David Alan Grier is a versatile and classically trained performer who received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. He has appeared in hundreds of theater, film and television productions and is also a skilled comedian. In 2004, Comedy Central named Grier as one of their “100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.”
Grier began his professional career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in The First, for which he earned a Tony® Award nomination. Subsequent theater roles included those in Dreamgirls and in A Soldier’s Play, opposite Denzel Washington. Washington and Grier later reprised their characters in the play’s film adaptation, “A Soldier’s Story.”
Grier made his film debut in Robert Altman’s “Streamers,” for which he won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Best Actor. Other film credits include “Jumanji,” “The Woodsman” and the Wayans Brothers’ movie spoof “Dance Flick.” David also starred in Tyler Perry’s 2013 film “Peeples,” opposite Kerry Washington and Craig Robinson.
Grier’s television work is highlighted by a turn as principal cast member on the Emmy® Award winning “In Living Color” where he helped to create some of the show’s most memorable characters: “DAG” and “Life With Bonnie,” which earned him an NAACP Image Award nomination. In 2008, Grier created, wrote and executive produced “Chocolate News” for Comedy Central.
In 2009, Grier starred opposite James Spader and Kerry Washington in David Mamet’s acclaimed Broadway play Race, for which he received his second Tony® Award nomination. A third nomination followed in 2012 for his portrayal of Sporting Life in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. He received his first Grammy® nomination when the musical received a Best Musical Theater Album nomination.
