Antony Anderson
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Anthony Anderson (born August 15, 1970) is an American actor, comedian and game show host. He is best known for his leading roles in drama series such as Marlin Boulet on '' K-Ville'', and as NYPD Detective Kevin Bernard on the NBC crime drama ''
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 ...
'' and comedy sitcom television series ''
Guys with Kids ''Guys with Kids'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC, from September 11, 2012, to February 27, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television schedule. The series was created by Jimmy Fallon and Charlie Grandy and starred ...
'' as well as leading roles in comedy series such as Andre 'Dre' Johnson on '' Black-ish''. He had major roles in feature films such as '' Me, Myself & Irene'' (2000), '' Kangaroo Jack'' (2003), '' Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London'' (2004), ''
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...
'' (2006), ''
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
'' (2007), and '' Scream 4'' (2011). Anderson is also a regular judge on Food Network's ''
Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...
'' and also has more roles on other television programs such as '' All About the Andersons'', ''
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 ...
'', and '' The Shield''. Since June 2016, he has served as host of the ABC version of the game show '' To Tell the Truth''. In addition, he has served as a guest panelist for various game shows.


Early life

Anderson was born in
Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...
. His mother, Doris (née Hancox), was a telephone operator and actress, and his stepfather, Sterling Bowman, was a native of
Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...
, who moved to Los Angeles to work in the steel mill industry before opening a chain of three clothing stores; Anthony has a half brother named Derrick Bowman. His stepfather Sterling died in 2002. His nickname was "Tugga" because he could not pronounce sugar. According to a DNA analysis, Anderson descends from the
Bubi people The Bubi people (also known as Bobe, Voove, Ewota and Bantu Bubi) are a Bantu ethnic group of Central Africa who are indigenous to Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Once the majority group in the region, the population experienced a sharp decline ...
of Bioko Island (
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
), and from the
Tikar The Tikar (also Tikari, Tige, Tigar, Tigre, Tikali) are a central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau in Cameroon. They are known as great artisans and storytellers. Once a nomadic people, some oral traditions trace the origin of ...
, Hausa, and Fulani people of Cameroon. Anderson has stated that his first attempt at stand-up comedy was a failure. Although this experience was a blow to his ego, he did meet his future friend and fellow comedic actor
Guy Torry Guy Torry is an American actor and comedian. He is the brother of actor and comedian Joe Torry Joe Torry is an American actor and comedian. Filmography Film Television References External links * *Joe Torry's Giving Back the Love ...
there, who consoled him after the show and encouraged him to keep getting up on stage. He and Guy would later act together in the
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
film titled ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
''. Anderson is an alumnus of the
Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...
Performing Arts Magnet's Class of 1988 and graduated from Howard University with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...
degree in 2022.


Career

His television work includes a lead role in the teen series ''
Hang Time Hang time generally refers to how long a (self-)launched object stays in the air: * In basketball, the length of time a player stays in the air after jumping to score or pass the ball. * In American football, the length of time a punted ball flies ...
'' as Teddy Broadis. He had many one-off and guest roles on major series such as ''
NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
'', ''
Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The program was ...
'', '' In the House'', and '' Ally McBeal''. Recurring roles were on several series such as ''
'Til Death ''Til Death'' is an American sitcom which aired on the Fox network from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband and wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive producers. The ...
'' and ''
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 ...
''. He was the central character in the short-lived series '' All About the Andersons'', which lasted for one season on
The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...
. Anderson joined the cast of the long-running NBC crime drama television series, ''
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 ...
'' in 2008. After three seasons (18, 19, and 20) as Kevin Bernard, he reprised the role upon the series's revival in 2022, concurrent with the final episodes of ''Black-ish''. Only signed for one year, it was confirmed after the season he would not be returning for season 22. Before the initial stint, he starred in two other crime series,
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 ...
's '' K-Ville'' (as one of the lead characters) and Fox's cable channel FX's '' The Shield''. Anderson's series ''Eating America with Anthony Anderson'' was a summer show in 2014, having him go to different towns in America which host "food festivals" highlighting a specific type of food. He was frequently a judge on ''
Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, whi ...
'', one of the few judges to taste dishes from all the Iron Chefs on the show. In the ''Ultimate Bar Food'' battle, he served as bartender/ sous-chef for Iron Chef
Bobby Flay Robert William Flay (born December 10, 1964), is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and reality television personality. Flay is the owner and executive chef of several restaurants and franchises, including Bobby's Burger Palace, Bobby's ...
opposite Masaharu Morimoto and fellow judge
Simon Majumdar Simon Majumdar (born April 7, 1964) is a British-born food and travel author, and food television personality. He has appeared on many Food Network shows and is based in Los Angeles and London. He also judges tables on shows such as ''Iron Chef''. ...
. In 2013, Anderson signed on to host the celebrity-driven, family game show called ''Wall of Fame'' which was produced by Endemol USA for NBC. One family attempts to answer pop culture trivia questions while also guessing whether members of the celebrity "Wall of Fame" answered the same questions correctly. Eight one-hour episodes were taped at the time, however, the series was never aired. He also starred in the sitcom ''
Guys with Kids ''Guys with Kids'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC, from September 11, 2012, to February 27, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television schedule. The series was created by Jimmy Fallon and Charlie Grandy and starred ...
'', which lasted a single season. In 2014, Anderson began starring as Andre "Dre" Johnson on the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
sitcom '' Black-ish'', which completed its eight-season run in 2022. During its run Anderson received 11
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
nominations and three
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nominations. In 2022, Anderson was not nominated as a producer or actor for its final season. He reacted to the news while guest hosting ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' joking, "Can you believe that shit? Now I'm not saying the voters were stupid for not nominating me or ''Black-ish'' or Tracee, I'm just saying they're racist." He also serves as executive producer on its spinoffs '' Grown-ish'', which premiered on '' Freeform'' in 2018, and ''
Mixed-ish ''Mixed-ish'' (stylized as ''ish'') was an American single-camera sitcom created by Kenya Barris, Peter Saji and Tracee Ellis Ross that premiered on ABC on September 24, 2019. The series is a prequel to ''Black-ish'', and the second series to be ...
'', which ran on ABC for two seasons from 2019 to 2021. He also reprised Dre in episodes of both series. Since 2016, he has been the host of '' To Tell the Truth'', which also airs on ABC. In 2002, he voiced Ray Ray in an episode of the
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
animated series '' The Proud Family''. He will reprise the role in an episode of the second season of its revival series '' The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder'', airing in 2023.


Film

Anderson has been performing as an actor for many years since his film debut in '' Liberty Heights'', often in comedic roles. Among his more prominent feature films are: '' Kangaroo Jack'', which was one of his first films as a leading actor; ''
My Baby's Daddy ''My Baby's Daddy'' is a 2004 American comedy film, directed by Cheryl Dunye. Plot Childhood friends Lonnie, G, and Dominic have a rude awakening when they find out their girlfriends are pregnant. Lonnie and G have sons names Carver and Bruce-Ler ...
''; ''
Hustle & Flow ''Hustle & Flow'' is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Allain. It stars Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper. It als ...
''; '' Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London''; and '' King's Ransom'', which to date is his only starring role. Anderson had a small role in the Academy Award-winning
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...
film ''
The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Winter ...
''. Additionally, Anderson had a supporting role in ''
Scary Movie 3 ''Scary Movie 3'' is a 2003 American parody film which parodies the horror, sci-fi, and mystery genres. It is the sequel to ''Scary Movie 2'' and is the third film in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, and the first to be directed by David Zucker ...
'' and ''
Scary Movie 4 ''Scary Movie 4'' is a 2006 American science fiction parody film. It is the sequel to ''Scary Movie 3'' and the fourth installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series, as well as the first film in the franchise to be released under The Weinstein ...
''. He was originally set to return in ''
Scary Movie 5 ''Scary Movie 5'' (stylized on-screen as ''Scary MoVie'') is a 2013 American comedy horror film. It is the standalone sequel to ''Scary Movie 4'' and the fifth and final installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series. It is the second film to be ...
'' with Regina Hall and Kevin Hart, however, everything regarding scripting and filming changed. In June 2010, he was cast in a minor role in '' Scream 4''.


Directorial work

In 2009, Anderson directed a one-minute short film featuring his ''Law & Order'' co-star Jeremy Sisto. The short was made for the Responsibility Project, a joint initiative of NBC and
Liberty Mutual Group Liberty Mutual Group is an American diversified global insurer and the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. It ranks 71st on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the United States based on 2020 revenue. B ...
. The short aired during the ''In The House'' episode "Reality Bites" on October 16, 2009.


Personal life

He has been married to wife Alvina since September 1999. The couple have two children, Kyra and Nathan; Nathan starred as Tahj in the
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
sitcom '' Richie Rich'' and guest starred in ''Black-ish''. His wife initially filed for divorce in September 2015, after having been separated since April 2014. However, the couple reconciled in January 2017 and she withdrew her petition. She filed for divorce for the second time on March 25, 2022. Anderson has
Type 2 diabetes Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, ...
and has been active in diabetes awareness. Playing for the Alzheimer's Association, in 2011, Anderson won $250,000 on '' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire''. Anderson is an honorary member of
Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...
fraternity; he was inducted on July 30, 2020.


Rape and sexual assault allegations

Anderson was accused of raping a 25-year-old extra in a trailer on the film set of ''
Hustle & Flow ''Hustle & Flow'' is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Allain. It stars Terrence Howard as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper. It als ...
'' on July 27, 2004. The alleged victim accused Anderson and assistant director Wayne Witherspoon of forcibly removing her clothing, photographing her naked body, and digitally penetrating her. A witness claimed to have heard the alleged victim's screams and to have seen her run naked from the trailer, and she was treated at St. Francis Hospital. The charges were dropped on October 6, 2004, because the judge ruled that there was no probable cause to try the case. Anderson was sued for sexual assault in September 2004 by another woman who claimed that Anderson made sexually suggestive remarks and then assaulted her in his dressing room on the set of '' All About the Andersons''. On July 20, 2018, it was revealed that he was being investigated by the
Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
for another sexual assault allegation. Due to lack of evidence on September 4, the
Los Angeles District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is George Gascón. Some m ...
's Office decided not to press charges against Anderson.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


Music videos


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Anthony 1970 births 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American people of Bubi descent American people of Cameroonian descent American people of Equatoguinean descent American people of Fulbe descent American people of Hausa descent American people of Tikar descent Howard University alumni Living people Male actors from California Male actors from Los Angeles People from Compton, California 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people American game show hosts Tikar people