Michael Ealy

Michael David Brown (born August 3, 1973), known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films such as Barbershop, 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Takers (2010), Think Like a Man (2012), About Last Night (2014), Think Like a Man Too (2014), The Perfect Guy (2015), The Intruder and Jacob's Ladder (both in 2019) and Fatale (2020). Ealy also had roles in the television sitcoms including FlashFoward, Bel-Air, Being Mary Jane, and Power Book II: Ghost.

Early life Ealy was born in Washington, D.C. , and was raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. Ealy went to Springbrook High School and graduated from the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland in 1996 with a degree in English.

Career He started his acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in several off-Broadway stage productions. Among his first film roles were Bad Company and Kissing Jessica Stein. His breakout role came in 2002's Barbershop, in which he plays reformed felon Ricky Nash, a role that he reprised in the 2004 sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. In 2003, he played the role of Slap Jack in the second installment of the Fast and the Furious film series, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Later in 2004, Ealy appeared in Never Die Alone with DMX. He also appeared in Mariah Carey's music video for her hit single "Get Your Number" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi. The same year, he starred in the independent film Jellysmoke, directed by Mark Banning. He starred in the Showtime television series Sleeper Cell, the first season of which aired December 4–18, 2005, and the second season of which, Sleeper Cell: American Terror, aired December 10–17, 2006.

On December 14, 2006, Ealy was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in Sleeper Cell: American Terror in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. He also starred as the male lead in Beyoncé's "Halo" music video, and as CIA Field Officer Marshall Vogel in the ABC television series FlashForward.

Ealy also appears in the limited-edition coffee table book (About Face) by celebrity photographer John Russo, published by Pixie Press Worldwide. In 2009, Ealy performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

In 2010, Ealy appeared as attorney Derrick Bond in the second season of The Good Wife. He co-starred in the 2010 action movie Takers as Jake Attica and appeared as Travis Marks in USA Network's original series Common Law about two cops who have to go to couples counseling because they argue too much. Common Law premiered following Fairly Legal on Friday, May 11, 2012.

Ealy appeared as Dominic in the 2012 ensemble comedy Think Like a Man and its 2014 sequel, Think Like a Man Too, and appeared as "Papa Joe" in the 2012 inspirational film Unconditional. He appeared opposite Think Like a Man co-star Kevin Hart in the 2014 remake of About Last Night.

In 2013, Ealy signed on to play co-lead "Dorian" in the Fox television series Almost Human. The sci-fi police procedural takes place in the year 2048 and follows the relationship between two cops as they struggle to solve futuristic crimes that involve complex technology. Ealy depicts the android "Dorian", an older, "DRN" android model that is considered to be less reliable due to its artificial emotions and that is tasked with protecting his partner John Kennex (Karl Urban). The show aired for one season on Fox from 2013 to 2014.

In 2015, Ealy played serial killer "Theo Noble" in season 3 of the Fox television series The Following. He starred as Eric Warner in the second season of the ABC mystery crime series Secrets and Lies, which aired in the fall of 2016. From 2017 to 2019, Ealy starred in the fourth, fifth and final season of Being Mary Jane opposite Gabrielle Union. 2019 also saw Ealy star in Stumptown on ABC alongside Cobie Smulders, Jake Johnson and Camryn Manheim.

Personal life

In October 2012, Ealy married Afghan-American entrepreneur Khatira Rafiqzada, his girlfriend of four years, in a ceremony in Los Angeles, and together they have a son and a daughter.

Ealy is a fan of the Washington Commanders.

Ealy is a Democrat. In 2024, he publicly endorsed and supported Angela Alsobrooks in the Senate election in Maryland. He also showed support for Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in their campaign for the 2024 presidential election.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 2000 The Lush Life Isaac Youngblood Short 2001 Kissing Jessica Stein Greg 2002 Bad Company G-Mo Barbershop Ricky Nash 2003 Justice Woody 2 Fast 2 Furious Slap Jack 2004 November Jesse Never Die Alone Michael Barbershop 2: Back in Business Ricky Nash 2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Virgible 'Tea Cake' Woods TV movie Jellysmoke Jacob 2007 Put It in a Book Akmed Short Suspect Detective Marcus Tillman TV movie 2008 Miracle at St. Anna Sgt. Cummings Seven Pounds Ben Thomas 2009 The People Speak Himself 2010 Takers Jake Attica For Colored Girls Beau Willie 2011 Margaret Dave the Lawyer 2012 Underworld: Awakening Detective Sebastian Think Like a Man Dominic Unconditional "Papa Joe" Bradford 2013 The Signal Daniel Miller Short Last Vegas Ezra 2014 About Last Night Danny Think Like a Man Too Dominic 2015 The Perfect Guy Carter Duncan/Robert Adams 2019 The Intruder Scott Russell Stucco X Short Jacob's Ladder Jacob Singer 2020 aTypical Wednesday Dr. Jones Really Love Yusef Davis Fatale Derrick Tyler 2022 The Devil You Know Detective Joe McDonald 2024 It Takes a Village Lawrence Cooke Short

Television Year Film Role Notes 2000 Law & Order Private Nelson Episode: "Vaya Con Dios" Madigan Men Runner Episode: "Love and Dermatology" 2001 Soul Food Steve Episode: "Little Girl Blue" 2002–03 ER Rick Kendrick Recurring role (season 9) 2005–06 Sleeper Cell Darwyn al-Sayeed Main cast 2009 Hawthorne Dr. Alan Phillips Episode: "The Sense of Belonging" 2009–10 FlashForward CIA Agent Marshall Vogel Recurring cast 2010–11 The Good Wife Derrick Bond Recurring role (season 2) 2011 Californication Ben Recurring role (season 4) 2012 Common Law Travis Marks Main cast 2013–14 Almost Human Dorian Main cast 2014–16 Celebrity Name Game Himself/Celebrity Player Recurring Celebrity Player (seasons 1–2) 2014–19 Hollywood Game Night Himself/Celebrity Player Guest Celebrity Player (seasons 2, 4 & 6) 2015 The Following Theo Noble Main cast (season 3) 2016 Barbarians Rising Narrator (voice) Main cast Secrets and Lies Eric Warner Main cast (season 2) 2017 Hip Hop Squares Himself Guest (season 3); recurring (season 4) 2018 Match Game Himself/Celebrity Panelist Episode: "Episode #3.11" 2017–19 Being Mary Jane Justin Talbot Recurring role (season 4); guest (season 5) 2019 Stumptown Detective Miles Hoffman Main cast 2020 Westworld Jake Reed Recurring role (season 3) Sherman's Showcase Himself Episode: "Black History Month Spectacular" 2020–21 To Tell the Truth Himself Panelist (seasons 5–6) 2021 Celebrity Game Face Himself Episode: "Caught in the Act of Mouthing Off" 2022 The $100,000 Pyramid Himself/Celebrity Player Episode: "Episode #6.9" The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window Douglas Main cast Bel-Air Reid Broderick Recurring role (season 1) A Black Lady Sketch Show Supreme Rameek Episode: "Save My Edges, I'm a Donor!" 2022–24 Reasonable Doubt Damon Cooke Main cast (season 1); guest (season 2) 2023 The Afterparty Quentin Devereaux Episode: "Danner's Fire" 2024 Is It Cake? Himself/Judge Episode: "Knock Knock...Cake Service!" Power Book II: Ghost Detective Don Carter Main cast (season 4) 2025 The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Ish Episode: "What's Past is Prologue" TBA The Magnificent Seven Vin Tanner Main cast

Music videos Year Music video Artist Role 2005 "Get Your Number" Mariah Carey Love interest of Mariah Carey 2009 "Halo" Beyoncé Knowles Love interest of Beyoncé 2012 "Tonight" John Legend ft. Ludacris Love interest of woman

Awards and nominations