Mo McRae

Mo McRae is an American actor, director, and producer best known for his recurring role as Tyler in the FX series Sons of Anarchy as well as Leon Hayes in the 2006 film Gridiron Gang. He starred in Fox's Pitch. In 2022, McRae directed his first film, A Lot of Nothing.

Raised in South Los Angeles, McRae turned to acting for solace. After enrolling in a drama class at Washington Preparatory High School, McRae opted to forgo his spot on the basketball team when he landed the lead in the school play.

Career After high school, McRae pursued his new-found dream as an artist in the entertainment industry. After being signed by an agent, he quickly began to book national television spots for major corporations such as Visa, Nike and Reebok, among many others. These spots opened the doors to some early primetime guest appearances on shows such as NYPD Blue, Becker and Boston Public. Other television work soon followed with appearances on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER and The Shield.

In 2006, McRae was introduced to a much wider audience. He played one of the lead roles in the hit film Gridiron Gang opposite Dwayne Johnson, inhabiting the role of the troubled quarterback "Leon Hayes". The Neal H. Moritz–produced film grossed more than $40 million worldwide.

As McRae became more successful as an actor, he began to build an interest behind the camera. He produced and starred in The Fall which competed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. Additionally, he wrote a screenplay No Return with acclaimed movie and television writer Harry Winer. The film is currently set-up at Smash Media. He had a recurring major guest role in the FX drama Sons of Anarchy. In Season 2 of HBO's Big Little Lies he played second grade teacher Michael Perkins.

In 2010, McRae appeared in Carmen Madden's film Everyday Black Man. Also that year, McRae recurred on the ABC drama Detroit 1-8-7 as Pooch and also filmed a lead role in the indie film The Deadliest Lesson opposite Penelope Ann Miller and Yancey Arias.

McRae is the supervising producer of the 2022 CBS police procedural television series East New York.

In total, McRae has appeared in over 30 film and television projects over the past decade. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Mo McRae married Lex Scott Davis on July 21, 2019, after less than a year of being engaged. They had an "unplugged" wedding to ensure that all of their guests were "present in the moment" as they shared personalized vows. The couple met on the set of The First Purge. They have two children, born in 2020 and 2022.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2001 The Blue Diner Vango 2003 Thirteen Rapper #2 Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood Shirtless Homey Video 2004 Woman Thou Art Loosed Scootie 2005 Dirty Tiptoes 2006 Gridiron Gang Leon Hayes 2008 The Onion Movie Second Bank Gunman The Deadliest Lesson Jason Gretch TV movie The Fall David Short 2009 Dough Boys Black Just Another Day Robo Operating Instructions James "J-40" Manners TV movie 2010 Detention Jason Gretch Everyday Black Man Yousef 2011 CarJack Charlie Short The Truth About Angels Christopher Atwell 2012 Prodigy Bully Donnie TV movie Acting Like Adults Mike 2013 Kings and Beggars Simon Short The Butler Eldridge Huggins 2014 Wild Jimmy Carter 2015 November Rule Steve 2016 All the Way Stokely Carmichael TV movie Destined Tay/Dontay Hustle vs. Heartache Pharoah 2017 Aftermath Saab 2018 Den of Thieves Gus Henderson The First Purge 7 & 7 2019 Adopt a Highway Wilson Gully Otis American Skin - 2020 The 24th Walker 2022 Rock a Bye Baby Roshaun Short MVP Will Phillips 2024 Red Right Hand Deputy Duke Parks

Television

Year Title Role Notes 2002 NYPD Blue Larry Episode: "Meat Me in the Park" Boston Public Kenny Hamilton Episode: "Chapter Fifty" 2003 Becker Guy Episode: "Once Upon a Time" The District Flick Episode: "Back in the Saddle" Fastlane P-Nut Episode: "Overkill" I'm with Her Neighbor #1 Episode: "The Weekend Away" Cold Case Burke Kelvin Episode: "Look Again" 2004 The Guardian Kevin Episode: "Blood In, Blood Out" The Shield Derwin Episode: "Fire in the Hole" The Division Capone Episode: "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Leo Plummer Episode: "No Humans Involved" 2005 ER Kevin Hightower Episode: "Alone in a Crowd" Cold Case Theodore "Cartier" Clausen Episode: "Saving Patrick Bubley" 2008 Chocolate News Mo Episode: "Episode #1.2" 2010 Southland Sisqo Episode: "The Runner" Detroit 1-8-7 Pooch Recurring Cast The Defenders Rapper Episode: "Nevada v. Killa Diz" 2012 CSI: NY Willis Frazier Episode: "Unwrapped" 2012-14 Sons of Anarchy Tyler Yost Guest: Season 5-6, Recurring Cast: Season 7 2013-14 Ray Donovan Deonte Frasier Recurring Cast: Season 1-2 2014 Survivor's Remorse Marcus Pierce Episode: "In the Offing" 2015 Battle Creek Darnell Episode: "Man's Best Friend" Murder in the First Anthony "Suger" Cascade Recurring Cast: Season 2 2015-18 Empire J Poppa Recurring Cast: Season 2 & 4, Guest: Season 3 2016 Pitch Blip Sanders Main Cast 2018 This Is Us Don Robinson Episode: "Nine Bucks" & "Vietnam" 2019 Tales Davis Episode: "My Mind Playing Tricks On Me" Big Little Lies Michael Perkins Recurring Cast: Season 2 2019-20 Almost Family Tim Moore Main Cast 2020 All Rise Kurt Beto Episode: "Dancing at Los Angeles" 2021 Rebel Amir Recurring Cast 2022 The Flight Attendant Benjamin Berry Main Cast: Season 2