Blair Underwood
Actor, Activist & Philanthropist
Blair Underwood
Actor, Activist & Philanthropist
Biography
A true multi-hyphenate, Blair Underwood is enjoying success in film, television and theatre, as an actor, director and producer — and also in the literary world as an author and producer. Underwood will next be seen in the feature, Youngblood, a reimagining of the 1980s hockey film starring Rob Lowe. Youngblood premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival to solid reviews and will open in select theaters on March 6. He also co-starred in RZA’s upcoming indie A Spoonful of Chocolate, which premiered last year at Tribeca and recently completed production on the Netflix romance Don’t Ever Wonder opposite Larenz Tate and Nia Long.
In 2024, Underwood garnered critical acclaim for his performance in Neon Pictures’ breakout summer hit thriller Longlegs, directed by Oz Perkins and starring Nicolas Cage. The movie was called “the scariest film of the decade.” That year, he also co-starred in two television series — the Starz drama Three Women, based on the best-selling novel, and the Sky TV UK romantic comedy Smothered. He also appeared in Ava DuVernay’s heralded film Origin, an adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s best-selling book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.
Underwood also directed, produced, and starred in the upcoming independent psychological thriller Viral. Viral centers on Andrew (Underwood), who falls into a state of paranoia after his wife goes missing. The only way out of the self-destructive cycle seems to be through his new girlfriend Emilia (Sarah Silverman), who has her own psychological trauma to deal with.
Underwood secured his first Tony Award nomination as Best Lead Actor in a Play, having starred in the 2020 revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama A Soldier’s Play for director Kenny Leon and the Roundabout Theatre Company. The show received seven Tony nominations and won Best Revival of a Play. Underwood took his love for Broadway behind the scenes in 2021, serving as a producer of the critically acclaimed show Pass Over, which was the first show to reopen Broadway after the COVID shutdown.
Past Netflix television credits include the Emmy Award-nominated limited series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (for which he won an NAACP Image Award), Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-winning limited series When They See Us, a recurring role on Dear White People, and Clark Johnson’s Juanita, opposite Alfre Woodard. He also appeared as Vernon Jordan in Ryan Murphy’s Impeachment for FX, HBO Max’s Love Life, and Bad Hair for Hulu. He also recently appeared as a murderous tennis coach in CBS’s hit series Elsbeth.
Underwood’s series regular roles include the ABC drama series Quantico (which he filmed while also recurring on another hit ABC drama Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Dirty Sexy Money, The New Adventures of Old Christine, In Treatment, The Event, and L.A. Law. Additional film credits include Deep Impact, Set It Off, Rules of Engagement, Just Cause, Madea’s Family Reunion, and Steven Soderbergh’s Full Frontal. Underwood co-starred opposite Cicely Tyson in the Lifetime telefilm and theatre production of A Trip to Bountiful, based on the Tony Award-winning play.
In 2012, he made his acclaimed Broadway debut in the iconic role of Stanley in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he earned a 2012 Drama League Distinguished Performance Award nomination. He also starred in Paradise Blue at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and Othello at the Old Globe Theatre.
He has also executive produced and narrated two critically acclaimed documentary features, Peabody Award-winning Mr. SOUL! and Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.
In 2010, he made his feature film directing debut with The Bridge to Nowhere. He has also directed the 360-degree virtual reality Megadeth concert video (for which he won a Clio Award), the short film The Second Coming, as well as several music videos and commercials.
Underwood is also a presence in the book world — authoring or co-authoring numerous best-selling fiction and non-fiction works. His latest endeavor, a memoir entitled A Soldier’s Wife: My Mother, the Marvelous Mrs. Marilyn A. Underwood, is set to be released on April 14 from HarperCollins.
He is an Emmy Award winner (as producer of the philanthropy-centered Saturday morning series Give), a two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, and has been nominated for 17 NAACP Image Awards (eight wins). He won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word as co-narrator of Al Gore’s audiobook An Inconvenient Truth, and he was recently named an Audie Award finalist for Best Non-Fiction Narrator for his work on Lionel Richie’s biography Truly. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is also active in several philanthropic endeavors.
Speaker Videos
The Components of True Success
Actor Blair Underwood & Family on Caregiving From a Distance
Strong Black Legends: Blair Underwood | Strong Black Lead | Netflix
Blair Underwood On 'Black Patriots,' Growing Up In A Military Family
Speech Topics
Defining Your Dream
Blair Underwood has distinguished himself as an award-winning actor/director/producer who continues to showcase his many talents in the world of film, television, theatre and literature. His success has been driven by the underlying belief that, in order to achieve longevity in the acting business, you must diversify yourself and become as flexible as possible.
Sharing insights on how his own education influenced his life as well as noteworthy career, Underwood illustrates his experiences, many life challenges and journey to success to inspire audiences to pursue their dreams as they move forward to their career and life. He encourages people to seize the moment and recognize their accomplishments as a way to shape their futures — reminding them to always stay motivated to pursue their personal and professional goals, while constantly looking for even greater success.
)
)
)
)