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Kenneth "Chi" McBride (/ʃaɪ/ SHY; born September 23, 1961)[1] is an American actor. He has appeared in films, where he is known primarily as a character actor, and in television, where he has had numerous starring roles.
Chi McBride | |
|---|---|
 McBride in 2009 | |
| Born | Kenneth McBride September 23, 1961 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Julissa Marquez |
In film, he has played prominent roles including The Frighteners (1996), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), I, Robot (2004), Waiting... (2005), Let's Go to Prison (2006), and Draft Day (2014).
On television, he was high school principal Steven Harper on the series Boston Public, Emerson Cod on Pushing Daisies, Detective Laverne Winston on the Fox drama Human Target, Detective Don Owen on the short-lived CBS crime drama Golden Boy, and Captain Lou Grover on Hawaii Five-0.
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McBride was born in Chicago, Illinois, from which his stage name derives.[2] He was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist Church[3] and attended Shiloh Academy, now known as Chicago SDA Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist school. McBride originally planned to pursue a career in music. After studying several instruments and singing with gospel choirs in his native Chicago, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1986 to work for AT&T as a billing clerk.[2]
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McBride's first success in show business came with the hit song "Basically, He's the Champ" as part of the group KSL, which parodied the marriage of boxer Mike Tyson and actress Robin Givens.[4] Based on the song's success, McBride was signed by Esquire Records, and he joined the rhythm and blues band Covert. Convinced he should try his hand in front of the camera, McBride moved to Los Angeles and, billed as "Chi", landed guest spots on Fox's In Living Color and NBC's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as well as a featured role in the television film Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation.
In 1998, he was a co-star of Mercury Rising, alongside Bruce Willis. He was later given the role of Principal Steven Harper on the series Boston Public. Much of McBride's work sees him playing right-hand man to the hero, as in the films Mercury Rising and The Terminal. He is also notable for television roles on The John Larroquette Show, House, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, Killer Instinct and Pushing Daisies.
McBride's other film credits include Cradle 2 the Grave, The Distinguished Gentleman, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Frighteners, Narc, Disney's The Kid, I, Robot, Roll Bounce, Annapolis, Hoodlum, Undercover Brother, Let's Go to Prison and The Brothers Solomon. McBride portrayed eight different characters in the play Nagataki Sake, directed by Robert Downey, Sr.[1][5]
He starred in Human Target as Winston, business partner of Christopher Chance (the protagonist). The show premiered on January 17, 2010, on FOX.[6]
Starting in 2013, he starred on Hawaii Five-0 as Captain Lou Grover. He previously worked with co-star Scott Caan in Gone in 60 Seconds.[7][8]
In May 2021, Chi McBride has signed with Verve.[5]
On May 14, 2021, CBS announced that McBride would star along with Pete Holmes and Katie Lowes in a sitcom based around the life of laid-off auto worker-turned-professional bowler Tom Smallwood.[9] McBride plays Archie, a bowling alley owner who serves as friend and mentor to the main character played by Holmes. The multi-camera series debuted on March 31, 2022.[10][5]
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Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Distinguished Gentleman | Homer | |
| 1993 | What's Love Got to Do with It | Fross | |
| 1996 | The Great White Hype | Rowdy Spectator | |
| The Frighteners | Cyrus | ||
| 1997 | Hoodlum | Illinois Gordon | |
| 1998 | Mercury Rising | FBI Agent Thomas "Bizzi" Jordan | |
| 2000 | Dancing in September | Security Guard | |
| Gone in 60 Seconds | Donny Astricky | ||
| Disney's The Kid | Kenny | ||
| Magicians | Tom | ||
| 2002 | Narc | Captain Cheevers | |
| Undercover Brother | The Chief | ||
| Paid in Full | Pip | ||
| 2003 | Cradle 2 the Grave | Jump Chambers | |
| Delusion | John | Short | |
| 2004 | The Terminal | Joe Mulroy | |
| I, Robot | Lt. John Bergin | ||
| 2005 | Roll Bounce | Curtis Smith | |
| Waiting... | Bishop Coleman | ||
| 2006 | Annapolis | McNally | |
| Ultimate Avengers 2 | Chief Elder | Voice, direct-to-video[11] | |
| Let's Go to Prison | Barry | ||
| 2007 | The Brothers Solomon | James Coolwell | |
| 2008 | American Son | Eddie | |
| First Sunday | Pastor Arthur Mitchell | ||
| Who Do You Love | Willie Dixon | ||
| 2009 | Still Waiting... | Bishop Coleman | |
| 2011 | The Family Tree | Simon Krebs | |
| Fruit of Labor | Mr. Hoffman | Short | |
| 2013 | Pawn Shop Chronicles | Johnson | |
| Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload | Nick Fury, Red Skull | Voice, short[11] | |
| 2014 | Draft Day | Walt Gordon | |
| 2015 | Home Sweet Hell | Chief Malcom Brown | |
| 2017 | Unspoken: Diary of an Assassin | Actor | |
| 2022 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe | Metcalf, Judge | Voice[11] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Ed Barker | Episode: "Boyz in the Woods" |
| Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation | Malcolm Pennington III | Television film | |
| 1993–96 | The John Larroquette Show | Heavy Gene | Main cast |
| 1994 | Married... with Children | Dexter | Episode: "Nooner or Later" |
| Cosmic Slop | T-Bone | Episode: "Tang" | |
| 1996 | Nash Bridges | Luscious | Episode: "The Great Escape" |
| 1998 | The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer | Desmond Pfeiffer | Main cast |
| 1999 | The Parkers | Cliff Rogers | Episode: "Betting on Love" |
| 2000 | Sliders | Mule Packer | Episode: "Dust" |
| God, the Devil and Bob | Mike | Voice, recurring cast | |
| King of the World | Drew Bundini Brown | Television film | |
| 2001 | The Practice | Steven Harper | Episode: "The Day After" |
| Rocket Power | Big Tony | Voice, episode: "Hurricane Maurice/Reggie's Choice" | |
| 2000–02 | Max Steel | Jefferson Smith | Voice, main cast |
| 2000–04 | Boston Public | Steven Harper | Main cast |
| 2005 | Boston Legal | Steven Harper | Episode: "Let Sales Ring" |
| House | Edward Vogler | Recurring cast (season 1) | |
| 2005–06 | Killer Instinct | Lt. Matt Cavanaugh | Main cast |
| 2006 | Monk | Mayor Ray Nicholson | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the Garbage Strike" |
| 2006–07 | The Nine | Malcolm Jones | Main cast |
| 2007–09 | Pushing Daisies | Emerson Cod | Main cast |
| 2010 | Psych | Craig Snowden | Episode: "Ferry Tale" |
| 2010–11 | Human Target | Detective Laverne Winston | Main cast |
| 2011 | How I Met Your Mother | Rod | Episode: "Challenge Accepted" |
| HawthoRNe | Garland Brice | Recurring cast (season 3) | |
| Suits | District Attorney Terrence Wolf | 2 episodes | |
| 2012–13 | Fury Files | Nick Fury | Voice, main cast |
| 2012–15 | Avengers Assemble | Nick Fury | Voice, recurring cast[11] |
| 2012–17 | Ultimate Spider-Man | Nick Fury, Thunderball, Zodiac Member, additional voices | Voice, recurring cast[11] |
| 2013 | Golden Boy | Detective Don Owen | Main cast |
| Murder Police | Randall Hickox | Voice, main cast | |
| Phineas and Ferb | Nick Fury | Voice, episode: "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel"[11] | |
| 2013–20 | Hawaii Five-0 | Captain Lou Grover | Recurring cast (season 4), main cast (season 5-10)[12][13] |
| 2014–15 | Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Nick Fury | Voice, recurring cast[11] |
| 2015 | Suits | District Attorney Terrence Wolf | Episode: "Intent" |
| 2020 | Puppy Dog Pals | Pops/Mr. Kimble | Voice, recurring cast (season 3) |
| 2021 | This Is Us | Paul DuBois | Episode: "Birth Mother" |
| 2022 | How We Roll | Archie Betts | Main cast |
| Slippin' Jimmy | Father Karras | Voice, recurring cast[14][15] |
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