Biography
Andre Braugher spent five critically acclaimed years playing zealous justice-seeker Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-99), where his character was the galvanizing, if hard-to-like, center of the ensemble drama. Naturally, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor was sought out to star in other television offerings, including the short-lived medical drama "Gideon's Crossing" (CBS, 2000-01), the buddy dramedy "Men of a Certain Age" (TNT, 2009-11) and the Emmy-winning miniseries, "Thief" (FX, 2005), in which he broke with his upstanding image to star as a morally conflicted high-stakes thief. The character-driven actor's flair for decisive confidence led to memorable film roles as men-in-charge in "10,000 Black Men Named George" (Showtime, 2002), "Poseidon" (2006) and "The Andromeda Strain" (A&E, 2008). In 2009, Braugher was cast in a recurring role on "House" (Fox, 2004-12) as the doctor with the unenviable task of weaning the cranky title character off his addiction to prescription painkillers. Later that year, Braugher was cast alongside Ray Romano and Scott Bakula in Romano's first post-"Everybody Loves Raymond" (CBS, 1996-2005) creation, "Men of a Certain Age" (TNT, 2009-2011). The well-received comic drama focused on a trio of middle-aged friends facing forty-something issues, and Braugher proved surprisingly adept at subtle comedy with his role as a father and husband yoked with financial responsibility, but resentful of having to sell cars at his father's dealership. Braugher's deft performance justly earned him Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2010 and 2011, although the series was canceled after only two seasons. Meanwhile, he ventured back into features to play the secretary of defense in the action spy thriller "Salt" (2010), starring Angelina Jolie. He returned to television in the cop sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox 2013-18; NBC 2019-21), playing a sly comic tweak on his hard-nosed policeman persona as the stiff new commander of a New York borough who clashes with his easygoing lead detective (Andy Samberg). The series was critically acclaimed, winning multiple Golden Globes in its first season and garnering a Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Emmy nomination for Braugher. For his commitment to three-dimensional characters and his high-caliber work in primetime and beyond, Braugher helped pave the way for African-American actors to be accepted in a much wider range of roles than ever before. André Braugher died on December 11, 2023 at the age of 61.
