series | {{won}} |
| 2007
| rowspan="3" {{nom}} |
| 2010 |
| 2017
| Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series |
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|1419635|Mehcad Brooks}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040311/http://www.lifeteen.com/default.aspx?PageID=FEATUREDETAIL&__DocumentId=132232&__ArticleIndex=4 Interview] at LIFETEEN.com
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Mehcad}}
Category:21st-century African-American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:Male models from Texas
Category:Male actors from Austin, Texas
Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Category:African-American male models
Category:American male television actors
Category:American male film actors