Danny Hoch

Daniel Hoch (born November 23, 1970) is an American actor, writer, director, and performance artist. He has acted in larger roles in independent and art house movies and had a few small roles in mainstream Hollywood films, with increasing exposure as in 2007's We Own the Night. He is also known for his one-man shows.

Theatre Two of his three one-man shows, Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop and Some People, were published together in 1998. In both pieces, he explores the multicultural (and multilingual) New York where he grew up, providing adept monologues in the languages of the people, Cuban Spanish, Dominican Spanish (Nuyorican), Jamaican Patois, or Trinidadian English.

Some People followed his first endeavor, Pot Melting, and was broadcast on HBO in the mid-1990s, which granted Hoch more national exposure, allowing him to tour more cities to greater crowds. Hoch founded the Hip-Hop Theater Festival in 2000. Together, his three plays have won many awards, including two Obie Awards, a Sundance Writers Fellowship, and the CalArts' Alpert Awards in the Arts in Theatre. In 2010, he won a fellow award granted by United States Artists.

In 2008, Hoch's solo show Taking Over addresses the issue of social imbalance as viewed by people who are pushed out by gentrification in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In late 2011 to early 2012, Hoch appeared in Ethan Coen's one-act play "Talking Cure" presented as part of Relatively Speaking.

Appearances in other media Like the subject of most of Hoch's monologues, his writings often examine topics in hip hop, race, and class, and he has been published in The Village Voice, The New York Times, Harper's, and The Nation.

He has been featured on HBO's Def Poetry Jam, in addition to his Some People being broadcast on that station. The film version of Hoch's Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop was released in 2000.

Hoch was cast in a guest role on a 1995 episode of Seinfeld, (season seven, "The Pool Guy"), but he objected to what he felt was ethnic stereotyping in the way his Hispanic character was written, so tried to convince Jerry Seinfeld to change things. Hoch was eventually recast with another actor, with the show telling Hoch to find his own way back to New York City and paying him $0.

Hoch appeared in Spike Lee's film Bamboozled as Timmi Hilnigger, a parody of Tommy Hilfiger, who proudly sells overpriced designer clothing to African Americans, claiming, "We keep it so real, we even give you the bullet holes", and advising viewers to "stay broke, never get out of the ghetto, and continue to contribute to my multimillion-dollar corporation."

He is also known for writing Whiteboyz, a limited-released 1999 film directed by Marc Levin, in which Hoch also stars with Mark Webber and Dash Mihok as three White Iowa teenagers who long for a gangsta rap life. The film also stars Piper Perabo and Eugene Byrd, and rappers Snoop Doggy Dogg, Big Pun, Fat Joe, dead prez, Slick Rick, and Doug E. Fresh.

Hoch appeared on Robert Small's MTV Unplugged spoken-word series.

Personal life

Hoch, who is Jewish, grew up in Queens.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1996 Sureshot 1997 Subway Stories Edward (segment "Honey-Getter") Made-for-television movie 1997 His and Hers Lenny 1998 The Thin Red Line Pvt. Hugo Carni Directed by Terrence Malick 1999 Whiteboyz Flip Also writer 2000 Jails, Hospitals, & Hip-Hop Writer, director 2000 Bamboozled Timmi Hillnigger Directed by Spike Lee 2001 Black Hawk Down SPC Dominick Pilla Directed by Ridley Scott 2001 Prison Song Harris 2001 3 A.M. Father 2002 Washington Heights Mickey Award-winning independent film 2003 American Splendor Marty Also starring Paul Giamatti 2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Kracker Television series; episode "Soulless" 2003 The Other Shoe Abraham 2003–2004 Def Poetry Jam Himself Two episodes 2005 War of the Worlds Cop Directed by Steven Spielberg 2005 Bam Bam and Celeste Neo-Nazi 2006 Wyclef Jean in America Television series; writer 2007 We Own the Night Louis "Jumbo" Falsetti 2007 Lucky You Bobby Basketball 2007 Blackbird Pinchback 2009 Taking Chance TSA Agent 2010 Blue Bloods Billy Leo Television series; episode "Officer Down" 2010 Henry's Crime Joe 2011 Violet & Daisy Man #4 2011 Nurse Jackie Mr. Digby Television series; episode "...Deaf Blind Tumor Pee-Test" 2012 Safe Julius Barkow 2012 Ted Donny's Father Uncredited 2014 The Knick Bunky Collier Television series; five episodes 2016 Gotham Pharmacist Television series; episode "Mr. Freeze" 2016 Exposed Detective Joey Cullen 2016 Wolves Sean 2016 Barry Eddie 2017–2019 She's Gotta Have It Dean "Onyx" Haggen 3 episodes 2018 Maniac Alexander Miniseries; 9 episodes 2018 BlacKkKlansman Agent Y 2019 Goldie Frank 2023 Full Circle Ron Cuneo Miniseries; 4 episodes