Life and career
Bythewood grew up in The Bronx, New York City. He loved going to the movies and to Yankees games with his father. However, his main love was boxing. When his parents split up, his mother forbade him to pursue the sport. He was not allowed to go to the neighborhood boxing gym anymore because she thought it was too dangerous. During this time, hip hop was considered a fad outside of New York. However, in the Bronx, it was an emerging art form. Bythewood was consumed by the movement. He was a rapper in a neighborhood hip hop crew. During assemblies in junior high school, he and other school mates were allowed to get on stage and break dance. After junior high, Bythewood's main focus became acting. He went to the High School of Performing Arts as a drama major. However, the school did not allow students to work as professional actors. During his senior year, Bythewood was cast in the soap opera '' Another World'', he left Performing Arts and attended Quintanos School for the Young Professionals. While on the set he acted with Morgan Freeman, Joe Morton, Kyra Sedgwick and many others. After high school, Bythewood acted in a John Sayles film '' The Brother from Another Planet''. Sayles inspired Bythewood to write and direct and he shifted his focus away from acting. He graduated from Marymount Manhattan College with a BFA in theater. He co-founded a New York City based theater company called The Tribe which performed plays written and directed by Bythewood. The aim of the theater company was to entertain while raising consciousness. Several activists attended Bythewood's plays including Black Panther Jamal Joseph who became one of his best friends. In 1990, Bythewood was offered a role in the soap opera "One Life To Live." However, he turned down the offer and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting. He became one of the first members of Walt Disney's prestigious Writers Fellowship Program. From there, he was hired as a writer on the hit NBC comedy series '' A Different World'' where he met his future wife, Gina Prince-Bythewood. He went on to write and produce Dick Wolf's drama series '' New York Undercover''. He also did production rewrites for action films produced by Joel Silver. After attending the Million Man March, Bythewood wrote the screenplay for Spike Lee's indie film '' Get on the Bus''. Bythewood was also one of the film's investors. With the 2007 Writer's Strike looming, Bythewood was hired to do the rewrite for ''Personal life
Bythewood resides in Southern California with his wife, filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, and their two sons. The two met on the set of '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' before both being hired on '' A Different World'' and married in 1998.Filmography
Acting credits Film
*''Acting credits TV
*'' Another World'' (1982–1983)Film
Television
References
External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bythewood, Reggie Rock African-American film producers Film producers from New York (state) African-American film directors 1965 births Living people African-American screenwriters Screenwriters from New York (state) Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni People from the Bronx Film directors from New York City 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Male actors from New York City American film actors American television actors American television directors American television producers American television writers