Gary Dourdan
Gary Dourdan (born Gary Robert Durdin: December 11, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Warrick Brown on the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Shazza Zulu on the television series A Different World and Mickey Monroe in crime thriller Righteous Villains.[1]
Gary Dourdan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Robert Durdin December 11, 1966 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Known for | Warrick Brown on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Partner(s) | Cynthia Hadden Jennifer Sutton (1995–2000) |
| Children | 2 including Lyric, Nyla |
| Parent(s) | Robert Durdin (father) Sandy Durdin (mother) |
Early life
Dourdan was born Gary Robert Durdin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Sandy, a teacher and fashion designer, and Robert Durdin, an entrepreneur and agent for jazz musicians.[2] Dourdan is the fourth of five children. When he was six, his 21-year-old brother Darryl died after falling from a balcony in Haiti while "doing research on the family lineage." The case remains unsolved.[2][3] In his youth he moved with his family to Willingboro, New Jersey. During that time, his interests included acting, music, and martial arts. Later, Dourdan moved to New York City and worked as a doorman at a rehearsal studio, where he met some of Manhattan's promising young artists.
Career
Dourdan played in several bands in New York City in the early 1990s and acted in regional theatre around the tristate area. He began acting in music videos, including playing Janet Jackson's love interest in the video for her 1993 hit "Again," and had a cameo appearance in the music video "Move the Crowd" by Eric B. & Rakim. He received his first break when Debbie Allen cast him as Shazza Zulu on A Different World, based on a tape of him in an avant-garde play. In 1996, Dourdan appeared in the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "Never On Sunday," wherein he played Ziggy, an assistant to Baron Sunday. In 1997, Dourdan played the character Christie, the first mate, crack shot, and second in command of the spaceship Betty, in the film Alien: Resurrection. He also appeared in the films Playing God and Thursday, and on television starred in the Dick Wolf production Swift Justice and played a recurring role on the Showtime series Soul Food. Dourdan joined hip-hop artist DMC (of Run–D.M.C.) onstage at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, and sang alongside Macy Gray at the 2005 Emmy Awards. He is an alternative musician and a record producer.[4]
In 2007, he played the character Cameron, the boyfriend of Rowena Price (Halle Berry), in the film Perfect Stranger.
Dourdan's most popular role was as a cast member of the original CSI series, which debuted on October 6, 2000. He played analyst Warrick Brown, who, viewers find out, has a checkered past fraught with gambling problems. By working in Las Vegas, the character is able to use his personal experiences from the street to help him throughout his career. Ultimately, he ends up battling his demons throughout the show instead of overcoming them.
In 2008, there was media speculation surrounding Dourdan's CSI contract negotiations with CBS. The parties could not reach a resolution, and as a result his contract was not renewed. It was reported on April 14, 2008, that Dourdan was leaving the show.[5] In the Season 8 finale, Dourdan's character was shot and left for dead at the episode's end. The Season 9 premiere revealed Dourdan's character dying in the arms of his colleague and friend Gil Grissom.[6]
After leaving CSI, he took recurring roles as Stephan in the series Christine and Sheldon DeWitt in the series Being Mary Jane.[7]
Personal life
Dourdan has African-American, Native American, Franco-Haitian (Haiti), Jewish, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[2] He married model Roshumba Williams in 1992; they divorced two years later.[8] He has two children: a son, Lyric, with Cynthia Hadden, and a daughter, Nyla, with Jennifer Sutton, whom Dourdan dated from 1995 to 2000.[9]
Dourdan collects classic cars and was featured on Season 1, Episode 3, of Street Customs.
Legal issues
In 2008, Dourdan was arrested for possession of cocaine and ecstasy. A third charge, possession of heroin, was dropped.[10] Despite rumors, the drug charges had nothing to do with his departure from CSI, as the contract negotiations had already concluded and he had finished filming the last of his scenes before the incident. In July 2011 after crashing his car, Dourdan was arrested but charges were dropped for drug possession (oxycontin). He was, however, charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.[11] In November 2011, he was arrested for felony battery, after allegedly breaking his girlfriend's nose, and placed on five years' probation. He was also ordered to attend weeks of domestic violence counseling and to stay away from the victim for five years.[12] Dourdan filed for bankruptcy in August 2012, owing roughly $1.7 million to creditors.[13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Good Fight | Elijah | Television Movie |
| 1993 | Weekend at Bernie's II | Cartel Man #2 | |
| 1994 | The Paper | Copy Guy | |
| 1994 | Keys | Loot | Television Movie |
| 1996 | Sunset Park | Dreadlock Guy | |
| 1997 | Playing God | Yates | |
| 1997 | Alien: Resurrection | Christie | |
| 1997 | Get That Number | James | Short film |
| 1997 | Fool's Paradise | Derek | |
| 1998 | Scar City | Sergeant Dan Creedy | |
| 1998 | Thursday | Ballpean | |
| 1999 | The Weekend | Theirry | |
| 1999 | Rendezvous | Jeff Nelson | Television Movie |
| 1999 | New Jersey Turnpikes | unknown role | |
| 2000 | King of the World | Malcolm X | Television Movie |
| 2000 | Trois | Jermaine Davis | |
| 2001 | Impostor | Captain Burke | |
| 2006 | 60 Seconds of Distance | Dylan | Short film |
| 2007 | Perfect Stranger | Cameron | |
| 2007 | Black August | George L. Jackson | |
| 2008 | Batman: Gotham Knight | Crispus Allen (voice role) | Direct-to-Video |
| 2009 | Fire! | Phil May | |
| 2009 | The Magnificent Cooly-T | Dominick | |
| 2011 | Jumping the Broom | Chef | |
| 2012 | The Woods | Dylan Banks | |
| 2013 | Five Thirteen | Clyde | |
| 2013 | The Last Letter | George | |
| 2014 | Cobayas: Human Test | Eric | Short film |
| 2014 | With You | Ruben Haze | Short film |
| 2015 | Mysterious Ways | Mozart | |
| 2015 | For the Love of Ruth | Braxton | |
| 2015 | Reversion | Ayden | |
| 2016 | Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story | Augie | |
| 2017 | Media | Jabbar Randolph | Television Movie |
| 2017 | Guns Guitars and a Badge.. | Romeo | |
| 2018 | All She Wrote | Aaron | |
| 2018 | Memoria | Adam Turner | Short film |
| 2018 | The Third Degree | unknown role | |
| 2020 | Righteous Villains | Mickey Monroe | Feature Film |
| 2021 | Redemption Day | Brad Paxton | Feature Film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–1992 | A Different World | Shazza Zulu | series regular; 15 episodes |
| 1993 | Laurel Avenue | Anthony | Television Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Trey King | Episode: "To Protect and Serve" |
| 1995 | The Office | Bobby Harold | recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 1996 | Lois & Clark: New Adventures of Superman | Ziggy | Episode: "Never on Sunday" |
| 1996 | Swift Justice | Randall Patterson | unknown episode |
| 1998 | Sins of the City | unknown role | Episode: "Sins of the City" |
| 1999 | Seven Days | Sergeant Mohmand | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" |
| 1999 | Cold Feet | Kris Bumstead | Episode: "The Strange Loves of Shelley Bumstead" |
| 1999–2000 | Beggars and Choosers | Julius Henry | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2001 | Soul Food | Jack Van Adams | recurring role; 6 episodes |
| 2000–2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Warrick Brown | series regular (seasons 1–8); 183 episodes |
| 2002 | Fillmore! | Ken Fillmore | Episode: "Cry, the Beloved Mascot" |
| 2002 | Lyric Cafe | Host | unknown episode |
| 2005 | Kim Possible | Dash DaMont (voice role) | Episode: "Team Impossible" |
| 2012 | Christine | Stephan | recurring role; 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Belle's | unknown role | Episode: "Runaway Bride" |
| 2013 | Mistresses | Anthony Newsome | recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Glee | D'Shawn | Episode: "The Back-Up Plan" |
| 2015 | Being Mary Jane | Sheldon | recurring role; 9 episodes |
| 2018 | Power | Charles Hamilton | Episode: "When This Is Over" |
| 2018 | Hawaii Five-0 | Unknown role | Episode: "Mai Ka Po Mai Ka 'Oia'i'o" |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Move the Crowd | unknown role | Eric B. & Rakim |
| 1993 | Again | Jackson's lost love | Janet Jackson |
| 2002 | Soulful Energy Xchange | Gary | Wanted |
| 2004 | What's Your Number? | unknown role | Cypress Hill featuring Tim Armstrong |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Alien: Resurrection | Christie (voice role) | |
| 2003 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Warrick Brown (voice role) | |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Dark Motives | CSI Level 3 Warrick Brown (voice role) | |
| 2006 | CSI: 3 Dimensions of Murder | Warrick Brown (voice role) | |
| 2007 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Hard Evidence | Warrick Brown (voice role) |
Awards and nominations
The following is a list of accolades received by Dourdan:
References
- Michael, Savvas D. (December 1, 2020), Righteous Villains (Crime, Thriller), Steven Berkoff, Gary Dourdan, Steven Brand, Gianni Calchetti, Saints and Savages, retrieved December 7, 2020
- Faillaci, Sara (August 4, 2005). "Gary Dourdan Experiences". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- "About Gary Dourdan". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
- "Gary Dourdan - About This Person", NYTimes.com Movies & TV.
- "Exclusive: Gary Dourdan Leaving CSI". TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008.
- Episode Recap: "For Warrick", CBS.
- "Gary Dourdan: The Man Behind Being Mary Jane's Sexy Sheldon". April 7, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
- "Gary Dourdan". NNDB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- "Gary Dourdan biography". Television.AOL.com. Retrieved May 5, 2008.
- "'CSI' Star Pleads Guilty to Possessing Cocaine, Ecstasy". Baltimore Sun. May 28, 2008. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- "Former 'CSI' regular Gary Dourdan busted again for drugs". Toronto Star. July 8, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- "Gary Dourdan accepts plea deal". Belleville Intelligencer. November 30, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
- Steiner, Amanda Michelle (January 29, 2015). "Former CSI Star Gary Dourdan Is Bankrupt, Has Just $84.50 in Savings". People.com. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
