Career
Born in Elizabeth New Jersey, Hopkins began his acting career as a teenager. At age 15, Hopkins fell into the acting business when his mother brought him to a casting-call audition in New York for the Warner Bros. feature ''Lean on Me (film), Lean on Me'', in which he got a starring role opposite Morgan Freeman as Thomas Sams, a misguided drug-abusing high school student. His next project ''Juice'', directed by Ernest R. Dickerson, had him starring as Steel alongside Khalil Kain, Omar Epps, and Tupac Shakur. Hopkins subsequently starred in the HBO worldwide release ''Strapped'', that would be Forest Whitaker's directorial debut. Over the next two years, Hopkins appeared in episodes of ''Murder One (TV series), Murder One'' and ''Moesha'', and six episodes as Dupree on The WB's ''The Wayans Bros.'' series, before finishing production on his next film ''Def Jam's How to Be a Player'', starring opposite Bill Bellamy and comedian Pierre Edwards.Legal Issues
Hopkins was arrested on December 15, 2011, for attempting to purchase of marijuana from an undercover cop. He previously faced up to five years in prison, but was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years' probation. Hopkins was arrested again on October 13, 2017, in Apex, North Carolina with of marijuana in the trunk of his car. TMZ reports Hopkins pled guilty to felony possession. However, the judge suspended his four-month sentence, instead giving Hopkins 24 months of supervised probation.Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Jermaine 1975 births Living people African-American male actors Male actors from New Jersey American male child actors American male film actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people