Dorian Harewood

Dorian Harewood is an American actor born on August 6, 1950, in Dayton, Ohio, to Emerson Macaulay and Estelle Olivia Harewood. His father worked as both a high school teacher and a post office clerk. Harewood graduated from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati in 1972 and went on to build a career spanning Broadway, film, television, and voice acting that has extended from 1971 through 2024.

Harewood began his professional life in musical theater, making his Broadway debut and accumulating a range of stage credits that include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Streamers, Don't Call Back, A Gala Tribute to Joshua Logan, and The Mighty Gents. His performance in Don't Call Back earned him a Theatre World Award for Most Promising Actor in 1975. During a stage production in which Bette Davis also appeared, she encouraged him to pursue dramatic roles and became a mentor to him. Harewood later originated the role of Older Noah Calhoun in the Broadway adaptation of The Notebook, a performance that earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

His film debut came in Foster and Laurie in 1975. Subsequent film work included the disaster film Gray Lady Down (1978), Tank (1984), Solar Crisis (1990), Against All Odds (1984), in which he played a football player, and The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), where he appeared alongside Timothy Hutton. He portrayed a combat Marine in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987). In 2003, he appeared in two films: Levity, in which he played Mackie Whitaker, and Gothika, where he portrayed Teddy Howard.

On television, Harewood portrayed Simon Haley in the ABC miniseries Roots: The Next Generations and took the title role in The Jesse Owens Story (1984). He co-starred as police psychologist Paul Strobber opposite Robert Stack in the ABC series Strike Force from 1981 to 1982, and appeared regularly on Trauma Center alongside Wendie Malick and Lou Ferrigno. Additional television credits include a recurring role on China Beach, the role of Hank Mitchell on The Trials of Rosie O'Neill, and the part of Dr. Julian Wilkes on the NBC series Viper. He played the recurring role of Reverend Morgan Hamilton on 7th Heaven from 1996 to 2003 and appeared as Eliot Pierce on the Showtime series The Hoop Life.

Harewood received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie in 1994 for his recurring role as jazz and blues saxophonist Clarence "Cool Papa" Charleston on the NBC drama I'll Fly Away. The following year, he voiced Hank Aaron in the television film Hank Aaron: Chasing a Dream, a project that earned him an Emmy Award nomination. His work on The Hoop Life brought him a second NAACP Image Award nomination, for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, in 2000.

As a voice actor, Harewood began working in animation during the 1980s. His credits include A.C. in The California Raisin Show, a guest appearance as Dan Riley in Batman: The Animated Series, Tombstone in Spider-Man, and Michael Jordan in the Saturday morning cartoon ProStars. He later voiced Jim Tate in Batman Beyond and, when James Avery was unavailable, stepped in to voice Shredder on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Harewood played Rhodey Rhodes and War Machine in both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and provided the voice of Modo in Biker Mice from Mars from 1993 to 1996, reprising the role in the series revival from 2006 to 2008.

Beyond acting, Harewood has pursued music. He released the album Love Will Stop Calling in 1988 and a second album, Have A Little, in 2001. He also sang the national anthem at the 1994 Orange Bowl. Harewood has publicly stated that the only production he regrets appearing in is the miniseries Beulah Land, in which he played an overseer named Floyd, expressing that he was unhappy and embarrassed with the finished work. He has stated that he accepts only roles he believes present positive images for African Americans. Harewood married actress Nancy Ann McCurry on February 14, 1979, and the couple have two children, Olivia Ruth and John Dorian.