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Charles S. Dutton

Born:	January 30, 1951 Baltimore, Maryland
Occupation:	actor, television director, film director

Charles S. Dutton (born January 30, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American actor/director.

Dutton is also known for turning his life around after serving time in prison for fatally stabbing a man in a street fight. While incarcerated, he discovered a love of the theater and studied for a college degree and later earned a master's degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama.

In 1984, Dutton made his Broadway debut in August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, winning a Theatre World Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1988 Dutton played a killer in the television miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan opposite Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey. 1990 brought him a second Best Actor Tony nomination for his role in another Wilson play, The Piano Lesson. Dutton also starred in Alien³, the debut film of director David Fincher then costarted in 1993's Rudy

Mr. Dutton won Outstanding Guest Actor Emmy awards in 2002 and 2003 for his roles in The Practice and Without A Trace.

In 1999 he starred in an ensemble cast in Aftershock: Earthquake in New York. He co-starred with Tom Skerritt.

Dutton gained acclaim for his show Roc shown on FOX television from 1991 to 1994, especially mid-run when the show was done live in one take. His work in this role won him an NAACP Image Award. He co-starred in the popular but short-lived 2005 CBS science fiction series, Threshold.

In 2000, Dutton directed the critically acclaimed HBO mini series The Corner. The miniseries was close to his heart for Dutton grew up on the streets of East Baltimore. It was adapted from The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (Broadway Books, 1997) by David Simon (a reporter for the Baltimore Sun) and Edward Burns (a retired Baltimore homicide detective). The Corner won several Emmys in 2000, including that for best miniseries. Dutton won for his direction of the mini series. The Corner Review

He starred as police chief Charles Moose in the 2003 made-for-TV movie D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear and appears in Season 2 of The L Word.

He most recently guest starred on House as the father of Doctor Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) and on Sleeper Cell: American Terror as the father of undercover FBI agent Darwyn Al-Sayeed. He also directed two episodes of Sleeper Cell.

Dutton owns a farm in Ellicott City, MD and is the ex-husband of actress Debbi Morgan.

• Charles Dutton at the Internet Movie Database