Michael Ealy

Michael Ealy Photo

MICHAEL EALY

Date of Birth: August 3, 1973

Michael Ealy was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. While initially Michael focused on athletics, Denzel Washington's performance in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues caught his eye and sparked an interest in acting. While living in New York, Michael began taking acting classes and workshops.

Eventually, Michael landed a role as a black soldier in an Alabama-based Army base in the off-off-Broadway production of Whoa Jack! Shortly after, he was on stage again in J Fearless (a Fan Dance).

In 2001, Michael finally debuted on the silver screen in a small part as an unlucky boyfriend in the rom-com Kissing Jessica Stein. It was his next role, however, that would make a big impact. In the comedy hit Barbershop, Michael played Ricky Nash, a reformed ex-con. He would return for the sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business.

Since then Michael has landed several supporting roles in movies such as Bad Company and 2 Fast 2 Furious. On the small screen, Michael has had some breakthrough roles and standout performances, including when he starred opposite Halle Berry in Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God, a made-for-TV movie. His next role, as the undercover FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed in Sleeper Cell earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.

Ealy has had a healthy career on the big screen as well, landing roles in movies like Miracle at St. Anna (2008), Underworld: Awakening (2012), Think Like a Man (2012) and Think Like a Man Too (2014).

More recently, he played the role of a newly married man in the thriller The Intruder (2019), opposite Meagan Good and Dennis Quaid.

Filmography:

Think Like a Man Too (2014)
Think Like a Man (2012)
Underworld: Awakening (2012)
Margaret (2011)
Unconditional (2011)
For Colored Girls (2010)
Takers (2010)
Seven Pounds (2008)
Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Barbershop (2002)
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)