The CW is continuing it’s comic book success and has found its Black Lightning. Cress Williams has been hired to play the lead in the eponymous series, which was originally slated for Fox, but picked up by CW instead when they realized that every other show on their network is based on a comic book, so why not go all in? The show is produced by Arrowverse mogul Greg Berlanti and written and produced by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, Black Lightning is based on the character created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eden for DC Comics.
As Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightning, Williams play a retired superhero and wanted vigilante dragged back into superheroing and wanted vigilantism by “a daughter hell-bent on justice and a star student being recruited by a local gang.”
So who is the man playing Cress Williams? Here are five things you might not know about him:
Criticized for his portrayal of Othello
Williams acted in a 1990 Fullerton College production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, which was directed by Tom Blank. A Los Angeles Times review criticized Williams acting and said that he “gets wild-eyed as Othello, especially when jealousy begins to reign in his house. But the portrayal doesn’t go beyond the obvious, and Williams tends to overact. All his emotions are on the outside; it’s difficult to connect with Othello’s internal struggle.”
He was on Beverly Hills 90210
If you think his face is extremely familiar it could be because you remember him from Beverly Hills 90210. He played basketball star D’Shawn Hardell and was in 13 episodes total.
Born in Germany
He was born in Williams was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to American parents. He does not speak German.
His approach to his role on Prison Break
Well, I saw the character as a man who didn’t really do what he did because he enjoyed it. I saw him as someone who killed because it was simply a part of who he is. He took no pleasure in it, and he never took it personal. It was all business. He was so good at what he did because he had a distance from what he was doing. I felt like if he could, he would love to be normal, but he couldn’t change who he was. So I tried to keep what I did acting-wise very simple.
He’s married to Kristen Torriani
Cress Williams tied the knot with Kristen Torrianni in Texas on Saturday, June 15. Kristen Torrianni is an actress, known for Film Geek (2005), The Admission (2008) and The Other Side (2011).
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