Michael Anthony Beach (born October 30, 1963) is an American actor. He has appeared in films '' Lean on Me'' (1989), ''

One False Move ''One False Move'' is a 1992 American crime thriller film directed by Carl Franklin and co-written by Billy Bob Thornton. The film stars Thornton alongside Bill Paxton and Cynda Williams. The low-budget production was about to be released strai ...

'' (1992), ''

Short Cuts ''Short Cuts'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film, directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. The film has a Los Angeles setting, which is ...

'' (1993), ''

Waiting to Exhale ''Waiting to Exhale'' is a 1995 American romance film directed by Forest Whitaker (in his feature film directorial debut) and starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The film was adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Terry McMil ...

'' (1995), ''

A Family Thing ''A Family Thing'' is a 1996 American drama film starring Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones and Irma P. Hall. It was rewritten by Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Epperson, the original script, "Latent Blood" was written by L Guy Burton, and directed b ...

'' (1996), ''

Soul Food Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...

'' (1997), and ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

'' (2018). On television, he played Al Boulet on the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in another NBC drama series, ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced by ...

'', as Monte Parker, and as T.O. Cross in FX's ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ope ...

''.

Early life

Beach was born in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

on October 30, 1963. He graduated from

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

with a degree for the

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 ...

Career

Beach's big screen debut was in '' End of the Line'' in 1987, and he went on to appear opposite

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

and

Beverly Todd Beverly Todd (born July 11, 1946) is an American actress, producer and writer. She is known for her roles in films '' Brother John'' (1971), '' Moving'' (1988), '' Lean on Me'' (1989) and ''The Bucket List'' (2007). On television, Todd appeared ...

in '' Lean on Me'' (1989). Beach also co-starred in films including '' Internal Affairs'', ''

Cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999) ...

'' (both 1990), ''

'' (1992) with

Cynda Williams Cindy Ann "Cynda" Williams (born May 17, 1966) is an American actress. Early life and education Williams was born Cindy Ann Williams in Chicago, Illinois to Charles, a police officer and Beverly, a medical lab technician. She was raised in th ...

, ''

'' and ''

True Romance ''True Romance'' is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, ...

'' (both 1993). Beach's big break came in 1995, playing

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

's unfaithful husband in the comedy-drama film ''

''. In 1997, he played

Vanessa L. 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 resigne ...

's unfaithful husband in the comedy-drama film ''

''. On television, he played a recurring role as Al Boulet, the ex-husband of

physician assistant A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of Mid-level practitioner, mid-level health care provider. In North America PAs may diagnose illnesses, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and may serve as a pri ...

Jeanie Boulet Jeanie Boulet is a fictional character from the television series '' ER''. The role was portrayed by Gloria Reuben who debuted as a recurring character in the first season episode, "Long Day's Journey", aired on January 19, 1995. Reuben was promo ...

(

Gloria Reuben Gloria Elizabeth Reuben is a Canadian-American actress, producer, and singer. She is well-known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the medical drama ''ER (TV series), ER'' (1995–1999, 2008), for which she was twice nominated for an Emmy Award, a ...

) in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1995 to 1997. From 1999 to 2005, Beach was a regular cast member in the NBC drama series ''

'', playing

FDNY The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

paramedic

Monte 'Doc' Parker ''Third Watch'' is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 and followed the lives of an ensemble cast of characters portraying police officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and firefighte ...

. Beach has had guest-starring roles on ''

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 ...

'', '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

'', and ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

''. He was also a regular on the short-lived NBC series ''

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

'' in 2014, and had recurring roles on ''

Stargate Atlantis ''Stargate Atlantis'' (usually stylized in all caps and often abbreviated ''SGA'') is an adventure and military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show was created by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper ...

'', ''

The Client List ''The Client List'' is an American television film that premiered on the Lifetime Network on July 19, 2010. It starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and was directed by Eric Laneuville. The film is a fictionalized dramatization of a 2004 prostitution scan ...

'', '' The Game'', '' Secrets and Lies'', ''

S.W.A.T. In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

'' and ''

The 100 The 100 may refer to: Arts and entertainment * 100 (DC Comics), fictional organized crime groups appearing in DC Comics * ''The 100'' (novel series), a 2013–2016 science fiction novel series written by Kass Morgan * ''The 100'' (TV series), 20 ...

''. Most recently he has had a guest-starring role in seasons 6 and 7 of ''

Chicago P.D. 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 th ...

'' as Darius Walker, a drug dealer and community philanthropist turned

confidential informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

. In December 2022, Beach was confirmed by ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' to have signed on to appear in ''

Saw X ''Saw X'' is an upcoming American horror film directed by Kevin Greutert, from a screenplay by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger. The film is the ninth main installment, and tenth installment overall in the ''Saw'' film series, and stars Tob ...

'', the upcoming tenth installment of the ''

Saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mo ...

'' film series, set for release in October 2023.

Personal life

Beach married Tracey Beach in 1998, and their marriage lasted for eight years until their divorce in 2006. The following year, he was married to Elisha Wilson.

Filmography

Film and TV Movies

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Michael 1963 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people Living people American male film actors People from Roxbury, Boston Male actors from Boston American male voice actors African-American male actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Noble and Greenough School alumni