Danny Glover

Description: A commanding lead of film, stage, and television, Danny Glover is best known to general audiences as the older, more cautious partner of the volatile Mel Gibson in the popular "Lethal Weapon" movies, even though he spent most of the 1990s producing and starring in critically acclaimed films that explored different historical issues black people have faced in the United States and in Africa.

Glover first won acclaim for his work on the New York stage in two Athol Fugard plays, a 1980 Off-Broadway revival of "The Blood Knot" and the Broadway premiere of "'Master Harold' ... and the boys" (1982). A highly versatile actor, Glover easily shifts from warmly sympathetic characters ("Places in the Heart" 1984) to sometimes frightening villains ("Witness" and "The Color Purple", both 1985). He also proved so effective as ANC leader Nelson Mandela in the PBS docudrama, "Mandela" (1986) that he played him again in the HBO biopic "Mandela" (1987), paired with Alfre Woodard as Winnie Mandela in both projects.

Glover first registered with audiences as Moze, a sweet-tempered cotton farmer who allies himself with Sally Field's struggling widow, in Robert Benton's "Places in the Heart" (1984). The following year marked a turning point as he appeared in three high profile features: as the corrupt detective who commits the murder seen by Lukas Haas in Peter Weir's "Witness", as a cowboy in the Old West in Lawrence Kasdan's "Silverado" and in his first leading role in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple". As Mister, the brutal husband of Whoopi Goldberg's Celie in the latter, Glover managed to humanize a character who was purely villainous in Alice Walker's novel. His next assignment, "Lethal Weapon" (1987), confirmed his international status as a leading man and action star.

The actor's star power made it possible for noted black independent filmmaker Charles Burnett to get his quirky family drama "To Sleep With Anger" (1990) to the screen. Glover signed on as executive producer and star as the Devil on this project. His presence was also a comfort to first-time feature director Bill Duke and executive producer (and co-star) Forest Whitaker on "A Rage in Harlem" (1991) wherein he gave a memorable performance as an eccentric uptown numbers runner. Glover reunited with "Silverado" cohorts Kasdan and Kevin Kline for "Grand Canyon" (also 1991) in a part specifically written for him. He was again paired with Alfre Woodard in this sensitive comic-dramatic look at contemporary urban life. Glover and Woodard put their South African accents to use one more time (to date) in "Bopha!" (1993), Morgan Freeman's feature directorial debut, about a black South African policeman's political awakening.

For much of the latter half of the 1990s, Glover's roles were in far softer material. He was the baseball manager who comes to believe in heavenly intervention in "Angels in the Outfield" (1994) and a Green Beret who leads a team delivering an elephant to a Vietnamese village in "Operation Dumbo Drop" (1995). In 1997, he was paired with his "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989) co-star Joe Pesci in the unfunny comedy "Gone Fishin',¡± was teamed with Dennis Quaid in the action thriller "SwitchBack" and was featured as the judge in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rainmaker,¡± adapted from John Grisham's bestseller. The following year, Glover lent his distinctive voice to characters in two animated features "Antz" and "The Prince of Egypt,¡± reprised his signature role in "Lethal Weapon 4", and acquitted himself from the highly anticipated, but disappointing, American slave drama "Beloved", which had his sensitive ex-slave Paul D romancing Sethe, played by Oprah Winfrey. He fared better opposite Angela Bassett in the screen adaptation of Fugard's play "Boesman & Lena,¡± a harrowing tale about a homeless couple who survive the harsh terrain of South Africa's Cape Flats which screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Next, he was seen as a corrupt African president in "Battu" (shown at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival), and delivered one of his most endearing performances as Anjelica Huston's second husband Henry Sherman in Wes Anderson's triumphant ensemble comedy "The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001). Glover returned to the big screen as a judge in the Queen Latifah-produced urban comedy "The Cookout" (2004).

Glover's acting on TV during the 1980s was sporadic, but the medium often gave him a chance to produce and direct. In the early 80s, he had small roles on episodic series such as "Lou Grant", "Palmerstown, USA" and "Hill Street Blues". While he had a minor part in the 1983 CBS miniseries "Chiefs", Glover had leads in "Lonesome Dove" (CBS, 1989) and "Queen" (CBS, 1993), playing Alex Haley's ancestor Alec Haley. Not wishing to limit himself to only acting and producing credits, Glover has directed short films and even helmed the Showtime production "Override" (1994), about an unusual tractor trailer driver. He has also served as executive producer on the 1996 HBO original "Deadly Voyage", about African stowaways on a freighter who are murdered, and "America's Dream" (HBO, 1996), a trilogy of stories about African Americans. Glover enjoyed another critical success in 1997 when he executive produced and starred in "Buffalo Soldiers", a superior TNT production that told the story of black cavalry troops who battled Native Americans shortly after the Civil War. In the film, he turned in a gem of a performance as a slave turned Army sergeant. "Freedom Song" (TNT, 2000) gave the actor another opportunity to demonstrate his acting chops in a film he felt was important since it explored issues of race and oppression. Glover earned an Emmy nomination for his outstanding performance as a traditional father distressed by his son's involvement in a desegregation group in 1961. Less successful was "Good Fences" (2003), which cast Glover and Whoopi Goldberg as a 1970s-era successful black family trying to establish a new life in a posh, mostly white Connecticut enclave.

Throughout his distinguished career, Glover has also tried his hand at hosting and narrating, including the Showtime series "Storybook Classics" (1989-1990) and "Civil War Journal" (A&E, 1993); "Courage" (2000), the Fox Family Channel's show about ordinary people who have committed extraordinary acts of bravery; and "The Real Eve" (2002), about the search to trace DNA back to the origins of humanity. Although constantly busy with film and TV projects, the actor did not neglect his dedication to the stage, returning to the theater for the world premiere of Phil Kan Gotanda's "Yohen" in Los Angeles, earning excellent reviews for his portrayal of a retired serviceman whose usually timid Japanese wife of 30 years one day forces him to examine their relationship. Back on the big screen, Glover played the venerable, but Uncle Tom-like Wilhelm in Lars Von Trier¡¯s second installment to his U, S and A trilogy, ¡°Manderlay¡± (2006), a part the actor initially refused to play because of the exclusively white perspective in a story about the slavery of African-Americans.

After a supporting role in a disappointing rehashing of ¡°The Shaggy Dog¡± (2006), starring Tim Allen as a workaholic DA transformed into a mangy pooch in order to be taught a lesson on the value of family, Glover gave voice to the wise and patient Miles the Mule in ¡°Barnyard: The Original Party Animals¡± (2006), an aimless and easily forgettable tale about a group of hard-partying farm animals that was, despite its witless storyline, beautifully animated. Glover then found himself in the midst of serious Oscar buzz with his next film, ¡°Dreamgirls¡± (2006), a big screen version of late director Michael Bennett¡¯s Broadway musical about a the rise and potential fall of a black female singing trio (Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose) in the 1960s and 1970s. Glover played the trio¡¯s old-school manager who loses his talent to a younger and more ambitious manager (Jaime Foxx), but reunites with the most talented, but attractive member (Jennifer Hudson) when she is demoted to backup singer.

Also Credited As: Daniel GloverBorn: on 07/22/1947 in San Francisco, CaliforniaJob Titles: Actor, Director, Producer, Lecturer, "Model Cities" evaluator, Researcher, Sheetrock painterFamily
Daughter: Mandisa Glover. born in 1976; name means "sweet" in Swahili; mother, Asake Bomani
Father: James Glover. active in NAACP
Mother: Carrie Glover. active in NAACP; died in 1983
Education
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, economics
Black Actors' Workshop American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco, California
Milestones
1971 Was a reseacher for the Mayor's office in San Francisco
1979 Film acting debut, "Escape From Alcatraz"
1980 Off-Broadway debut in Athol Fugard's play "The Blood Knot"
1982 Broadway debut in Fugard's "'Master Harold'... and the boys"
1983 Made miniseries debut, "Chiefs" (CBS)
1983 TV-movie acting debut, "The Face of Rage" (ABC)
1984 Breakthrough role as Moze in Robert Benton's "Places in the Heart"
1984 First lead role in a feature, "The Stand-In"; a straight-to-video comedy
1985 First feature lead in a theatrical release, Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple"
1985 Played a cowboy in Lawrence Kasdan's "Silverado"
1986 First screen collaboration with co-star Alfre Woodard in "Mandela", a PBS semi-documentary
1987 First collaboration with co-star Mel Gibson and director Richard Donner, "Lethal Weapon"
1987 Reteamed with Woodard in the HBO biopic "Mandela"
1989 Co-starred in the made-for-TV blockbuster Western, "Lonesome Dove" (CBS)
1989 Reteamed with Gibson and Donner for second outing "Lethal Weapon 2"
1989 Starred in the PBS adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun", directed by Bill Duke for "American Playhouse"
1990 Feature debut as an executive producer, "To Sleep With Anger"; also acted
1991 Appeared opposite Alfre Woodard in Lawrence Kasdan's "Grand Canyon"
1992 Returned to play Murtagh in the popular "Lethal Weapon 3"
1993 Had featured role as Alec Haley in the CBS miniseries "Queen"
1993 Narrated "Civil War Journal" (A&E)
1994 Directed "Override" for the Showtime series "Directed By"
1995 Played detective Philip Marlowe in the "Red Wind" episode of the Showtime series "Fallen Angels"; directed by Agnieszka Holland
1996 Executive produced the HBO movies "The Deadly Voyage" and "America's Dream"; acted in one segment of the latter
1997 Starred in the superior made-for-cable period drama "Buffalo Soldiers" (TNT)
1997 Teamed with "Lethal Weapon 2" co-star Joe Pesci in the lackluster comedy "Gone Fishin'"; also co-starred in "Switchback", a crime drama, and "The Rainmaker", based on the John Grisham bestseller
1998 Co-starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in "Beloved"
1998 Lent his voice to the character Jethro in the animated musical "The Prince of Egypt"
1998 Reprised his signature role in "Lethal Weapon 4"
1998 Voiced the character of Barbatus in the feature-length cartoon "Antz"
1999 Starred in the world premiere of Philip Kan Gotanda's "Yohen" with L.A.'s East West Players
2000 Acted in the children's film "The Real Macaw" (filmed in 1997)
2000 Earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the TNT original production "Freedom Song"
2000 Hosted and executive produced the reality series "Courage" for the Fox Family Channel
2000 Played a corrupt African president in Cheick Oumar Sissoko's film "Battu" (shown at the Toronto International Film Festival)
2000 Starred in the film adaptation of Fugard's play "Boesman & Lena" about two homeless people surviving the harsh terrain of the Cape Flats in South Africa (filmed in 1999; shown at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival)
2001 Starred in "3 AM", a Showtime crime drama produced by Spike Lee; Glover was an executive producer; screened at Sundance
2001 Starred opposite Anjelica Huston and Gene Hackman in Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums"
2002 Helmed the Showtime original movie "Just a Dream"
2003 Cast in the Showtime series "Good Fences" with Whoopi Goldberg
2006 Co-starred as Eddie Murphy's manager in Bill Condon's "Dreamgirls," which was adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical
2006 Produced "Bamako," a film about the African debt
Hosted "Storybook Classics" for Showtime
Performed on stage in "The Island" and "Macbeth" (at Los Angeles Actors Theater), and in Sam Shepard's "Suicide in B Flat" (at the Magic Theatre, San Francisco)
Suffered from dyslexia as a child
Was an evaluator for the San Francisco Model Cities program; quit to study at the Black Actors' Workshop
Worked for a planning agency in Berkeley, California

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