Shawn Michael Howard is an American film, television and theater 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...

.

Howard was born in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, the son of Olivia C. and Frank Howard, Jr. Shawn moved to Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 at age 19 to study acting at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

. He began working off-Broadway while still in school, in Mac Wellman's Crowbar, which won the obie for Best Play. He worked in character roles on episodic television in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and his first film role came opposite Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...

 in Above the Rim

Above the Rim

Above the Rim is a 1994 drama directed by Jeff Pollack. The screenplay was written by Pollack and journalist-turned-screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper , from a story by Pollack and Benny Medina....

. In 1994 he moved to Hollywood and starred in "Sunset Park

Sunset Park

-Places in the United States:*Sunset Park, Las Vegas, Nevada, a park*Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York, a neighborhood and namesake park*Sunset Park, Santa Monica, California, a neighborhood...

" with Terrence Howard. A succession of recurring television roles led to his breakthrough role as Russell on the NBC sitcom The Single Guy

The Single Guy

The Single Guy is an American television sitcom that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 1995 to April 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot, and followed several of his close friends The series also starred Joey Slotnick as Eliot's best...

in 1995. He has been a featured guest voice on many animated shows, including "American Dad", "Family Guy

Family Guy

Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...

", and "Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...

" . He voiced the character "Smokey" on the animated series, The PJs

The PJs

The PJs is an American stop-motion animated television series created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore, and Steve Tompkins. It portrayed life in an urban public housing project, modeled after the Brewster-Douglass housing projects in Detroit that once housed Diana Ross & Lilly Tomlin...

, with Eddie Murphy.

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