Collins Pennie (born June 20, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in ''
Prom Night'' as Ronnie Heflin, and in ''In Time'' as Time Keeper Jaeger. He also starred in the films ''Fame'' and ''
Stomp the Yard: Homecoming''.
Early life
Pennie was born in
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Flushing Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard to the north, Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn to the west, ...
. He is of Trinidadian descent.
Career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pennie began his career with roles on NBC's hit drama ''Law & Order'' and as a drug-addicted thief on ''Without a Trace''. His television work quickly caught the eye of Ford Model Management, who signed Pennie, leading him to a successful "ck one" fragrance campaign for Calvin Klein.
Pennie currently resides in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. While not on camera, he spends most of his time dancing, writing and mastering his many crafts.
Pennie hit the stage in the summer of 2010, appearing in ''Rent'' with actors Neil Patrick Harris and Wayne Brady, performing in a three-day limited engagement at the Hollywood Bowl. Pennie's prolific dance moves also landed him the lead male role in Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" video, which was released May 18, 2011.
Pennie has also continued to work in film, appearing in Ryan Fleck's award-winning ''Half Nelson'' (2007) opposite Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps. He had lead roles in ''Prom Night'' (2008) and the musical ''Fame'' (2009), an adaptation of the 1980 cult classic. In 2010, Collins had the lead role in ''Stomp the Yard: Homecoming'', in which he played Chance Harris, a college student struggling to balance between his school, work, relationships and opportunity to perform in the national step competition. On television, Collins starred on the hit series hospital drama ''Hawthorne'', where he worked alongside Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Vartan. He also appeared in the Fox Feature film ''In Time'', starring opposite Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy. In early 2013 Collins made his return to television in Regina King's directorial debut, ''Let The Church Say Amen''. The film was based on ReShonda Tate Billingley's 2005 novel of the same name. Royal Ties, the company King runs with her sister, Reina King, produced this film for BET Networks alongside Queen Latifah's Flava Unit Company.
Television
In 2004, Pennie made his television debut on the long-running
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
crime-drama ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
''. He has since starred on other television shows such as ''
Without a Trace
''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...
'', and played Marcus Leeds in the hospital drama
''Hawthorne''.
Film
Pennie has appeared in ''
Half Nelson
A nelson hold is a grappling hold which is executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpi ...
'' (2007), the 2008 version of ''
Prom Night'', and the musical ''
Fame'', an adaptation of the 1980 cult classic. In 2010, he had the lead role in ''
Stomp the Yard: Homecoming''. In 2011, he appeared in the film ''
In Time
''In Time'' is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol. Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake star as inhabitants of a society which uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, with ...
'', starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.
In September 2012, Pennie will star in actress
Regina King
Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, ''Time'' magazine named her one ...
's directorial debut ''Let The Church Say Amen'' which is adapted from ReShonda Tate Billingsley's 2005 best-selling novel. The film will premiered on
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 ...
in 2013.
Theater
In the summer of 2010, Pennie appeared in ''Rent'' with actors
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...
and
Wayne Brady
Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
in a three-day limited engagement at the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
.
[
]
Music video
Pennie played the lead male role in Beyoncé's "Run The World (Girls)" video, which was released 18 May 2011 on Beyoncé's website and ''American Idol''.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennie, Collins
1985 births
American male actors
African-American male actors
Living people
People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people