Irving Rameses Rhames ( ; born May 12, 1959) is an<!--awards and nominations don't belong here--> American actor. Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, he studied drama at SUNY Purchase before transferring to the Juilliard School, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983. After early stage work in Shakespeare and contemporary plays, he made his screen debut in 1985 and gained attention through roles in Jacob's Ladder (1990), The People Under the Stairs (1991), and as Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). Rhames achieved further recognition as Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible film series, appearing in all eight installments.
His other notable work includes Con Air (1997), Rosewood (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and voicing Cobra Bubbles in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002). In 1998, he won a Golden Globe for portraying boxing promoter Don King in Don King: Only in America, memorably giving the award to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon. Alongside film and television, Rhames has worked extensively in theater, voice acting, and commercial narration.
Early life and education
Rhames was born and raised in Harlem, New York City, the son of Reather, a religious stay-at-home mom raising him and his brother Junior, and Ernest Rhames, an auto mechanic whose parents were South Carolina sharecroppers. He was named "Irving" after NBC journalist Irving R. Levine.
Unlike many of his childhood friends, Rhames neither took drugs nor succumbed to easy street money, but rather played football for Covent Avenue Baptist Church in the Hamilton Heights Historic District. where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1983, and began acting in Shakespeare in the Park the following Monday.
Career
Stage
Rhames' training in the classics gained him roles as early as 1983 at Shakespeare in the Park in Richard III. He has also appeared in the classics Richard II, and Sophocles' play Ajax,
Rhames played the role of amateur boxer Omar in the Second Stage Theater 1984-85 revival of Miguel Piñero's 1974 prison drama Short Eyes directed by Kevin Conway, alongside Paul Calderon and Laurence Fishburne, among others.
On Broadway appeared in John Pielmeier's play The Boys of Winter directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg in December 1985 at the Biltmore Theatre.
In an interview, Rhames commented about screen versus stage roles, "I don't give Hollywood the power to limit me," and "I can always do theater, I can do Ibsen, I can do Macbeth, I can do Chekhov, I can do Molière, Othello, I can do Richard III."
Other 80s film appearances include roles in Paul Schrader's biographical crime drama Patty Hearst (1988) as Donald "Cinque Mtume" DeFreeze, and as Lieutenant Reilly in Brian De Palma's drama Casualties of War (1989). In 1986 he appeared on another Michael Mann show, Crime Story in the 1986 episode, "Abrams for the Defense" in which he portrayed Hector Lincoln, a poor Chicago tenant who assaults his landlord after Hector's son is bitten by a rat, and must therefore be defended by Stephen Lang's character, David Abrams. He played Czaja Carnek on the soap opera Another World for several episodes in 1986. He played SP4 Tucker in the Tour of Duty episode "Burn Baby, Burn" (1987). Rhames played Henry Brown on Spenser: For Hire in the episode "McAllister" (1988).
1990–1999: Breakout roles
During the 1990s, Rhames' theatrical film appearances included George in Adrian Lyne's psychological horror Jacob's Ladder (1990), and Wes Craven's comedy horror film The People Under the Stairs (1991) as Leroy. Also in 1991, he played Frank McRae, the master chief petty officer in John Milius' Vietnam war film Flight of the Intruder. The New York Times lauded Rhames for the act, writing that in doing so he "demonstrated his capacity for abundant generosity". He is the only actor besides Tom Cruise to appear in all eight Mission: Impossible films.
Other theatrical film roles include Johnnie Cochran in American Tragedy (2000), and the ex-con boyfriend of Jody's mother in the John Singleton film Baby Boy (2001). He contributed his voice for the character of Cobra Bubbles in the Walt Disney animated feature film Lilo & Stitch (2002) and the subsequent television series. Rhames played police Sergeant Kenneth Hall, a stoic cop and former Marine, fighting zombie hordes in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. He played a different character, military Captain Kenneth Rhodes, in the 2008 remake of Day of the Dead. Rhames played a gay (and possibly also homicidal) firefighter who comes out of the closet in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007). In the 2008 film Saving God, he played an ex-con who is released from prison a changed man, looking to take over his father's former church congregation in a deteriorating neighborhood. Rhames stars in Phantom Punch (2008), a biopic of boxer Sonny Liston, released directly to DVD, as well as the British independent action/thriller film The Tournament (2009), portraying a fighter out to win a no-rules tournament.
On television Rhames portrayed a gay drag queen in the television film Holiday Heart (2000). He played John Morgan in Hallmark Hall of Fame's film Little John (2002). claiming that he had only been paid $175,000 of a $200,000 contract.
Since 2014, Rhames has provided the narration for numerous Arby's commercials, with the slogan "Arby's: We have the meats!"
In 2015, he filmed a series of commercials for The ADT Corporation. Rhames has also appeared in a series of television commercials for RadioShack, usually performing with Vanessa L. Williams.
Rhames is one of the narrators for UFC.
Rhames narrated the team introductions for the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI in February 2017.
Personal life
Rhames is a Christian. In 1994 he married Valerie Scott, a former movie publicist. He has since divorced, and has been married to Deborah Reed since 2000.
Filmography
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Film
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| 1986
| Native Son
| Jack
| Theatrical film debut
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| The Star
| Thaddeus (voice)
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| rowspan="2" | 2023
| The Locksmith
| Frank
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| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
| Luther Stickell
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| Uppercut
| Elliott Duffond
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Television
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| 1985
| Go Tell It on the Mountain
| Young Gabriel Grimes
| Television film. PBS American Playhouse (aired 1/14/1985) (screen debut)
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|2026
|History's Deadliest with Ving Rhames
|Himself - Host
|TV documentary series
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Video games
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| 2003 || Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma || IMF Agent Luther Stickell || ||
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|Primetime Emmy Awards
|Best Actor in Mini-Series or Movie
|Don King: Only in America
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|Acalpulco Black Film Festival
|Best Actor
|Rosewood
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|rowspan=2|Image Awards
|Outstanding Actor in Motion Picture
|Rosewood
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|Outstanding Actor in Television or Mini-Series
|Don King: Only in America
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|Satellite Awards
|Best Actor - Mini-Series or TV Film
|Don King: Only in America
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|Screen Actors Guild Awards
|Best Actor - Mini-Series or TV Film
|Don King: Only in America
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|rowspan=3|2000
|Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
|Best Supporting Actor - Action
|Entrapment
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|Satellite Awards
|Best Supporting Actor - Comedy or Music
|Bringing Out the Dead
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|ShoWest Convention
|Best Supporting Actor
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|rowspan=3|2001
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Actor - Network
|Holiday Heart
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|Image Awards
|Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
|Mission: Impossible 2
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|Locarno International Film Festival
|Special Mention
|Baby Boy
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|rowspan=3|2002
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Supporting Actor
|Baby Boy
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|rowspan=2|Image Awards
|Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
|UC: Undercover
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|Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
|Baby Boy
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|rowspan=3|2003
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Actor - Mini-Series
|Sins of the Father
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|rowspan=2|Image Awards
|Best Supporting Actor - Comedy
|The Proud Family
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|Best Actor - Mini-Series or TV Film
|Sins of the Father
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|2004
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Supporting Actor
|Dark Blue
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|2006
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Actor - Television
|Kojak
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|rowspan=2|2015
|Black Reel Awards
|Best Actor - Television
|rowspan=2|A Day Late and a Dollar Short
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|Image Awards
|Best Actor - Television
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