Biography
Actor André Holland displayed a wide range of talent, from charismatic leaders to sensitive, disappointed young men, in such diverse productions as "The Knick" (Cinemax, 2014-15), "Selma" (2014) and "Moonlight" (2016). Born December 28, 1979 in Bessemer, Alabama, he was the son of a salesman and a steel plant employee, and would have gone into law had he not taken a role in a Birmingham production of "Oliver!" at the age of 11. Holland studied drama at John Carroll High School and later, at Florida State University and New York University, from which he received a master's degree in fine arts in 2006. That same year, he began working on television and stage, scoring critical praise for playing three characters in the play "Blue Door" and making his television debut in an episode of "Law and Order" (NBC, 1990-2010). Featured turns in Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna" (2008) and other features soon followed, as did "The Brother/Sister Plays" (2009), a trilogy of dramas that began Holland's working relationship with playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. Acclaim for his stage work led to more substantive roles on television, including that of White House Press Secretary Marshall Malloy, who was carrying on an affair with the President's daughter (Martha MacIsaac), in the short-lived sitcom "1600 Penn" (NBC, 2012-13), and Dr. Algernon C. Edwards, a 19th-century surgeon who endured racial prejudice, on "The Knick" (Cinemax, 2014-15). The exposure afforded from these roles led to major supporting turns in features like "42" (2013), as African-American sportswriter Wendell Smith, and "Selma" (2014), for which he received an NAACP Image Award nomination for playing civil rights activist Andrew Young. In 2016, he appeared in "Moonlight" (2016), director Barry Jenkins' film version of McCraney's autobiographical play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue." The drama, which cast Holland as the adult Kevin, first love to the film's troubled protagonist, Chiron/Little, earned exceptional reviews from critics and award shows alike. Holland compounded the success with a supporting role in "American Horror Story: Roanoke" (FX, 2016) and by joining the cast of Ava DuVernay's highly anticipated film adaptation of "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018).
