Roscoe "Rocky" Carroll (born July 8, 1963) is an American actor and director. He is known for his roles as Joey Emerson on the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

'' Roc'' (1991–94), as Dr. Keith Wilkes on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...

Chicago Hope ''Chicago Hope'' is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charitable hospital in Chicago, Illinois. ...

'', and as NCIS Director

Leon Vance Leon Robert Vance Jr. (August 11, 1916 – July 26, 1944) was a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Early life and family Leon Robert Vance Jr. was born and raised in Enid, Oklahoma. Van ...

on the CBS drama '' NCIS'' and its spinoffs ''

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' ...

'' and ''

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

''. He also played a supporting role in the 1995 thriller film '' Crimson Tide''.

Early life

Carroll was born Roscoe Carroll in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, on July 8, 1963. His acting career is rooted in the theater. In 1981, Carroll graduated from the famed School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in Cincinnati Ohio, in the Cincinnati Public School District. Determined to further his knowledge of acting, he attended The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, where he graduated with a B.F.A. degree. Carroll would later receive an honorary degree from his alma mater in 2009. After graduating, Carroll decided to test the waters by moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, the heart of the theater community. There, he introduced many young children to the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

by participating in Joe Papp's "Shakespeare on Broadway" series.

Career

As part of Joe Papp's acclaimed

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...

, Carroll helped to open doors for actors of color, by taking on non-traditional roles that were rarely portrayed by

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

actors in Shakespeare dramas. In 1987, Carroll was introduced to the works of

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

. The up-and-coming and talented young actor was allowed to recreate his role for the Broadway production of Wilson's critically acclaimed story ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...

''. The play not only earned a

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

, but Carroll earned a Tony and Drama Desk nomination. He is known for portraying ne'er-do-well musician Joey Emerson on the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

'' Roc''. He also had a starring role as Dr. Keith Wilkes in the TV series ''

.'' Carroll has guest starred in several other TV programs including '' The Agency'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, t ...

'', ''

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage, ...

'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

,'' ''

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 ...

,'' '' The Game'', '' ER'' and ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

''. Carroll has had roles in many Hollywood films such as ''

Born on the Fourth of July ''Born on the Fourth of July'', published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist. Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line ...

'', ''

The Ladies Man ''The Ladies Man'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by and starring Jerry Lewis. It was released on June 28, 1961 by Paramount Pictures. Plot Herbert H. Heebert is a young man who loses his girlfriend, swears off romance, and then takes ...

'', '' Crimson Tide'', ''The Great White Hype'', ''Prelude to a Kiss'', ''The Chase'', ''Best Laid Plans'' and '' Yes Man''. In the fifth season of the

drama '' NCIS'', Carroll was featured in a recurring role as Assistant Director Leon Vance. In doing so, he had been reunited with his ''

'' castmates Mark Harmon and

Lauren Holly Lauren Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. She has played the roles of Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the television series ''Picket Fences'', NCIS Director Jenny Shepard in the series '' NCIS'', Dr. Betty Rogers on ''Motive' ...

. After the death of NCIS director Jenny Shepard (played by Holly), his character became the new director of NCIS, and replaced Holly in the main cast. He has also guest-starred as Vance in the NCIS spin-offs ''

'' and ''

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

''. He shares his birthday with former ''NCIS'' co-star

Michael Weatherly Michael Manning Weatherly Jr. (born July 8, 1968) is an American actor, producer, director, and musician, known for playing the roles of Anthony DiNozzo in the television series '' NCIS'' (2003–2016) and Logan Cale in '' Dark Angel'' (2000–2 ...

. In addition to being a series regular on ''NCIS'', Carroll has also directed fifteen episodes of ''NCIS'', making his directorial debut with the Season 12 episode, "We Build, We Fight".

Personal life

Carroll married Gabrielle Bullock in 1996. They have one daughter, Elissa.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Director

References

External links

* *
Rocky Carroll
at the NCIS cast page of

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Rocky 1963 births Living people Male actors from Cincinnati African-American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male Shakespearean actors American male television actors American male voice actors Webster University alumni 21st-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors