Columbus Short

Columbus Keith Short Jr. (born September 19, 1982) is an American actor and choreographer. He choreographed Britney Spears's Onyx Hotel Tour and worked with Brian Friedman. He is best known for his roles in the films Stomp the Yard, Cadillac Records, Armored, and The Losers. He previously starred on the television series Scandal as Harrison Wright for the first three seasons.

Early life and education Short was born in Kansas City, Missouri to a family he has described as "musical". His mother, Janette, has a talent management company. He has two brothers, John Rancipher and Chris Staples. Short relocated to Los Angeles when he was five years old and immediately began working in a youth theater. He attended Marcos De Niza High School in Tempe, Arizona, as well as El Segundo High School and the Orange County School of the Arts, before leaving to join the off-Broadway tour of Stomp.

Career Short's acting debut came as a dancer in film You Got Served in 2004 and he later appeared in comedy film Accepted in 2006, starring Justin Long. He then took lead roles in the direct-to-DVD movie Save the Last Dance 2 (2006) alongside Izabella Miko and Stomp the Yard (2007). He has also appeared twice in the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven as Trey, a member of the fictional boy band "Boyz n' Motion." Other TV appearances include ER and Judging Amy.

In 2006, he appeared in NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as novice show-writer Darius Hawthorne. He was among the presenters at the 2007 NAACP Image Awards. In 2007, Columbus appeared in the movie This Christmas also starring Chris Brown and Lauren London. In 2008, Short appeared in the movie Quarantine, co-starring Jay Hernandez and Jennifer Carpenter, and played the part of musician Little Walter in Cadillac Records (2008), with Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles, and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. In 2010, he played "Pooch" in the film The Losers, based on the graphic novel, co-starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, and Zoe Saldaña, and directed by Sylvain White (who had already directed Short in Stomp the Yard).

Personal life Short was married to Brandi Short, but they split in 2003. They have a son. Since 2016, Short has been married to Aida Abramyan. The couple have two sons together.

Short also avoided jail by pleading no contest to a felony assault charge after throwing "a running punch" at his in-law during a family gathering at a bar.

In an interview with Access Hollywood Live, Short said that substance abuse, both alcoholism and cocaine use due to the stress of family issues and personal loss, led to his departure from Scandal.

In 2016, Short's then-partner, Karrine Steffans, was granted a temporary restraining order against him.

In 2018, Short served 34 days of a one-year sentence for violating probation when he assaulted his wife Aida Abramyan. Abramyan and Short were both granted restraining orders in 2025 after she claimed that Short had drunkenly strangled her during a violent dispute, the same day he claimed she had kicked their 10-week-old dog.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2004 You Got Served Dancer 2005 War of the Worlds War of the Worlds Soldier 2006 Accepted Hands Holloway Save the Last Dance 2 Miles Sultana Video 2007 Stomp the Yard DJ Williams This Christmas Claude Whitfield 2008 Quarantine Officer Danny Wilensky Cadillac Records Little Walter 2009 Whiteout Delfy Armored Ty Hackett 2010 Death at a Funeral Jeff Barnes The Losers Pooch Stomp the Yard: Homecoming DJ Williams 2014 The End Again Joe Maxwell Short 2015 Fear Files City Councilman Harvey Jordan TV movie The Girl Is in Trouble August Mr. Right Michael Rocko Presents Food Ceegee Short Lucky Girl Dillon 2016 Definitely Divorcing Eric 2017 American Violence Ben Woods True to the Game Quadir Richards 2018 Armed Turell 2019 Atone White Dear Frank George 2020 Influence Billy King For NYC Himself Short True to the Game 2: Gena's Story Quadir Richards 2021 The Fight That Never Ends Norris TV movie True to the Game 3 Quadir Richards 2022 Scott Free Todd Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story Martin Luther King, Jr. 2023 The Bargain Tunde Seymour Life Without Hope 2: A New Chapter Life Replacing Andra Fuller: Tubi release Prince of Detroit Harlow Black Sisters Kevin Stay Out Coffee Guy TV movie 2024 Finding Tony Detective Hash 2025 or early 2026 The Prince of Detroit 2 Harlow Black Pre—production

Television Year Title Role Notes 2005 ER Loose Episode: "Skin" Judging Amy Thomas McNab Episode: "The Paper War" 2005–06 That's So Raven Trey Guest cast: Seasons 3–4 2006–07 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Darius Hawthorne Recurring Cast 2012–14 Scandal Harrison Wright Main cast: Seasons 1–3 2020 Casting the Net Hector Episode: "A Purse Full of Dollars" 2022 Black Ink Crew: Compton Himself Episode: "New Teams, Same Dreams" Wicked City The Handler Episode: "A Debt Owed"

Awards and nominations Black Reel Awards 2008, Best Ensemble: Cadillac Records (Winner) 2008, Best Breakthrough Performance: Cadillac Records (Nominated) Image Awards 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture: Cadillac Records (Winner) 2008, Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Stomp the Yard (Nominated) MTV Movie Awards 2007, Breakthrough Performance: Stomp the Yard (Nominated) 2007, Best Kiss: Stomp the Yard w/ Meagan Good (Nominated) Teen Choice Awards 2007, Best Dance: Stomp the Yard (Nominated)