Leland Gantt | |
---|---|
Born | McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Education | Point Park College (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Actor, writer |
Leland Gantt is an American actor and writer known for his roles in various television series and films. Gantt is also a theatre actor, and has appeared in a one-man show, Rhapsody in Black.
Early life and education
Gantt was born and raised in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. After graduating from McKeesport Area High School, he attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Park College. After struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Gantt was inspired to pursue acting by a theatre teacher and moved to New York City in 1983.
Career
After moving to New York, Gantt appeared in Broadway productions of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Richard III, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Gem of the Ocean, Judas Iscariot, and The Fall of Heaven. In 1991, Gantt was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Let Me Live, losing to Kevin Spacey.
Gantt has also appeared in episodes of Law & Order and JAG. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1987 miniseries Hoover vs. The Kennedys. He also starred in The Affair.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Rockin' Road Trip | Curtis Smith | |
1990 | Presumed Innocent | Leon Wells | |
1991 | The Super | Male Tenant | |
1992 | Malcolm X | Wilbur Kinley | |
1998 | Pants on Fire | Allen | |
1998 | Out of the Past | Bayard Rustin | Documentary; voice |
2000 | Requiem for a Dream | Ward Attendant Penn | |
2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | Livingston | |
2020 | Another Year Together | Keith |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1987 | Hoover vs. The Kennedys | Martin Luther King Jr. | 2 episodes |
1993, 2001 | Law & Order | FBI Agent Jeff Washington / Jonas 'Skate' Stark | |
1995 | New York Undercover | Jerome Willard | Episode: "All in the Family" |
1995 | The Affair | Barrett | Television film |
1995 | JAG | Briefing Officer | Episode: "Scimitar" |
2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Stew Matos | Episode: "Fallacy" |
2018 | Titans | Thurman | Episode: "Atlas Shrugged" |
2019 | The Good Fight | Partner Thomas | Episode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce" |
References
- BWW News Desk. "LeLand Gantt Stars in RHAPSODY IN BLACK Presented by The Cincinnati Arts Association". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- Benson, John. "Playhouse Square making it easy to experience LeLand Gantt's one-man show 'Rhapsody in Black'". The News-Herald. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- Star, Lincoln Journal (December 2016). "One-man show tackles racism in America". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "Rhapsody in Black". Red Shell Management. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "Theater roundup: PICT's 'Woman in Black'; LeLand Gantt's 'Rhapsody in Black'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "McKeesport's own LeLand Gantt to perform at August Wilson Center, Nov. 15". New Pittsburgh Courier. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "Inside the Playbill: Leland Gantt". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- Collins-Hughes, Laura (2017-03-14). "Review: For 'Judas Iscariot,' a Courtroom Drama of Epic Proportions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "The Week in Culture Pictures, Jan. 29 - The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Slide 10 of 19". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "Leland Gantt theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
- "Leland Gantt". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- Gussow, Mel (1991-01-17). "REVIEW/THEATER; Black Leftist's Jail Ordeal In the South in the 1930's". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- Corry, John (1987-11-18). "TV REVIEWS; 'HOOVER VS. THE KENNEDYS,' MINI-SERIES ON CHANNEL 11". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. 1995-10-16.
- Living people
- People from McKeesport, Pennsylvania
- Point Park University alumni
- Male actors from Pennsylvania
- 20th-century African-American male actors
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century African-American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Male actors from New York City
- 20th-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American people