Omar Epps - Biography

Omar Epps is an American actor, starring on the ABC drama Resurrection (2014).

Epps was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised by his mother, Bonnie Maria Epps, an elementary school principal. No stranger to the big screen, Epps has appeared in lead roles in feature films, including Paramount's Dans les cordes (2004), in which he starred opposite Meg Ryan, Paramount's Irrésistible Alfie (2004), opposite Jude Law and Susan Sarandon, Paramount/MTV's The Wood (1999), Miramax's Gangsta cop (1999), John Singleton's Fièvre à Columbus University (1995) and Juice (1992). His supporting roles include Breakfast of Champions (1999), opposite Bruce Willis and Nick Nolte, Les Indians 2 (1994), opposite Charlie Sheen, and The Program (1993) with Halle Berry. Omar was also seen in Hollywood's best-kept secret, Scream 2 (1997), MGM's remake of Mod Squad (1999), with Claire Danes, and Love & Basketball (2000). He also starred in Takeshi Kitano's Aniki, mon frère (2000) for Sony Classics.

He co-starred on the critically-acclaimed FOX medical drama, Dr House (2004), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2007. He was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" in 2005, as well, as "Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series" in 2006. Epps was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for his performance in the December 2002 Showtime Original movie, Conviction (2002), in which he portrayed "Carl Upchurch", a hardened criminal from South Philadelphia, who spent most of his adult life in prison. It is the story of one man's journey from prisoner to peacemaker. Omar has starred in three HBO Original movies, La deuxième chance (1997), directed by Charles S. Dutton (Roc), Screen Two: Deadly Voyage (1996), produced by Danny Glover, and Daybreak (1993), co-starring Cuba Gooding Jr.. "First Time Felon" and "Deadly Voyage" are based on true stories. Epps also portrayed "Dr. Dennis Gant" on the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama, Urgences (1994). As a surgical resident, he teamed up with "Dr. Carter" (Noah Wyle) and "Dr. Benton" (Eriq La Salle). In one of the most talked about departures, Omar left audiences wondering if his character committed suicide or not.