Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Ruben Santiago-Hudson (born Ruben Santiago Jr., November 24, 1956) is an American actor, playwright, and director who has won national awards for his work in all three categories. He has received a Tony Award and three Drama Desk Awards as well as a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. He won the Humanitas Prize in 2005 and the Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2024.

He made his Broadway debut in the musical Jelly's Last Jam (1992). He then acted in the August Wilson play Seven Guitars (1996) for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He was Tony-nominated for his roles in his solo show Lackawanna Blues (2022) and the revival Joe Turner's Come and Gone (2026). As a director he was Tony-nominated for his work on the August Wilson revival Jitney (2017).

On television, he portrayed Captain Roy Montgomery in the ABC crime mystery romance series Castle from 2009 to 2011. He has taken recurring roles in Another World (1987–1993), Dear John (1990–1992), Spawn (1997–1999), and Billions (2016–2023). He has also acted in the HBO television films Lackawanna Blues (2005), Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017).

He made his feature film debut with a small role in the comedy Coming to America (1988) and has since taken supporting roles in the supernatural film The Devil's Advocate (1997), the action thriller Shaft (2000), and the crime drama American Gangster (2007). He portrayed Bayard Rustin in the Ava DuVernay directed historical drama Selma (2013). He served as a writer for the Netflix film adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) for which he was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Early life Ruben Hudson was born in 1956 in Lackawanna, New York, the son of Alean Hudson and Ruben Santiago, a railroad worker. He later adopted his mother's maiden name as part of his compound surname. His father was Puerto Rican and his mother was African American. He went to Lackawanna High school, earned his bachelor's degree from Binghamton University, his master's degree from Wayne State University and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Buffalo State College and Wayne State University.

Career Santiago-Hudson appeared on Broadway in Jelly's Last Jam (1992), written by George C. Wolfe. He received the 1996 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in August Wilson's Seven Guitars.

He wrote Lackawanna Blues (2001), an autobiographical play in which he portrayed himself and some twenty different characters from his past, which was produced in New York at the Joseph Papp Theatre in 2001. He adapted it for a highly acclaimed, award-winning 2005 HBO film, in which the parts were played by different people. It won the Humanitas Prize and earned Emmy and Writers Guild of America Award nominations. In 2003, he was the reader in Volume 13 of the HBO film, Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives. The series was narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. He played Mayor Joe Starks in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

On television, he has appeared on the daytime soap operas One Life to Live, Another World and All My Children. His work in primetime series has included The Cosby Mysteries, New York Undercover, NYPD Blue, Touched by an Angel, The West Wing, Third Watch, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and five episodes of Law & Order (which coincidentally starred Lackawanna Blues star S. Epatha Merkerson), among others. He starred as New York City Police Captain Roy Montgomery in the ABC series Castle until his character's death occurred in the third-season finale. In 2007, he starred in a PBS Nova documentary about the life of chemist Percy Lavon Julian.

In November 2011, he appeared on Broadway in Lydia R. Diamond's play Stick Fly. In 2013, Santiago-Hudson won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director, an Obie Award for Direction, and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play for his work in the Off-Broadway production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson.

In 2016, he won the Obie Awards Special Citation for Collaboration for his work on Skeleton Crew with Dominique Morisseau and the Atlantic Theater Company.

Santiago-Hudson narrated a number of audiobooks, including James Patterson's Cross Justice which was recognized by the 2017 Audie Award and AudioFile magazine's Earphones Award.

Personal life Santiago-Hudson has four children: Broderick Santiago and Ruben Santiago III from previous relationships, and Trey and Lily from his marriage with Jeannie Brittan.

When he came to New York in 1983, he was known as Ruben Santiago. He tried to get a part at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and was asked if he spoke Spanish, which he does not. When he wanted to work at the Negro Ensemble Company, "they laughed and said, 'We don't have Puerto Ricans.'" So he added his mother's name, Hudson, and eventually won a part in A Soldier's Play at the Ensemble Company.

Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes 1988 Coming to America Street Hustler Credited as Ruben Hudson 1994 Blown Away Officer Blanket Bleeding Hearts Todd 1997 White LiesBum #2 The Devil's Advocate Leamon Heath 2000 Shaft Detective Jimmy Groves 2001 Domestic Disturbance Sergeant Edgar Stevens 2002 Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control Samuel Menendez 2003 Unchained Memories Reader 2006 Brother's Shadow Manny Botero 2007 Mr. Brooks Detective Hawkins Honeydripper Stokely American Gangster "Doc" 2009 The Invention of Lying Landlord 2014 Selma Bayard Rustin 2020 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Screenplay by

Television Year Title Role Notes 1987–1993 Another World Gus / Billy Cooper Recurring role, 12 episodes 1987 Leg WorkOrderlyEpisode: "Mystery Woman"1990 AmenFiremanEpisode: "Moving In" Life Goes OnMr. SernoEpisode: "Corky Rebels" 1990–1992 Dear John Larry / Orlando / Curtis Recurring role, 6 episodes 1990–2025 Law & Order Various roles Guest role, 7 episodes 1991 Which Way HomeJim WatersMiniseries 1994 The Cosby Mysteries Police Officer Episode: "Expert Witness" 1994–1995 NYPD Blue Otis 2 episodes 1994–1996 New York Undercover Johnny / Walter Perry 2 episodes1995 Solomon & Sheba Tamrin Television film The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A.Det. Stan LewisTelevision film 1995–1996 Gargoyles Gabriel (voice) 3 episodes 1996 ABC Afterschool SpecialsKevinEpisode: "Daddy's Girl" 1997–1998 Michael Hayes Eddie Diaz Main role, 21 episodes 1997–1999 Spawn Jess Chapel (voice) Recurring role, 7 episodes 1998 Rear Window Antonio Fredericks Television film 1999 Early EditionEmmett Brown2 episodes The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer Detective Newhouse Television film Touched by an Angel Dr. Joe Acot Episode: "Such a Time as This" The West Wing Morris Tolliver Episode: "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" Third Watch Detective Wolfort, NYPD Episode: "History of the World" 2000 American Tragedy Christopher Darden Television film 2001, 2002 All My ChildrenDr. Zeke McMillan #1Unknown episodes2002 The Red Sneakers Uncle Joe Television film Little JohnStevenTelevision film 2003 WhoopiMarshallEpisode: "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" 2004 Wild CardBennett GrahamEpisode: "Sniper Shot, Intern Hot" 2005 Lackawanna Blues Freddie Combs Television film; also writer and executive producer Their Eyes Were Watching God Joe Starks Television film Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Carlos Guzman Episode: "Name" 2007 NovaPercy JulianEpisode: "Forgotten Genius" 2008 Canterbury's LawJudge Joe StanleyEpisode: "Pilot" 2009–2014 Castle Captain Roy Montgomery Main role, 59 episodes 2011 Person of Interest Sam Latimer Episode: "Mission Creep" 2013 Low Winter Sun Charles Dawson Main role, 10 episodes 2015 The Good WifeCharles JinksEpisode: "Loser Edit" Public Morals Lieutenant King Main role, 10 episodes 2016 The Family Chief of Police Len Bucksey 3 episodes 2016–2023 Billions Raul Gomez Recurring role, 9 episodes 2017 Designated Survivor General Contreras Episode: "Commander-in-Chief" The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Dr. Roland Pattillo Television film 2017–2018 The Quad Cecil Diamond Main role, 18 episodes 2019 David Makes Man Dr. Bree 5 episodes 2022–2023 East New York Officer Marvin Sandeford Main role, 21 episodes

Theater Year Title Role Playwright Venue notes Ref. 1992 Jelly's Last Jam Buddy Bolden George C. Wolfe Virginia Theatre, Broadway 1993 Measure for MeasureLucioWilliam ShakespeareDelacorte Theater 1994 East Texas Hot LinksRoyEugene LeeThe Public Theater 1996 Seven Guitars Canewell August Wilson Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway 1997 Henry VIIIKing Henry VIIIWilliam ShakespeareDelacorte Theater 2001 Lackawanna BluesPerformerRuben Santiago-HudsonThe Public Theater 2004 Gem of the Ocean Caesar August Wilson Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway 2006 Seven Guitars August WilsonPeter Norton SpaceDirector only 2008 The First Breeze of Summer Leslie LeePeter Norton SpaceDirector only 2009 Things of Dry Hours Naomi WallaceNew York Theatre WorkshopDirector only 2010 The Winter's TaleLeontesWilliam ShakespeareDelacorte Theater 2011 Stick Fly Joe Levay Lydia R. Diamond Cort Theatre, Broadway 2012 My Children! My Africa! Athol Fugard Pershing Square Signature Center Director only 2012 The Piano Lesson August Wilson Pershing Square Signature Center Director only 2013 How I Learned What I LearnedPerformerAugust WilsonPershing Square Signature Center 2014 The Happiest Song Plays Last Quiara Alegría Hudes Second Stage Theater Director only 2016 Skeleton Crew Dominique Morisseau Linda Gross Theater Director only 2017 Jitney August Wilson Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway Director only 2018 Paradise Blue Dominique Morisseau Pershing Square Signature Center Director only 2018 Othello William Shakespeare Delacorte Theater Director only 2021 Lackawanna Blues Performer Ruben Santiago-Hudson Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway Also director 2022 Skeleton Crew Dominique Morisseau Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway Director only 2026 Joe Turner's Come and Gone Bynum Walker August Wilson Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations