Andre Braugher

Andre Keith Braugher ( ; July 1, 1962 – December 11, 2023) was an American actor known for his roles as Detective Frank Pembleton in the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993–1999) and Captain Raymond Holt in the Fox/NBC police comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). He won two Primetime Emmy Awards and was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards.

Braugher started his acting career as part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park, appearing in Much Ado About Nothing, Coriolanus, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and As You Like It. He transitioned his career into television, gaining roles in Kojak (1989–1990), The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), and The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), followed by leading roles in the ABC medical series Gideon's Crossing (2000–2001), the CBS crime series Hack (2002–2004), the FX crime miniseries Thief (2006) and the TNT comedy series Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011). He also had supporting roles in series such as The Good Fight (2022), New Girl (2011–2018), and BoJack Horseman (2014–2020).

Braugher's film roles include Glory (1989), Primal Fear (1996), City of Angels (1998), Frequency (2000), Duets (2000), Poseidon (2006), The Mist (2007), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Salt (2010), The Gambler (2014), and She Said (2022).

Early life Andre Braugher was born in Chicago on July 1, 1962, the son of Sally and Floyd Braugher, a postal worker and heavy-equipment operator. and was raised in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep for high school and earned a scholarship to attend Stanford University. Initially majoring in engineering, Braugher found that he enjoyed acting and graduated with a BA in theatre in 1984. He then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division, graduating in 1988.

Career

Braugher's first film role was in the 1989 film Glory as Thomas Searles, a free, educated black man from the North who joins the first black regiment in the Union Army. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1996 and 1998, winning in the latter year. He left Homicide after its sixth season but returned for the reunion television film. He also co-starred in the films City of Angels, Frequency, and Poseidon.

As part of the Shakespeare in the Park series at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's Central Park, Braugher played the title role in the 1996 production of Henry V, for which he received an Obie Award. He narrated The Murder of Emmett Till for PBS. He played Detective Marcellus Washington in the TV series Hack from 2002 to 2004.

In 2006, Braugher starred as Nick Atwater in the miniseries Thief for FX Networks, winning a second Emmy for his performance. He took supporting roles in the science fiction film The Mist (2007), He narrated the introduction to the Olympic Games on NBC from 2006 to 2010. Braugher narrated James Patterson's Alex Cross book Cross Fire (2010).

Braugher had a recurring role as defense attorney Bayard Ellis on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit from 2011 to 2015, and starred as the lead character, Capt. Marcus Chaplin, in ABC's 2012 military drama TV series Last Resort. In 2017, Braugher had a recurring role in season four of the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman as California Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz. From 2013 to 2021, he starred in the Golden Globe-winning TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine as the precinct captain, Raymond Holt. For his performance in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Personal life and death In 1991, Braugher married actress Ami Brabson, who later appeared as Frank Pembleton's wife Mary in Homicide: Life on the Street. They had three sons, Michael, Isaiah, and John Wesley, and lived in New Jersey. Braugher had previously been a smoker, but quit in 2010.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1989 Glory Cpl. Thomas Searles 1996 Primal Fear Tommy Goodman 1998 Thick as Thieves Dink 2022 She Said Dean Baquet

Television Year Title Role Notes 1989 Kojak: Ariana Detective Winston Blake Television film Kojak: None so Blind Detective Winston Blake Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture Dan Weston 1993–1998 Homicide: Life on the Street Detective Frank Pembleton 98 episodes 1999 Passing Glory Father Joseph Verrett Television film The Practice Dr. Ben Gideon Episode: "Gideon's Crossover" Cyrus Nowrasteh won the Pen USA West Literary Award for Best Teleplay for its screen writing. 2013–2021 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Captain Raymond Holt Main role; 153 episodes 2016 New Girl Captain Raymond Holt Episode: "Homecoming" 2022 The Good Fight Ri'Chard Lane Main role (season 6) 2025 Sausage Party: Foodtopia General Owens Voice, episode: "Sixteenth Course"; posthumously

Theatre Year Title Role Venue 1988 Much Ado About Nothing Benedick / Ensemble Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare in the Park King John English Herald / Messenger Twelfth Night Antonio Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare in the Park 1993 Measure for Measure Angelo 1994 The Tragedy of Richard II Henry Bolingbroke Anspacher Theatre, The Public Theater 1996 Henry V King Henry V Delacorte Theater, The Public Theater 2019 A Human Being, of a Sort Smokey Williamstown Theater Festival

Awards and nominations