Danny Glover

Danny Glover, born July 22, 1946, in San Francisco, California, is an American actor, producer, and political activist whose career spans stage, film, and television. The son of Carrie and James Glover, both postal workers and active members of the NAACP, Glover grew up in San Francisco and graduated from George Washington High School there. He attended San Francisco State University in the late 1960s without completing a degree, though the institution later honored him with its Presidential Medal for service to education. As a young man he managed epilepsy, a condition that ceased affecting him by age 35, and he has spoken openly about living with dyslexia. His formal acting training took place at the Black Actors' Workshop of the American Conservatory Theater and at the Shelton Actors Lab in San Francisco under Jean Shelton, whom he has credited as central to his development as a performer.

Before committing fully to acting, Glover worked in city administration on community development projects in San Francisco. He resigned that position to pursue a stage career, subsequently relocating to Los Angeles for broader opportunities. His first film appearance came in Escape from Alcatraz in 1979, and early television work included a recurring role on Hill Street Blues. On Broadway, Glover appeared in "MASTER HAROLD"…and the boys in 1982, a credit that earned him a Theatre World Award that same year. His Broadway career extended from 1982 through 2003. In 1994, he and actor Ben Guillory co-founded the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to theater by and about Black people, established in honor of actor and concert singer Paul Robeson.

Glover's film profile rose substantially in 1984 and 1985 with roles in Places in the Heart, The Color Purple, and Witness. In The Color Purple he played the husband to Whoopi Goldberg's character Celie, and in Witness he portrayed Lieutenant James McFee. His most widely recognized screen role came with the 1987 action film Lethal Weapon, in which he played Los Angeles police Sergeant Roger Murtaugh alongside Mel Gibson, a character he reprised in sequels released in 1989, 1992, and 1998. Also in 1990, he received top billing for the first time in Predator 2 and starred in Charles Burnett's To Sleep with Anger, which brought him the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Subsequent film appearances included Grand Canyon (1991), Bopha! (1993), Angels in the Outfield (1994), Beloved (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Saw (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Shooter (2007), Be Kind Rewind (2008), 2012 (2009), Death at a Funeral (2010), Beyond the Lights (2014), Sorry to Bother You (2018), and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019). He also provided voice work in animated features including The Prince of Egypt, Antz, and Our Friend, Martin, all released in 1998 and 1999. In 1994, Glover made his directorial debut with the Showtime short film Override.

His television work generated four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He received the first for portraying Nelson Mandela in the 1987 HBO film Mandela, the second for playing Joshua Deets in the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989, the third for his portrayal of Philip Marlowe in the episode "Red Wind" of Showtime's Fallen Angels in 1995, and the fourth for playing Will Walker in the TNT biographical film Freedom Song in 2000. He also held recurring roles on ER and Brothers & Sisters.

Glover has received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the NAACP's President's Award, in addition to nominations for five Emmy Awards and four Grammy Awards. His political activism includes membership in the TransAfrica Forum and the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and he was awarded the Cuban National Medal of Friendship by the Cuban Council of State for his political work. San Francisco State University presented him with its Presidential Medal in recognition of his contributions to education.