McKinley Belcher III

McKinley Belcher III (born March 23, 1984) is an American actor, known for his starring role as Samuel Diggs in the PBS television series Mercy Street,[1] Anthony Carter in the Fox genre drama The Passage, and as Agent Trevor Evans in Netflix crime thriller Ozark.[2]

McKinley Belcher III
Born (1984-03-23) March 23, 1984
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Education
OccupationActor
Years active2010–present
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Spouse
Blake Fox
​
(m. 2023)​

Early life

Belcher was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 23, 1984, at Grady Memorial Hospital, the first son of McKinley Belcher Jr. and Pamela McGhee Belcher.[3] The family later moved to Powder Springs, where he attended elementary and middle school. Belcher graduated from Campbell High School in Smyrna, Georgia, in 2002, where he was in the International Baccalaureate program and ran track and cross country.[4] He went to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated in 2006 with a B.A. in Communication Studies and Political Science.[4] At Belmont he competed on the Speech and Debate Team, winning awards as a debater and individual speaker.[5] He subsequently went to USC School of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, where he won the Ava Greenwald Memorial Award and graduated in 2010 with an MFA in Acting.[6]

Career

Theatre

Belcher appeared Off-Broadway in Romeo and Juliet at Classic Stage Company in 2013 and in 2016 won a Drama Desk Award for his performance as amateur boxer Fish in the ensemble of Marco Ramirez's The Royale at Lincoln Center, directed by Rachel Chavkin. He also appeared as Sam in Darko Tresnjak's 2015 world premiere production of Rear Window at Hartford Stage, alongside Kevin Bacon.[7] Belcher played the dual roles of Teddy and Nicholas in the world premiere of Ken Urban's A Guide for the Homesick at the Huntington Theatre Company in 2017, winning both an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actor and an IRNE Award for Best Actor. In 2019 Belcher played Rashad in MCC's off-Broadway production of The Light, for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.[8] In 2020 Belcher made his Broadway debut as Private Louis Henson (a role originated by Samuel L. Jackson off-Broadway) in the Broadway premiere of A Soldier's Play at the Roundabout Theatre Company.[9] Belcher made history as Happy Loman in the 2022-2023 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman, featuring the first African-American Loman family on Broadway alongside Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke, Khris Davis and André De Shields.[10]

Film and television

Belcher made his film debut in John Sayles' 2013 independent film Go for Sisters, playing Lisa Gay Hamilton's son Rodney.[11] In 2015 he appeared in David Simon's HBO mini-series Show Me a Hero as LaTanya Richardson Jackson's son Dwayne Meeks, directed by Paul Haggis. Belcher had his first experience as a series regular as Samuel Diggs in two seasons of PBS's Ridley Scott-produced Civil War drama Mercy Street. His character, Samuel, is a free man who works as a laborer, but harbors secret knowledge and ability in medicine.[12][13] In 2018 he was cast as Anthony Carter in Fox's drama The Passage, based on Justin Cronin's novel by the same name.[14] Belcher worked with David Simon again, in HBO's 2022 limited series We Own This City, playing real-life BPD veteran and Gun Trace Task Force officer Momodu Gondo. In 2022 Belcher also joined the cast of Netflix's live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga One Piece as Arlong.

Personal life

Belcher is openly queer, and married artist Blake Fox on January 17, 2023, in Hoboken, NJ in a wedding that was officiated by Belcher's Death of a Salesman co-star André De Shields.[15][16]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Go for Sisters Rodney
2018 Mapplethorpe Milton Moore
2018 Trial By Fire Ponchai
2019 The Art of Racing in the Rain Mark Finn
2019 Marriage Story Lighting Designer
2022 Eraser: Reborn Paul Whitlock

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2010 Law & Order: Los Angeles Timmy Lutz
2011 Rizzoli & Isles Pvt. Lawrence
2012 Louie Gravedigger #1
2014 Elementary Reeling Detective
2014–2017 Power Marcus Recurring (4 episodes)
2015 Madam Secretary Officer Wilson
2015 Chicago PD Aubrey Carrington
2015 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Bryce
2015 Show Me a Hero Dwayne Meeks Recurring (5 episodes)
2016–2017 Mercy Street Samuel Diggs Series Regular (12 episodes)
2019 The Passage Anthony Carter Series Regular (10 episodes)
2017–2020 Ozark Agent Trevor Evans Recurring (15 episodes)
2020–2020 The Good Lord Bird Broadnax Recurring (6 episodes)
2022-2022 We Own This City (miniseries) Det Momodu "G Money" Gondo Series Regular (6 episodes)
2023 One Piece Arlong Recurring (4 Episodes)
TBA Eric TBA In production[17]

References
  1. Marshall, Miles. "'Mercy Street' Stars Patina Miller and McKinley Belcher III On The Show". Essence.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2017. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. "Alumnus Featured in 'Garden & Gun' Magazine". Belmont University News & Media. November 23, 2016. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  3. Rodney Ho (January 13, 2016). "Atlanta native McKinley Belcher III stars in new PBS Civil War drama 'Mercy Street' debuting January 17 | Radio and TV Talk". Radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  4. Rodney Ho (January 23, 2017). "Atlanta native McKinley Belcher III ('Mercy Street') visits Campbell High School | Radio and TV Talk". Radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  5. "The Next Stage with McKinley Belcher III – Garden & Gun". Garden & Gun. December 27, 2016. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  6. "On the road of success · School of Dramatic Arts · USC". dramaticarts.usc.edu. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  7. "Meet McKinley Belcher - Rear Window Stagenotes". Hartford Stage. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  8. Soloski, Alexis (February 11, 2019). "Review: 'The Light,' an Unexpected Mix of #MeToo and Rom-Com". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  9. Rooney, David (January 21, 2020). "'A Soldier's Play': Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  10. Evans, Greg (June 27, 2022). "'Ozark' Actor McKinley Belcher III Joins Broadway's 'Death Of A Salesman' Revival". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  11. Debruge, Peter (March 13, 2013). "SXSW Review: 'Go for Sisters'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  12. "Samuel Diggs | Cast & Characters of Mercy Street". Samuel Diggs | Cast & Characters of Mercy Street. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  13. "Q&A With Mercy Street's McKinley Belcher III". KCTS 9 - Public Television. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  14. Roots, Kimberly (October 19, 2018). "The Passage Adds Jennifer Ferrin and James Le Gros, Casts Sister Lacey". TVLine. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  15. "DEATH OF a SALESMAN's McKinley Belcher III to Marry Boyfriend Blake Fox; Andre de Shields Will Officiate". Archived from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  16. "Andre de Shields on Instagram: "Congratulates McKinley Belcher III and Blake Fox. What a joy to officiate your nuptials. Photo by @liachangphotography"". Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  17. Otterson, Joe (February 3, 2023). "Benedict Cumberbatch-Led Netflix Limited Series 'Eric' Rounds Out Main Cast". Variety. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
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