Avery Brooks
Encyclopedia
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American
actor
, television director
, jazz musician, opera
singer and college
professor
. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko
on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire
and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk
, and in the Academy Award-nominated film American History X
.
, the son of Eva Lydia (née Crawford), a chorale
conductor and music instructor, and Samuel Brooks, a union official and tool and die worker
. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Travis Crawford, was also a singer. At age eight, his family later moved to Gary, Indiana
when Samuel Brooks was laid off from International Harvester
. Of Gary, Brooks has said "I was born in Evansville... but it was Gary, Indiana that made me."
The Brooks household was filled with music. His mother, who was among the first African-American women to earn a master's degree in music at Northwestern University
, taught music wherever the family lived. His father was in the choir Wings Over Jordan on CBS
radio from 1937 to 1947 and his maternal uncle Samuel Travis Crawford was a member of the Delta Rhythm Boys. "Music is all around me and in me, as I am in it", Brooks has said.
Brooks attended Indiana University
and Oberlin College
and later received a B.A. and M.F.A. from Rutgers University
in 1976, becoming the first African-American to receive an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers.
. Hawk became a popular character and, after four seasons, Brooks in 1989 received his own, short-lived spinoff series, A Man Called Hawk
.
Brooks said of his role as Hawk: "I never thought of myself as the sidekick... I've never been the side of anything. I just assumed that I was equal".
Brooks returned to play Hawk in four Spenser television movies: Spenser: Ceremony, Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes, Spenser: The Judas Goat and Spenser: A Savage Place.
on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, which ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 1999.
Brooks won the right to play Commander Benjamin Sisko by beating 100 other actors from all racial backgrounds to become the first African-American captain to lead a Star Trek series. What appealed to Brooks about the role was the opportunity to give hope to young people. "Today, many of our children, especially black males, do not project that they will live past the age of 19 or 20," he told Michael Logan of TV Guide
. "Star Trek allows our children the chance to see something they might never otherwise imagine."
He directed nine episodes of the series, including "Far Beyond the Stars", an episode focusing on racial injustice.
Series producer Ronald D. Moore
said of Brooks: "Avery, like his character (Sisko), is a very complex man. He is not a demanding or ego-driven actor, rather he is a thoughtful and intelligent man who sometimes has insights into the character that no one else has thought about. He has also been unfailingly polite and a classy guy in all my dealings with him."
's Odyssey, directed by Gordon Parks
. The story chronicled the life of a free man, played by Brooks, kidnapped into slavery during the 1840s.
The role of Uncle Tom in the 1986 Showtime production of Uncle Tom's Cabin was another project that allowed Brooks to highlight the history of his people, as did his appearance in the 1988 television movie Roots: The Gift
.
He has also appeared in the 1985 television movie adaptation of Finnegan Begin Again and the 1998 motion picture American History X
; which also stars another Star Trek actor, Jennifer Lien
. He also played the role of Paris in the 1998 film The Big Hit
.
In animation, he supplied the voice of King Maximus in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as well as Nokkar in an episode of Disney's Gargoyles.
In 2001, he was the voice-over
and appeared in a series of IBM
commercials for its Software business unit asking provocative questions about a company's readiness to embrace the e-business revolution.
of Rutgers University
for more than three decades. He has also taught at Oberlin College
and Case Western Reserve University
.
From 1993 to 1996, Brooks was Artistic Director for the National Black Arts Festival
in association with Rutgers University. Held biannually since 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia
, the internationally renowned festival celebrates African-American culture and people of African descent. He was also inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1993. In addition, Brooks has done extensive work with the Smithsonian Institution's
Program in Black American Culture.
, Lester Bowie
, and Jon Hendricks
. He also recorded an album with saxophone player James Spaulding as a tribute to Duke Ellington
. Brooks had the lead role in the 1985 Anthony Davis
opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. Also, he performed at the Paris Banlieues Bleues Festival in 2005. In his role as Captain Benjamin Sisko
, he performed the Frank Sinatra
tune, "The Best Is Yet to Come
", at the conclusion of the Deep Space Nine
episode, "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang".
. Brooks paid tribute to his culture by portraying the life of the famous singer, actor, and civil rights activist in a one-man, critically acclaimed biographical drama. He has performed the role since 1982 at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles
, and also at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
and the Longacre Theater on Broadway
. He also portrayed Robeson in "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?," both on and Off-Broadway
.
Brooks' early theater credits include The Offering, A PHOTOGRAPH: A Study of Cruelty, and Are You Now or Have You Ever Been in the 1970s. He first started to gain recognition after his appearance in Spell #7 at the Public/Anspache Theater in New York City
in 1979. He subsequently starred in Othello
at the Folger Shakespeare Festival (1985) and Fences at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Missouri
(1990). He reprised the role of Othello at the Washington Shakespeare Theater in 1990-1991.
Brooks appeared in the title role of The Oedipus Plays, a production that traveled to the 2003 Athens Festival
in Greece
. He also appeared in the title role of King Lear
at Yale's
Repertory Theatre. In 2005, Brooks again starred as Othello, this time at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
in a production directed by the renowned Michael Kahn
. Brooks was one of 15 Shakespeare Theatre Company company actors in Washington to be honored with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre in 2007. He returned to the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Fall 2007 to play the title role in Christopher Marlowe's
Tamburlaine
.
In 2008, Brooks returned to Oberlin College
to play the lead in a mixed-race production of Arthur Miller
's Death of a Salesman
.
Once again, Avery played the title role of Paul Robeson
at the Shakespeare Theater from March 24-27 in 2011.
. He also played mob boss Paris in The Big Hit
.
), Walking with Dinosaurs
,
Jesus: The Complete Story, Land of the Mammoth: Ancient Evidence, The Ballad of Big Al, The Science of Big Al, Engineering the Impossible (The Colosseum), Greatest Places and Echoes from the White House,'God vs. Satan' and "Jewels of the Rift" (about the life cycles of African cichlid fish in Lake Tanganyika).
In May 2007, Brooks recorded the narration for the documentary The Better Hour, which is about the life of William Wilberforce
, the man who led the campaign for the end of slavery
in the United Kingdom
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Brooks also provided the narration for the BBC
series Walking With Dinosaurs
when it aired in North America
on the Discovery Channel
. His deep and authoritative voice commanded viewer attention; Brooks was able to draw on his years of training as an opera singer and his extensive stage experience with Shakespeare company actors to not only engage the viewer, but use his vocal abilities to emphasize the events as seen in the show.
In 2009, Brooks narrated a special documentary for the National Geographic channel titled, Drain the Ocean. Using CGI animation, National Geographic removed the water from the oceans and explored the ocean floor and its vast geography.
In 2011, Brooks was interviewed by William Shatner
in the feature length documentary The Captains. The film was written and directed by Shatner and featured the original Star Trek
captain
interviewing every other actor who had portrayed a captain within the science-fiction franchise. Brooks also served as Musical Supervisor for the project.
at the New Federal Theatre on February 11, 2007. Brooks has directed Shange's Boogie Woogie Landscapes at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
and in London
's West End
.
In 2006, Trekweb and TrekToday announced that Avery Brooks would take a role in the upcoming film John Rambo. Brooks himself later said this was not the case. He said "I've met Mr. Stallone
, many years ago — I have great respect for Mr. Stallone, always did. However, Rambo is not in my future".
In March 2007, it was confirmed that Brooks would appear in a new production of Christopher Marlowe
's play Tamburlaine
.
As part of BBC Audiobooks America
's entry into the US market, Brooks narrated an audiobook of Alex Haley
's novel
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
. It is the first time the novel has received an audio adaptation. Brooks himself had starred in the 1988 television film based on the book, Roots: The Gift
.
Brooks has also completed work on his long-awaited CD. It contains "a selection of ballads and love songs... I speak of my respect for my father, and for artists that I have listened to all my life."
In August 2008, it was announced that Brooks will play Willy Loman in a new production of Arthur Miller
's Death of a Salesman
.
Brooks also periodically attends Star Trek conventions around the world.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, jazz musician, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk
A Man Called Hawk
A Man Called Hawk is a prime time television series that ran on the ABC television network between January 1989 and May 1989. The series was a spin-off of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land, the fourth in...
, and in the Academy Award-nominated film American History X
American History X
American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
.
Early life
Brooks was born in Evansville, IndianaEvansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, the son of Eva Lydia (née Crawford), a chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
conductor and music instructor, and Samuel Brooks, a union official and tool and die worker
Tool and die maker
Tool and die makers are workers in the manufacturing industry who make jigs, fixtures, dies, molds, machine tools, cutting tools , gauges, and other tools used in manufacturing processes...
. His maternal grandfather, Samuel Travis Crawford, was also a singer. At age eight, his family later moved to Gary, Indiana
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
when Samuel Brooks was laid off from International Harvester
International Harvester
International Harvester Company was a United States agricultural machinery, construction equipment, vehicle, commercial truck, and household and commercial products manufacturer. In 1902, J.P...
. Of Gary, Brooks has said "I was born in Evansville... but it was Gary, Indiana that made me."
The Brooks household was filled with music. His mother, who was among the first African-American women to earn a master's degree in music at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, taught music wherever the family lived. His father was in the choir Wings Over Jordan on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
radio from 1937 to 1947 and his maternal uncle Samuel Travis Crawford was a member of the Delta Rhythm Boys. "Music is all around me and in me, as I am in it", Brooks has said.
Brooks attended Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
and Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and later received a B.A. and M.F.A. from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1976, becoming the first African-American to receive an MFA in acting and directing from Rutgers.
Spenser For Hire: Hawk
In 1985, Brooks landed the role of Hawk on the ABC television detective series Spenser: For HireSpenser: For Hire
Spenser: For Hire is a mystery television series based on Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels. The series, developed for TV by John Wilder, differs from the novels, mostly in its lesser degree of detail....
. Hawk became a popular character and, after four seasons, Brooks in 1989 received his own, short-lived spinoff series, A Man Called Hawk
A Man Called Hawk
A Man Called Hawk is a prime time television series that ran on the ABC television network between January 1989 and May 1989. The series was a spin-off of the crime drama series Spenser: For Hire, and features the character Hawk, who first appeared in the 1976 novel Promised Land, the fourth in...
.
Brooks said of his role as Hawk: "I never thought of myself as the sidekick... I've never been the side of anything. I just assumed that I was equal".
Brooks returned to play Hawk in four Spenser television movies: Spenser: Ceremony, Spenser: Pale Kings and Princes, Spenser: The Judas Goat and Spenser: A Savage Place.
Star Trek: Benjamin Sisko
Brooks is best known in popular culture for his role as Commander—and later Captain—Benjamin SiskoBenjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
on the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, which ran for seven seasons from 1993 to 1999.
Brooks won the right to play Commander Benjamin Sisko by beating 100 other actors from all racial backgrounds to become the first African-American captain to lead a Star Trek series. What appealed to Brooks about the role was the opportunity to give hope to young people. "Today, many of our children, especially black males, do not project that they will live past the age of 19 or 20," he told Michael Logan of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
. "Star Trek allows our children the chance to see something they might never otherwise imagine."
He directed nine episodes of the series, including "Far Beyond the Stars", an episode focusing on racial injustice.
Series producer Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore
Ronald Dowl Moore is an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, for which he won a Peabody Award for creative excellence in 2005 and an Emmy Award in 2008.-Early life and...
said of Brooks: "Avery, like his character (Sisko), is a very complex man. He is not a demanding or ego-driven actor, rather he is a thoughtful and intelligent man who sometimes has insights into the character that no one else has thought about. He has also been unfailingly polite and a classy guy in all my dealings with him."
Other roles
In 1984, he received critical praise for his role in PBS's American Playhouse production of Half Slave, Half Free: Solomon NorthupSolomon Northup
Solomon Northup was a free-born African-American mulatto. He was born in Minerva, Essex County, New York. He disappeared in 1863.-Family history:...
's Odyssey, directed by Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
. The story chronicled the life of a free man, played by Brooks, kidnapped into slavery during the 1840s.
The role of Uncle Tom in the 1986 Showtime production of Uncle Tom's Cabin was another project that allowed Brooks to highlight the history of his people, as did his appearance in the 1988 television movie Roots: The Gift
Roots: The Gift
Roots: The Gift is a 1988 television film. It is the third installment of the Roots series, which traces the maternal family history of African American author Alex Haley, starting with his fourth great-grandfather Kunta Kinte. The film premiered on ABC on December 11, 1988, with AT&T as the sole...
.
He has also appeared in the 1985 television movie adaptation of Finnegan Begin Again and the 1998 motion picture American History X
American History X
American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
; which also stars another Star Trek actor, Jennifer Lien
Jennifer Lien
Jennifer Ann Lien is an American actress, known for playing the alien Kes on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.-Early life:...
. He also played the role of Paris in the 1998 film The Big Hit
The Big Hit
The Big Hit is a 1998 American black comedy crime film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, and Elliot Gould....
.
In animation, he supplied the voice of King Maximus in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American animated television series that premiered March 26, 1995, on HBO. Narrated by Robert Guillaume, the series aired 39 episodes from 1995 to 2000, and is currently airing on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United...
as well as Nokkar in an episode of Disney's Gargoyles.
In 2001, he was the voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
and appeared in a series of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
commercials for its Software business unit asking provocative questions about a company's readiness to embrace the e-business revolution.
Teaching and cultural work
Brooks has been a tenured professor of theatre at the Mason Gross School of the ArtsMason Gross School of the Arts
Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers...
of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
for more than three decades. He has also taught at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
.
From 1993 to 1996, Brooks was Artistic Director for the National Black Arts Festival
National Black Arts Festival
The National Black Arts Festival was founded in 1987 after the Fulton County Arts Council commissioned a study to explore the feasibility of creating a festival dedicated to celebrating the work of artists of African descent. The study provided compelling reasons why the Atlanta community was the...
in association with Rutgers University. Held biannually since 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, the internationally renowned festival celebrates African-American culture and people of African descent. He was also inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1993. In addition, Brooks has done extensive work with the Smithsonian Institution's
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
Program in Black American Culture.
Music
A deep baritone singer, Brooks has performed on stage with Butch MorrisButch Morris
Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris is an American jazz cornetist, composer and conductor.-Biography:Before his musical career, Morris served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War....
, Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
, and Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
. He also recorded an album with saxophone player James Spaulding as a tribute to Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
. Brooks had the lead role in the 1985 Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis (composer)
Anthony Davis, better known as Tony Davis , is an American composer, jazz pianist, and student of gamelan music.-Biography:...
opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. Also, he performed at the Paris Banlieues Bleues Festival in 2005. In his role as Captain Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
, he performed the Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
tune, "The Best Is Yet to Come
The Best Is Yet to Come
The Best Is Yet to Come is a 1982 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle....
", at the conclusion of the Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine may refer to:* Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a 1993-1999 television series* Deep Space Nine , the television show's setting...
episode, "Badda-Bing Badda-Bang".
Theater
Brooks received critical acclaim in Phillip Hayes Dean's play Paul RobesonPaul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
. Brooks paid tribute to his culture by portraying the life of the famous singer, actor, and civil rights activist in a one-man, critically acclaimed biographical drama. He has performed the role since 1982 at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and also at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and the Longacre Theater on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He also portrayed Robeson in "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?," both on and Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
.
Brooks' early theater credits include The Offering, A PHOTOGRAPH: A Study of Cruelty, and Are You Now or Have You Ever Been in the 1970s. He first started to gain recognition after his appearance in Spell #7 at the Public/Anspache Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1979. He subsequently starred in Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
at the Folger Shakespeare Festival (1985) and Fences at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
(1990). He reprised the role of Othello at the Washington Shakespeare Theater in 1990-1991.
Brooks appeared in the title role of The Oedipus Plays, a production that traveled to the 2003 Athens Festival
Athens Festival
Athens - Epidaurus Festival is an annual arts festival that takes place in Athens and Epidaurus, from May to October. It is one of the most famous festivals in Greece. The festival includes musical, theatrical and other cultural events....
in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. He also appeared in the title role of King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
at Yale's
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
Repertory Theatre. In 2005, Brooks again starred as Othello, this time at the Shakespeare Theatre Company
Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. Their self professed mission "is to present classic theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights’ language and intentions while viewing their...
in a production directed by the renowned Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn (theatre director)
Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., USA. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006....
. Brooks was one of 15 Shakespeare Theatre Company company actors in Washington to be honored with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre in 2007. He returned to the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Fall 2007 to play the title role in Christopher Marlowe's
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine (play)
Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'...
.
In 2008, Brooks returned to Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
to play the lead in a mixed-race production of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
.
Once again, Avery played the title role of Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
at the Shakespeare Theater from March 24-27 in 2011.
Films
Brooks played Dr. Bob Sweeney in American History XAmerican History X
American History X is a 1998 American drama film directed by Tony Kaye and starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong. It was distributed by New Line Cinema....
. He also played mob boss Paris in The Big Hit
The Big Hit
The Big Hit is a 1998 American black comedy crime film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, and Elliot Gould....
.
Documentary work
Brooks has also hosted several documentaries and served as narrator in such features as the IMAX film Africa's Elephant Kingdom. His other documentary credits include narrating A Passion for Faith (the history of black Catholics in America), Eyes on the Prize (dedicated to legendary singer Marian AndersonMarian Anderson
Marian Anderson was an African-American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century...
), Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
,
Jesus: The Complete Story, Land of the Mammoth: Ancient Evidence, The Ballad of Big Al, The Science of Big Al, Engineering the Impossible (The Colosseum), Greatest Places and Echoes from the White House,'God vs. Satan' and "Jewels of the Rift" (about the life cycles of African cichlid fish in Lake Tanganyika).
In May 2007, Brooks recorded the narration for the documentary The Better Hour, which is about the life of William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, the man who led the campaign for the end of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Brooks also provided the narration for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Walking With Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
when it aired in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
. His deep and authoritative voice commanded viewer attention; Brooks was able to draw on his years of training as an opera singer and his extensive stage experience with Shakespeare company actors to not only engage the viewer, but use his vocal abilities to emphasize the events as seen in the show.
In 2009, Brooks narrated a special documentary for the National Geographic channel titled, Drain the Ocean. Using CGI animation, National Geographic removed the water from the oceans and explored the ocean floor and its vast geography.
In 2011, Brooks was interviewed by William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
in the feature length documentary The Captains. The film was written and directed by Shatner and featured the original Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
captain
Starfleet ranks and insignia
Starfleet ranks and insignia are fictional titles and badges that form the hierarchy of Starfleet in the Star Trek television shows and movies.-Overview:...
interviewing every other actor who had portrayed a captain within the science-fiction franchise. Brooks also served as Musical Supervisor for the project.
Latest projects
Brooks was part of a directors panel at a festival celebrating the work of Ntozake ShangeNtozake Shange
Ntozake Shange born October 18, 1948, is an American playwright, and poet. As a self proclaimed black feminist, much of the content of her work addresses issues relating to race and feminism....
at the New Federal Theatre on February 11, 2007. Brooks has directed Shange's Boogie Woogie Landscapes at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
In 2006, Trekweb and TrekToday announced that Avery Brooks would take a role in the upcoming film John Rambo. Brooks himself later said this was not the case. He said "I've met Mr. Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, many years ago — I have great respect for Mr. Stallone, always did. However, Rambo is not in my future".
In March 2007, it was confirmed that Brooks would appear in a new production of Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's play Tamburlaine
Tamburlaine (play)
Tamburlaine the Great is the name of a play in two parts by Christopher Marlowe. It is loosely based on the life of the Central Asian emperor, Timur 'the lame'...
.
As part of BBC Audiobooks America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
's entry into the US market, Brooks narrated an audiobook of Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a novel written by Alex Haley and first published in 1976. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S....
. It is the first time the novel has received an audio adaptation. Brooks himself had starred in the 1988 television film based on the book, Roots: The Gift
Roots: The Gift
Roots: The Gift is a 1988 television film. It is the third installment of the Roots series, which traces the maternal family history of African American author Alex Haley, starting with his fourth great-grandfather Kunta Kinte. The film premiered on ABC on December 11, 1988, with AT&T as the sole...
.
Brooks has also completed work on his long-awaited CD. It contains "a selection of ballads and love songs... I speak of my respect for my father, and for artists that I have listened to all my life."
In August 2008, it was announced that Brooks will play Willy Loman in a new production of Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
.
Brooks also periodically attends Star Trek conventions around the world.