Steven Williams (born January 7, 1949) is an American actor in films and television. He is known for his roles as Captain Adam Fuller on ''
21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'', Lt. Jefferson Burnett on ''
The Equalizer'', Det. August Brooks on ''
L.A. Heat'',
X on ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
'', Russell "Linc" Lincoln in ''
Linc's'', and
Rufus Turner in ''
Supernatural''.
Throughout his career, Williams has appeared in numerous films, including ''
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
'' (1980), ''
Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983), ''
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), ''
22 Jump Street
''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American satirical buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing Tatum ...
'' (2014), ''
It'' (2017), and ''
Birds of Prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
'' (2020).
He has been nominated for a
Screen Actors Guild Award and one
NAACP Image Award.
Early life
Williams was born in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, and was predominantly reared in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. His parents were divorced, and he was raised at separate times by his father in
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, his mother in Chicago and by his maternal grandparents in
Millington, Tennessee
Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and is a part of the Memphis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee Stat ...
.
In Chicago, he attended
Wendell Phillips High School. After graduating, he matriculated at the
General Motors Institute, an automaker's engineering school.
[ Williams later worked as a postal carrier, salesman, and model.
He was drafted into the ]United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
, serving in the 2nd Armored Division, stationed in Gelnhausen, Germany and became Divisional Champion with the United States Army Boxing Team, Middleweight Division. Upon receiving an Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, Williams worked for the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
as a mailman.[ After delivering the mail in subzero temperatures, he went to work in Chicago's garment district as an apparel salesman.][
]
Career
Williams made his acting debut in the 1975 film ''Cooley High
''Cooley High'' is a 1975 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film that follows the narrative of high school seniors and best friends, Leroy "Preach" Jackson ( Glynn Turman) and Richard "Cochise" Morris (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs). Written by Eric ...
''. He appeared in musical comedy ''The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on ''Saturday Night Live''. Belushi and Aykroyd fronted the band, in character, respecti ...
'' (1980) as Trooper Mount, and played Lt. Jefferson Burnett 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 ...
drama series '' The Equalizer'' in 1985. He portrayed renegade Capt. David Nester in the 1985 film '' Missing in Action 2: The Beginning'',
He landed the role of Captain Adam Fuller, a senior police officer supervising younger cops, on Fox Network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
's TV series ''21 Jump Street
''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' in 1987. Williams replaced Frederic Forrest
Frederic Fenimore Forrest Jr. (born December 23, 1936) is an American actor. Forrest came to public attention for his performance in ''When the Legends Die'' (1972), which earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising N ...
, who played a similar character, early in the series. He continued playing the character until the series ended in 1991. While acting in the series, Williams played Lieutenant Gallagher in '' Under the Gun'' (1988), which featured Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...
in the cast.
Following his stint on ''21 Jump Street'', Williams portrayed the title character in ''The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage
''Disney Presents The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series broadcast in the United States by NBC and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with Walt Disney Television. The show ...
''. He played the role of Det. August Brooks on the TNT
Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
series '' L.A. Heat'' in 1996. He recurred as X 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 ...
hit science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
series ''The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
''. He earned a Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 1997 for his work as X.
Williams appeared as main character Russell "Linc" Lincoln, a bartender, in comedy '' Linc's''. In 2000, he received an NAACP Image Award nomination, in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. Concurrently, Williams portrayed Isaac in short-lived UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
series '' Legacy''.
He portrayed Rufus Turner in fantasy series '' Supernatural'' (2008−16), and was Quentin in drama ''The Chi
''The Chi'' ( ) is an American drama television series created by Lena Waithe about life in a neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago. The pilot was directed by Rick Famuyiwa. It premiered on Showtime (TV network), Showti ...
'' (2018−present). Williams' work on the latter has been well received, with reviewers finding him "strong" and "powerful" as Quentin. Williams garnered several recurring roles in the 2010s and 2020s, including attorney Stephen Carlisle in '' Ambitions'' (2019) and teacher Joe Ridgeway in ''Locke & Key
''Locke & Key'' is an American comic book series written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez, and published by IDW Publishing.
Plot summary
This plot is presented in chronological order. During the American Revolution, a group of ...
'' (2020), both dramas.
Williams has appeared extensively in guest roles on television. He portrayed an Army friend of the protagonist in ''MacGyver
Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot.
In both p ...
'', and was Robin Dumars' father on '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper''. Other guest appearances include ''The Dukes of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...
'', ''The A-Team
''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court ma ...
'', '' Booker'', ''Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...
'', ''Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
'', ''Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...
'', ''The Bernie Mac Show
''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...
'', ''Criminal Minds
''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was revived in 2022. It ...
'' and '' iZombie''.
Other film roles include a bar patron in '' Twilight Zone: The Movie'' (1983), bounty hunter
A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
Creighton Duke in horror film '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993) and Carlos in ''Adventures of Power
''Adventures of Power'' is a 2008 American adventure comedy film written and directed by Ari Gold, starring Gold, Michael McKean, Jane Lynch, Shoshannah Stern, Chiu Chi Ling, and Adrian Grenier and featuring Steven Williams, Jimmy Jean-Louis, ...
'' (2009). In TV movies, Williams was a Panamanian boat captain named Mo in '' Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story'' (1986) and portrayed pitcher Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
in '' The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson'' (1990).
Personal life
His wife is talent agent Ann Geddes, and the couple have two daughters.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Steven
1949 births
Living people
Male actors from Tennessee
African-American male actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
People from Memphis, Tennessee
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people