Sharif Atkins (born January 29, 1975) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Michael Gallant on '' ER'' and for his role as FBI Agent Clinton Jones on '' White Collar''.

Early life

Atkins was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He earned his bachelor's degree in theatre/speech from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1997. While at Northwestern in 1996, Atkins was initiated as a member of the

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity (Theta Chapter). In 1998, he studied at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory (formerly PDAC), before getting his start in film and television.

Career

He gained fame for his role as Dr. Michael Gallant, a character that debuted in the eighth season (2001) of the

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 ...

medical drama '' ER''. He left ''ER'' after the 2003-2004 season. In 2004, he went on to star in the short-lived police drama ''

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

'' as former

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

Detective John Declan, who transferred to an elite crime unit of the

Honolulu Police Department The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP. Officially recognized as a part of the government of the ...

. Atkins continued to make guest appearances in both the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons of ''ER'', with his character returning on leave from duty in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

physician. His character was killed in Iraq at the end of the 2005-06 season. Atkins also portrayed the recurring character Gary Navarro in the acclaimed series ''

The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...

''. Navarro is a telepath. In 2005 Sharif played in the tv sitcom ''

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

''. He played Shelly's boyfriend Grant. Atkins played Special Agent Clinton Jones in USA Network's '' White Collar'' from 2009 to 2014. He has appeared as Assistant United States Attorney Rivers in the CBS drama ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...

''. In 2009 he appeared in season 4, episode 25 of ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' - "To Hell..." as Sgt. William Hightower. Atkins has also guest-starred in season 8 of ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...

''. In 2014 he appeared as a

Nova Corps The Nova Corps is a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman, the Corps first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #205 (April 1979). They have since appe ...

pilot in ''Guardians of the Galaxy''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Sharif 1975 births Living people African-American male actors American male television actors Male actors from Chicago Northwestern University School of Communication alumni Male actors from Pittsburgh Whitney M. Young Magnet High School alumni 21st-century American male actors 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people