Dulé Hill

Karim Dulé Hill, born May 3, 1975, in Orange, New Jersey, is an American actor and Broadway performer. Raised in Sayreville, New Jersey, by Jamaican parents, Hill trained in ballet from an early age and graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School in 1993. He went on to study business finance at Seton Hall University and acting at William Esper Studio.

Hill's connection to the stage began in childhood. At age ten, in 1985, he performed a tap dance number on the MDA telethon, an appearance complicated when the music for his routine could not be located; host Jerry Lewis resolved the situation by directing the orchestra to play an alternate song. Hill made his Broadway debut in The Tap Dance Kid, serving as understudy to Savion Glover, a role he later reprised on the show's national tour. He subsequently appeared on Broadway in Black and Blue and Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, the latter of which he joined while still a student at Seton Hall. His later Broadway credits include Stick Fly, which ran from December 2011 to February 2012, and After Midnight, in which he appeared in November 2013.

Before his Broadway work expanded, Hill accumulated early screen experience. He earned his SAG card at age thirteen playing a small role on the PBS children's series Ghostwriter, and his first film appearance came in Sugar Hill in 1993, during his senior year of high school. While at Seton Hall, he was also cast in Jim Henson's CityKids.

Hill became widely recognized for his television work, most notably as Charlie Young on the NBC drama The West Wing, a role he began in 1999. The character served as personal aide to President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, and later became a Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff during the show's sixth season. Hill remained with the series for six seasons before departing at the start of the seventh season in September 2005 to pursue the pilot for Psych on the USA Network. When The West Wing's cancellation was announced, he returned for its final episodes. Psych, which premiered July 7, 2006, featured Hill as Burton "Gus" Guster, a pharmaceutical salesman who works as a private detective. His performance on The West Wing earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Hill's film credits include She's All That in 1999, the Disney feature Holes in 2003, in which he played Sam the Onion Man, and The Guardian in 2006. He also appeared in the television miniseries 10.5 as a Los Angeles doctor named Owen. Additional television work includes a recurring role on Ballers and appearances in the final two seasons of Suits. In 2021, he played patriarch Bill Williams in the remake of The Wonder Years and contributed voice work to the animated feature Night of the Animated Dead. In 2024, he narrated and participated in the PBS documentary series The Express Way with Dulé Hill, which explores art and diverse cultures. Hill also serves as a member of the SAG-AFTRA Board of Directors.

In his personal life, Hill married actress Nicole Lyn in 2004; the two separated in July 2012 and filed for legal separation in November 2012. He became engaged to actress Jazmyn Simon on April 14, 2017, and the two married in April 2018. Hill and Simon announced the birth of a son in 2019.