Henry Oswald Simmons (born July 1, 1970) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie in the ABC superhero drama series ''

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen for ABC, based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, an ...

'' (2014–2020) and Baldwin Jones in 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 ...

police drama series ''

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 ...

'' (2000–2005).

Early life and education

Simmons was born in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. He is the son of Aurelia, a school teacher, and Henry Simmons Sr., an

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

Revenue Officer. He is one of three children, including his twin sister, and another sister. Simmons earned a basketball scholarship to

Franklin Pierce University Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional development, professional preparation. The scho ...

, where he earned a business degree.Henry Simmons
Cbs.com. Retrieved on November 19, 2016. While attending

, he experimented in theater. After graduating from college, he briefly worked at a

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

company in Stamford. Unhappy with his job, Simmons moved to New York City and began to study acting and after a few bit roles, he landed a recurring role on the soap opera '' Another World''.

Career

Simmons played Detective Baldwin Jones on the

drama ''

'' for six seasons. He had a leading role in 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 ...

legal drama ''

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

'', a leading role in ''

World's Greatest Dad ''World's Greatest Dad'' is a 2009 American satirical black comedy-drama film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and starring Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, and Alexie Gilmore. The film was released on July 24, 2009, on video on demand provid ...

'', and the ABC-TV comedy series ''

Man Up! ''Man Up!'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 18 to December 6, 2011. On December 8, ABC announced the series had been cancelled due to low ratings. Only 8 episodes were aired on television, though all 13 episodes were availa ...

'' His film work includes the 2004 action/comedy film ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

'', ''

From the Rough ''From the Rough'' is a 2011 American sports drama film based on the true story of Catana Starks, a former Tennessee State Tigers swim coach, who became the first woman ever to coach a college men’s golf team. With drive, passion, and guts, she ...

'', and 2014's '' No Good Deed''. Simmons won the Grand Jury Award for Best Actor at the

American Black Film Festival The American Black Film Festival (originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival) is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film—works by Black members of the film industry. It is held to recognize achievements of film ...

, for his portrayal of Dr. Walter Chambers in the 2007 film ''

South of Pico ''South of Pico'' is a 2007 drama film written and directed by Ernst Gossner set in Los Angeles. Plot In present-day Los Angeles, a chauffeur, a waitress, a doctor and a young boy each deal with life’s daily challenges. They find themselves a ...

''. From 2014 to 2020, Simmons starred in the ABC superhero drama series '' Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', portraying S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie. After being a recurring character in the second season, he was promoted to a series regular for season 3, and for all remaining seasons. In 2021 he was cast as the lead in the Ava DuVernay series, ''

Cherish the Day "Cherish the Day" is a song by English band Sade from their fourth studio album, '' Love Deluxe'' (1992). It was released as the album's fourth and final single in the United Kingdom on 19 July 1993. Critical reception Justin Chadwick from A ...

''.

Personal life

Simmons married actress

Sophina Brown Sophina Brown Simmons (born September 18, 1976) is an American television actress. She starred as Raina Troy in the CBS legal drama ''Shark'' from 2006 to 2008, and later joined the cast of another CBS drama, ''Numbers'', playing Nikki Betancourt ...

in May 2010.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Henry 1970 births Living people African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Franklin Pierce University alumni Male actors from Stamford, Connecticut 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people