Rockmond Dunbar

Rockmond Dunbar (born January 11, 1973) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series Earth 2, Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama Soul Food, and Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the Fox crime drama Prison Break. He also played Sheriff Eli Roosevelt on the FX Drama series Sons of Anarchy, FBI Agent Dennis Abbott on The Mentalist, FBI Agent Abe Gaines in the Hulu series The Path, and Michael Grant on 9-1-1.

Early life and education Dunbar was born January 11, 1973, in Oakland, California. He attended Oakland Technical High School and attended Morehouse College for one year before moving on to study at the College of Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico.

Career

Television Dunbar is known for his leading role as Kenny Chadway on the television series Soul Food, and TV Guide named him as one of "Television's 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time". He landed a regular role as Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin on the television series Prison Break. In 2007, Dunbar starred on the short-lived TNT medical drama Heartland. He made a guest appearance on Noah's Arc as himself to give Noah (screenwriter and the main character of the show) some ideas about his movie Fine Art. He also had a recurring role on the UPN series Girlfriends,

In February 2022, it was reported that he has sued the makers of the show for $1 million, saying he "was denied medical and religious exemptions and faced racial discrimination." In July 25, 2022, Dunbar's case of racial misconduct was dismissed as baseless by a judge in a Los Angeles courtroom, but Disney/Fox does face some claims from Rockmond Dunbar alleging religious and racial discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract, among other claims. Dunbar based his reason for an exemption on the fact that he had an exemption letter from the Congregation of Universal Wisdom. The New York Times reported that all it takes to join the church is a letter to chiropractor Walter P. Schilling, who runs the congregation from his den, and accepts as members those who confirm that they "will aspire to live by" the beliefs of the church, and have paid at least $1 to the church as a sign of commitment. On October 17, 2025, Dunbar lost the case as an eight-member federal jury voted unanimously in favor of Disney-owned 20th Television.

Film His film projects include Punks (which debuted at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival), Misery Loves Company, Sick Puppies, Whodunit, Dirty Laundry, All About You, He posed for the November 2003 issue of Playgirl magazine.

Personal life From 2003 to 2006, Dunbar was married to Ivy Holmes.

On December 30, 2012, Dunbar became engaged, after dating for a year, to Maya Gilbert, an actress, in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Dunbar is a member of the Congregation of Universal Wisdom, whose members are "obligated to avoid medical intervention that introduces disease into the body". His lawsuit against Disney and Fox alleges that their lawyers called his religion "fake" and his beliefs "insincere" in discussions about the Covid-19 vaccination mandate.

According to DNA analysis, Dunbar's ancestry is mainly from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. On his visit to Nigeria, he was given the Yoruba name, Omobowale (a variant form of Omowale) meaning "our son has come home."

Filmography

Film Year Film Role Notes 1993 Misery Loves Company Eric Haynes 2000 Punks Darby 2001 All About You Tim 2004 Hollywood Division Det. Reginald Feiffer TV movie 2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Mr. Fire 2006 Dirty Laundry Patrick/Sheldon 2008 The Family That Preys Chris Alien Raiders Kane Jada Simon 2009 Pastor Brown Amir Rahiem 2011 The Truth – Short 2012 A Taste of Romance Danny Marsh TV movie Echo at 11 Oak Drive Abner Raising Izzie Greg Freeman TV movie 2013 Doubt Steve Adams TV movie 2014 More to Love Terrence Envy or Greed Anderson Connell Short 2015 Love Is a Four-Letter Word Nick TV movie Curve Ball James 2016 Fate Enzo Friend Short 2017 The Cheaters Club Eric 2018 Edge of Fear Mike Dwyer City of Lies Dreadlocks 2022 Red Winter Harold2025 Straw Chief Wilson One Spoon of Chocolate Mr. Lindsey

Television Year Title Role Notes 1994–95 Earth 2 Baines Recurring cast 1996 The Lazarus Man Patter Episode: "The Penance" 1997 Good News Bonz Episode: "Writing on the Wall" & "A Joyful Noise" 1998 The Wayans Bros. Barry Episode: "The Son of Marlon" Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Tommy Episode: "Two Guys, a Girl and a Homecoming" 1999 Pacific Blue Tiger Bates Episode: "Infierno" The Practice Byron Little Episode: "Infected" The Pretender Joe Taylor Episode: "Qallupilluit" Felicity Man on Train Episode: "The Depths" 2000 G vs E Sonny Rhymes Episode: "Renunciation" 2000–04 Soul Food Kenny Chadway Main cast 2003–04 Girlfriends Jalen Guest: season 3, recurring cast: season 4 2004 North Shore Agent Fernley Episode: "Secret Service" 2005 Head Cases Dr. Robinson Recurring cast 2005–17 Prison Break Benjamin Miles "C-Note" Franklin Main cast: Season 1–2 & 5, recurring cast: Season 4 2007 Heartland Dr. Thomas Jonas Main cast Shark Teddy Banks Episode: "No Holds Barred" Grey's Anatomy Sean Brotherton Episode: "Physical Attraction... Chemical Reaction" CSI: Miami James Reilly Episode: "Guerillas in the Mist" 2009–15 The Game Pookie Guest: season 3, recurring cast: season 5–9 2010 Private Practice Jacob Deever Episode: "All in the Family" The Defenders Bounce Episode: "Nevada v. Killa Diz" Terriers Det. Mark Gustafson Main cast 2011 The Chicago Code Robert Turner Episode: "O'Leary's Cow" The Closer Antwone Decker Episode: "Unknown Trouble" 2011–13 Sons of Anarchy Sheriff Eli Roosevelt Recurring cast: season 4–6 2012–13 For Richer or Poorer Aubrey Main cast 2013–15 The Mentalist FBI Agent Dennis Abbott Main cast: Season 6-7 2016–17 The Path Detective Abe Gaines Main cast: season 1–2 2017 Scorpion Scotty Recurring cast: season 3 2018–21 9-1-1 Michael Grant Main cast: season 1–5 2021 Aftershock Lawrence Ansley Recurring cast 2021–22 The Game Pookie 2 episodes 2024 Law & Order Principal Sykes Episode: "Report Card" Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist Uncle Willie Miniseries