Eamonn Walker

Eamonn Roderique Walker (born 12 June 1962) is a British actor. On television, he began in the BBC sitcom '' In Sickness and in Health'' (1985–1987), the ITV crime dramas ''The Bill'' (1988–1989), '' Supply & Demand'' (1998), and the HBO series '' Oz'' (1997–2003), for which he won a CableACE Award.

He led the ITV television film ''Othello'' (2001) and had a further role in the Fox series ''Justice'' (2006–2007). Walker starred as Wallace Boden in the NBC drama '' Chicago Fire'' and its spinoffs from 2012–2024. His films include '' Young Soul Rebels'' (1991), '' Once in the Life'' (2000), ''Legacy'' (2010), and '' A Lonely Place to Die'' (2011).

Early life and education

Walker was born in west London to a Grenadian father and a Trinidadian mother, in 1962. Brought up in Islington in north London, Walker lived in Trinidad for six months when he was nine years old. He attended Hungerford School in Islington and began studying social work at the Polytechnic of North London. He trained as a dancer and later joined the Explosive Dance Theatre Company in London. However, an abscess on his calf muscle forced him to give up dancing. He also studied at the New York Film Academy in the United States.

Career

Early career in UK

Walker made his professional acting debut in 1983 on stage in London playing an East End punk rocker in the musical '' Labelled with Love'', based partly on the music of the pop band Squeeze. His first television appearance came in 1985 when he appeared in an episode on the second series of '' Dempsey and Makepeace'', which aired on ITV on 19 October 1985. His next television appearance came the following year in an episode of the children's anthology series '' Dramarama'', also on ITV. Also that year, he was cast in the role of Winston, a black, gay, council carer and a thorn in Alf Garnett's side, for series 1–3 of '' In Sickness and in Health'' on BBC1. In 1987 he appeared in an episode of '' Bulman'' on Granada TV and in 1988 an episode of the ninth series of '' Tales of the Unexpected''. In 1988 he won the role of PC Malcolm Haynes in ''The Bill'' on ITV, a part he played from 1988–89.

His first film role came in 1991, playing Carlton in '' Young Soul Rebels'' about the interaction between different youth cultural movements in late 1970s Britain. He also appeared in an episode of the detective series '' Bergerac'' on BBC1. In 1992 he appeared in episodes of '' Love Hurts'' and ''The Old Boy Network''. Then in 1993 he appeared in two comedies on BBC, with the role of Colin in three episodes of '' Birds of a Feather'' and he also appeared in an episode of ''One Foot in the Grave''. His second film came in 1994 playing Peters in ''Shopping''. He followed this in 1995 with appearances in two more British sitcoms, on the BBC, '' The Detectives'' and '' Goodnight Sweetheart''. He also appeared in the drama series ''The Governor''.

1997 to present – Hollywood and U.S. television

He appeared as Jake Brown in the miniseries ''Supply & Demand'' in 1997.

The same year he won the major role of Kareem Saïd on the American television drama series ''Oz'' on HBO. The series was set in a fictional maximum-security prison, and the character Walker played was a new inmate who was a devout Muslim. Walker spent time at a mosque in Harlem doing research on the Nation of Islam and American Muslim culture, explaining "As an actor, my portrayal had to be real." He appeared in the first episode on 12 July 1997 and he continued to play the role until the third episode of the final season in 2003. He won the award for ''Best Actor in a Dramatic Series'' in the inaugural CableACE Awards for his performance in the first series of ''Oz'' in the ceremony held in Los Angeles. Then in 1999 he received a Satellite Awards nomination for '' Best Actor in a TV Drama Series'' for his performances in ''Oz''.

In 2000, Walker appeared in two films: the crime drama '' Once in the Life'', acting alongside and being directed by Laurence Fishburne on his directorial debut; and the fantasy mystery '' Unbreakable'', alongside Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. Walker also appeared in the de facto series finale of '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', '' Homicide: The Movie''. In 2001, he returned to British television starring as John Othello in a modern adaptation of the William Shakespeare play ''Othello'' on ITV, opposite Christopher Eccleston. For his role he won the ''Best male performance in television'' award at the first ever Black Film Makers (BMF) Film and Television Awards ceremony for the UK's leading black TV and film stars, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in September 2002.

In 2003, he starred in the war film '' Tears of the Sun'' as Ellis "Zee" Pettigrew alongside Bruce Willis. Walker also appeared in an episode of the Fox Network drama series '' The Jury''. The next year he made another return to British television in an episode of the crime drama ''Rose and Maloney''.

Two more films followed in 2005, the crime thriller ''Lord of War'' with Nicolas Cage and the drama adventure film ''Duma''. And from March 2005 he made his debut on Broadway, playing Mark Antony in ''Julius Caesar'' at the Belasco Theatre in midtown-Manhattan alongside Denzel Washington as Marcus Brutus.

In 2006, he played Dr Stephen Dakarai in three episodes of the medical drama series '' ER''. He also starred in the Fox Network legal drama ''Justice'', playing the part of Luther Graves.

In May 2007, he became the first black actor to play the role of Othello at either the original Globe Theatre or at the modern reconstruction, Shakespeare's Globe in London.

Then in 2008, he was in the second episode of the BBC drama series '' Bonekickers'', playing Senator Joy, a United States Presidential candidate. He also starred in three films: the action drama '' Blood and Bone''; the biographical music drama '' Cadillac Records'', about the 1950s musical era, in which he plays the influential blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player Howlin' Wolf, which was released on 5 December 2008; and the romantic war drama '' The Messenger'', in which Walker plays Colonel Stuart Dorsett. The first and the latter were released in 2009.

In October 2008, he performed on BBC Radio 4 in the first adaptation of Alice Walker's 1982 epistolary novel '' The Color Purple'' in the UK, serialised in ten parts.

Walker appeared on the NBC drama series '' Kings'', which was based on the biblical story of David. He portrayed Reverend Ephram Samuels, an analogue of the biblical prophet Samuel. He also starred in the TV series '' The Whole Truth'', alongside Maura Tierney and Rob Morrow, which premiered on 22 September 2010.

In 2011, Walker appeared on FX series '' Lights Out'' as trainer Ed Romeo, former trainer of Lights Leary's last opponent, Death Row Reynolds. Walker appeared in an episode of BBC One's '' Inspector George Gently'', playing the father of a murder victim in 2012, and in two episodes of the BBC/Cinemax series '' Strike Back''. In 2013, he portrayed Frederick Douglass in the BBC series ''Copper''.
In 2020, Walker starred as the lead in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of '' Between Riverside and Crazy'' by Stephen Adly Guirgis.

After leaving '' Chicago Fire'' (where he was a lead) due to personal issues, Walker rejoined the NBC series in episode 18 of season 13.

Personal life

Walker lives in the United States with his wife Sandra. They have three children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Audio book

* '' World War Z'' (2006) - Paul Redeker

Interviews

The Bill Podcast: Eamonn Walker Part 1
(2018)

References

External links

*

Interview with Eamonn Walker
in ''Venice Magazine''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Eamonn
1962 births
Living people
English male film actors
English male television actors
English male stage actors
English people of Grenadian descent
English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
Actors from the London Borough of Islington
Male actors from London
Black British male actors
Alumni of the University of North London
New York Film Academy alumni
English expatriate male actors in the United States
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
People from Islington (district)