Algee Smith IV (born November 7, 1994) is an American actor and singer. After appearing in several small television roles, Smith first rose to fame portraying

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album '' Ralph Tresvant'' (1990). In 2008, he ...

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

's ''

The New Edition Story ''The New Edition Story'' is an American biographical three-part miniseries about the contemporary R&B, R&B group New Edition, from their rise to fame as a boy band from the Orchard Park Projects of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to becoming a successfu ...

'' miniseries. The same year, he garnered critical acclaim as Larry Reed in

Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Loc ...

's film ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

''. He is also known for his role as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player Christopher "Chris" McKay in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama series ''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

''.

Early life

Smith was born in

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. At the age of eight, he and his family moved from Michigan to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

where he started his acting career. Having a musician for a father and a fashion designer for a mother, Smith was well immersed in the arts and also completed his first rap recording at the age of 9. During this time, he attained several minor television roles; those of which he credits for "perfecting his craft." Smith was home schooled for high school. He left

Atlanta, GA Atlanta ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georgia, Fulton County, the mos ...

and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at the age of 20.

Career

After appearances in projects such as

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

's ''Let It Shine'' and ''

Earth to Echo ''Earth to Echo'' is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Dave Green, and produced by Ryan Kavanaugh and Andrew Panay. Based on a screenplay by Henry Gayden, the film stars Teo Halm, Brian "Astro" Bradley, Reese Hartwig, and Ella ...

'', Smith landed his first major acting role playing real-life singer

in ''

,'' which also showcased his singing and dancing abilities''.'' Smith also starred in

's film ''Detroit'', which tells the story of the

Algiers Motel incident The Algiers Motel incident (also called the Algiers Motel Murders) occurred in Detroit, Michigan, United States, throughout the night of July 25–26, 1967, during the racially charged 12th Street Riot. At the Algiers Motel, approximately one mile ...

. His performance was praised by critics and he received a nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the 2018

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

. He also performed a song for the ''Detroit'' film soundtrack, called "Grow." On June 22, 2017, Smith released his first EP entitled ''Listen'', featuring a blend of R&B and Hip hop tracks. In 2018, he co-starred with

Amandla Stenberg Amandla Stenberg (born October 23, 1998) is an American actress. She was included in ''Time''s list of Most Influential Teens in both 2015 and 2016, and has received several accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an NAACP Image Award, and n ...

in ''

The Hate U Give ''The Hate U Give'' is a 2017 young adult novel by Angie Thomas. It is Thomas's debut novel, expanded from a short story she wrote in college in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-ye ...

'', a film adaptation of the young adult novel of the same name. Smith also reprised his role as Ralph Tresvant in BET's ''The Bobby Brown Story''. In 2019, he earned a starring role as Chris McKay in the highly acclaimed TV series ''Euphoria.'' Smith returned to film in 2021, portraying Jake Winters in the film

Judas and the Black Messiah ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' is a 2021 biographical crime drama film about the betrayal of Fred Hampton (played by Daniel Kaluuya), chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in late-1960s Chicago, by William O'Neal (played ...

, which details the work and ultimate assassination of

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

activist

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ame ...

. He also appeared and portrayed one of the main roles, Sam, in the film

Mother/Android ''Mother/Android'' is a 2021 American post-apocalyptic science fiction thriller film, written and directed by Mattson Tomlin in his feature directorial debut, and starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Algee Smith and Raúl Castillo. It follows a pregn ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

EPs

Mixtapes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Algee American male television actors 1994 births People from Saginaw, Michigan Living people Male actors from Michigan Male actors from Atlanta 21st-century American male actors American male film actors African-American actors