Dennis L. A. White is an American actor noted for portraying Damion "D-Roc" Butler in the
Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
biopic entitled
''Notorious''.
Early life
White was born and raised in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
in 1973,to a Grammy nominated mother and a military father. He was exposed to many different cultures and ideas. When his family relocated to
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
he developed his love for music and acting. He was offered a baseball scholarship while a student at
Westover High School to play baseball but he decided to take an academic scholarship at
Winston-Salem State University
Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is a historically black public university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina.
History
Winston-Salem State University was founded as Slater Industrial Academy o ...
in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
.
Career
In 2001, Dennis, under the guise of "Dennis Da Menace", put out his Billboard charted album, ''The Wonderful World of Dennis''. In 2003, Dennis became the first African-American host at Fuse Television. He began to host several TV shows: ''Weekend Vibe'', HBO's ''5 Rounds'' and ''Chatzone'', and MTV's ''Hip Hop Life''.
White then pursued his love for acting with appearances in ''The Brave One'' with Jodie Foster, ''Law & Order: SVU'', ''The Jury'', ''I Think I Love My Wife'', etc. In 2010, he portrayed a cancer stricken comedian in Marq Overton's Off Broadway play, ''Die Laughing''. White also played Virgil on The N mini-series, Miracle's Boys. Dennis had a recurring role on TNT (TV channel)'s ''The Closer''. In 2009, Dennis created "Act Like You Know", a company that gives acting workshops and seminars to aspiring actors across the country. In 2009, Dennis became the re-occurring character "Mistah Ray" on NBC's ''Parenthood''.
In 2013, Dennis started a foundation called "M.O.R.P.H." to help eradicate racial profiling.
In 2018, Dennis strategically aligned his career and brand with personal manager, Jameelah "Just Jay" Wilkerson, President/CEO of The Hype Magazine Network; a media conglomerate based in North America. Wilkerson is also President of Marketing and Business Affairs with Palm Tree Entertainment, home to platinum-selling artists
Soulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...
and
iHeartMemphis creator of the global smash
Hit The Quan.
Filmography
*''
Swimming'' (2000) - Jeeper
*''
I Think I Love My Wife'' (2007) - Party Thug (uncredited)
*''
The Brave One'' (2007) - Thug on Subway
*''
Notorious
Notorious means well known for a negative trait, characteristic, or action. It may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Notorious'' (1946 film), a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock
* ''Notorious'' (1992 film), a TV film re ...
'' (2009) - Damion
*''Three Chris's'' (2010) - Chris Walker
*''April's Fools'' (2010) - Tamil
*''Code Blue'' (2010)
*''King of Paper Chasin (2011) - J.B. (as Dennis Da Menace)
*''After Hours: The Movie'' (2011) - Rugged & Menace hit man
*''
Dysfunctional Friends
''Dysfunctional Friends '' is a 2012 American comedy drama film starring Stacey Dash, Reagan Gomez-Preston, Wesley Jonathan, Datari Turner, Tatyana Ali, Meagan Good, Jason Weaver, Persia White, Terrell Owens, Stacy Keibler, Hosea Chanchez, ...
'' (2012) - Minister
*''
Small Apartments
''Small Apartments'' is a 2012 American independent comedy film directed by Jonas Åkerlund. It tells the story of Franklin Franklin, played by Matt Lucas, who by mistake kills his landlord, Mr. Olivetti, played by Peter Stormare. The cast co-stars ...
'' (2012) - Marcus (as Dennis White)
*''
Changing the Game'' (2012) - Adult Dre (as Dennis LA White)
*''Dreams'' (2013/I) - Gage
*''Dreams'' (2013/II) - Jermaine
*''The Genesis of Lincoln'' (2014) - T.J. McGriff
*''
Lap Dance'' (2014) - Pauly
*''Bleeding Hearts'' (2015) - Chris Walker
*''Diamond Ruff'' (2015) - Rev. Trek Woods
*''Sweet Lorraine'' (2015) - Lincoln Kennedy
*''Trap City'' (2020) - Jacoby
Television
*''
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 ...
'' (2016) ... Bald Man
*''
Black Dynamite
''Black Dynamite'' is a 2009 American blaxploitation action comedy film starring Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, and Salli Richardson. The film was directed by Scott Sanders and co-written by White, Sanders, and Byron Minns, who also co-star ...
'' (2014) ... Arnold's Talking Stomach (voice)
*''
Parenthood'' (2011-2013) ... Mista Ray
*''
NYC 22
''NYC 22'' (pronounced NYC 2-2) is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on CBS from April 15 to August 11, 2012, as a mid-season replacement for ''CSI: Miami''. On May 13, 2012, CBS canceled the series after one season ...
'' (2012) ... Teef
*''
The Closer
''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...
'' (2010-2011) ... Reggie Moses
*''
Let's Talk About Pep'' (2010) Episode #1.3 (2010) ... Dennis White
*''
Miracle's Boys
''Miracle's Boys'' is an American drama television series produced for Noggin's teen programming block, The N. The show began production in June 2004 and first previewed on December 17, 2004, with a behind-the-scenes special called "The Making of ...
'' (2005) (TV Mini-Series) ... Virgil
*''
Jonny Zero'' (2005) ... Pillsbury
*''
The Jury'' (2004) ... Derrick Smith-Bey
*''Fuse's Summer Jam X'' (2003) (TV Movie) ... Host
*''Weekend Vibe'' (2002) ... Segment Host (2004)
Video games
*''
The Warriors'' (2005) - Sid, Glenn, Keenan, Jonah (voices, as Dennis White)
*''
Def Jam Fight for NY
''Def Jam: Fight for NY'' is a hip hop-influenced action video game published by EA Games (unlike the original, which was published under the EA Sports BIG brand). It was released on September 20, 2004 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It ...
'' (2004) - Baxter (voice, as Dennis Da Menace)
Producer
*''
Dreams'' (2013/I) - (associate producer)
Self
*''
Daily Download
''IMX'' (''Interactive Music Exchange'') was an American music television program which aired daily from 2002-2004 on MMUSA (renamed Fuse TV in May 2003). Described as a "fully converged music industry simulation game" and "part TV show, part Int ...
'' (2004) - Daily Download (TV Series) - Himself - Host (2004)
*''
Adventures of Dennis Da Menace: South Beach (documentary)'' (2001) - Himself
*''
Chat Zone'' (2001) - (TV Series) - Host (2004)
References
* A. O. Scott
"Notorious (2009) A Rapper's Tale, Larger Than Life" ''New York Times''. 16 January 16, 2009
* Williams, Houston
"Dennis White: The Realest Thespian In Hollywood" allhiphop.com. 11 October 2010.
* Colclough, Glenys. "Notorious Elevation: A Conversation with Dennis LA White"
''Prominence Magazine'' p. 43. Fall 2010.
External links
M.O.R.P.H.*
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Dennis L.A.
Living people
People from California
Year of birth missing (living people)
American male actors