Biography
Actor Dohn Norwood moved effortlessly from comedy to drama throughout his career, but found his best showcases as proud figures, unafraid to fight for their point of view, on series like "Hell on Wheels" (AMC, 2011-16), "Hap & Leonard" (Sundance, 2016- ) and "The Sinner" (USA Network, 2017- ). Born July 1974 in Indianapolis, Indiana, Norwood was introduced to performing at an early age after joining an after-school drama club in the fourth grade. He continued to act in school productions at Shortridge Junior High School and Broad Ripple High School, both located in Indianapolis, before honing his skills at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. After earning his bachelor of arts' degree, Norwood pursued his master's degree in fine arts at the University of California San Diego. Upon graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, where he made an auspicious debut in the city's high-profile theater scene as Romeo in a 2001 production of "Romeo and Juliet" directed by the Royal Shakespeare Company's Sir Peter Hall. Steady work on television and in features, often as authority figures like law enforcement and other professionals, soon followed, most notably in "Bruce Almighty" (2003) and series like "Castle" (ABC, 2009-2016) and "Sons of Anarchy" (FX, 2008-2014). Norwood's first highly visible role came as the former slave and criminal Psalms Jackson, who clashed with fellow ex-slave Elam Ferguson (played by the music artist Common) on "Hell on Wheels" (AMC, 2011-16). When that critically acclaimed series ran its course, Norwood followed show runner John Wirth to Sundance TV, where he played two diametrically opposed men of the cloth: Ralph Abernathy, Sr., the civil rights leader and friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., in "All the Way" (HBO, 2016), a biopic of President Lyndon B. Johnson (played by Bryan Cranston), and the Reverend Fitzgerald, a fiery minister who secretly orchestrated a series of murders on the second season of "Hap & Leonard." While making recurring appearances on that series, Norwood also became a series regular on the limited-run drama "The Sinner," for which he played a police detective working with fellow lawman Bill Pullman.
