Harry Lennix is an American actor who was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 16, 1964. He began his career in 1989, and he is best known for playing Boyd Langton in the television series ‘Dollhouse’ and Terrence ‘Dresser’ Williams in the 1991 film ‘The Five Heartbeats’. Currently, he plays Harold Cooper in the NBC drama series ‘The Blacklist’. Lennix is currently working on several upcoming projects, as he is playing Cardinal Ford in ‘Grey Streets’ and Frederick Douglass in ‘Emperor’, both of which are in post-production. He will also play Sheriff Smith in ‘Saint Mary’s Secret’ and David in ‘Love Extreme’, that are both at the pre-production stage. Although this established actor is well known, there are plenty of facts that people do not know about him. Here are 10 interesting things that you probably didn’t know about Harry Lennix.
1. He Was Almost a Priest
God and his religious beliefs are very important to Harry Lennix. This is hardly surprising considering he began training to become a priest while he lived in Chicago, he told Huff Post. Although he decided not to continue with the training and to pursue a career in acting, Christianity remains an important element of his life to this day and his faith guides him through life.
2. He Was Once a Teacher
Although Lennix studied Acting and Direction at Northwestern University, acting was not his first career. He first became a teacher in the Chicago area, teaching music and physics. Realizing he wanted to pursue a career as an actor, he left Chicago and moved to Los Angeles, California. Even to this day, he still returns to Chicago to deliver regular lectures in these subjects despite his busy schedule as an actor. This means he still feels very much a part of the Chicago community.
3. Lennix Has Won Awards
Lennix has won multiple awards throughout his career in recognition of his talents as an actor. The first award he won for a film role was a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor- Motion Picture Drama for playing the role of Aaron in the 1999 film ‘Titus’. He then won the Black Reel Award for Best Actor in a Television Movie/ Mini-Series for the 2002 television film ‘Keep the Faith Baby’, in which he played the role of Ada Clayton Powell Jr. For this role, he was also nominated for a Satellite Award and an NAACP Image Award. In 2004, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with his castmates in the film ‘Ray’, in which he played Joe Adams. Unfortunately, they did not win on this occasion.
4. He Has Played Valerie Pettiford’s Husband Twice
On two separate occasions, Harry Lennix has played the on-screen husband of actress Valerie Pettiford. According to IMDb, he first played her husband in the movie ‘Stomp the Yard’ in 2007 when he played the role of Nate. He then played her husband in the television series ‘The Blacklist’, in which he continues to play the role of Harold Cooper.
5. Lennix Founded a Production Company
In 1989, Harry Lennix co-founded a production company called ‘Legacy Productions’ along with Chuck Smith, a renowned director. The focus of the production company is producing projects relating to the African American experience. He then co-founded the production company ‘Exponent Media Group’ in 2014 with Steve Harris, his long-time business partner. This company got a distribution deal with NEHST studios for three of EMG’s titles. These included ‘Mr. Sophistication’, ‘H4′, and ‘Revival’. Lennix has had roles in all of these productions. In ‘Mr. Sophistication’ he played Ron Waters’, while in ‘Revival’ he played Pilate. ‘H4′ is being released in 2020, and Lennix is playing the role of King Henry IV.
6. He Once Played Barack Obama
Although he has predominantly played serious roles, Harry Lennix has occasionally landed small roles in comedy series. One example of this was when he played the role of United States President Barack Obama in the HBO series ‘Little Britain USA’ in 2008.
7. Lennix Has Been a Festival Judge
As an established and talented actor, Harry Lennix was selected to act as a judge at the first-ever Noor Iranian Film Festival back in 2007. This event was co-founded by cultural producer Siamak Ghahremani and Anthony Azizi. This annual event is held in Los Angeles, California. The name of the festival is taken from the Iranian word for light.
8. His Net Worth is $4 Million
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Lennix’s net worth is approximately $4 million. He has earned this money through his long career in film and television, both as an actor and as an executive producer. As he is still active in the entertainment industry and he is very much in demand, he has the potential to increase his net worth in the future.
9. He is Married to a Businesswoman
Unlike many actors, Harry Lennix has not married someone working in the entertainment industry. He has been married since 2009 to businesswoman Djena Graves. Despite her working in a completely different industry, their careers have crossed. As she appeared in Revival, which is a musical written by Lennix, who also starred in the musical. The couple lives together in Los Angeles.
10. He is a Tom Cruise Fan
In an interview with Collider, Harry Lennix admitted that he is a huge Tom Cruise fan. He recounted making the announcement about the ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ movie at Comic-Con and realizing that Tom Cruise was on the panel. Lennix says that he has been a fan of Tom Cruise ever since he first began appearing in films. After he had made the announcement, Lennix was lucky enough to meet his film idol. He describes Cruise as a gentleman.
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