(Los Angeles) Andre Braugher, the Emmy Award-winning actor best known for his roles on the series Homicide: Life on The Street and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, died Monday at the age of 61.
Published yesterday at 11:08 p.m.
Braugher's publicist Jennifer Allen told the Associated Press that the actor died after a short illness.
The Chicago-born actor made his breakthrough in 1989's “Glory” opposite Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington, winning an Oscar for the film about an all-black military regiment during the Civil War.
Despite this role, he told the Associated Press in 2019 that he had difficulty finding work in the Hollywood industry, where roles for African-American actors were “rare and few and far between,” “point c” being everything.
However, his breakthrough came with the role of Frank Pembleton, which he played for seven seasons in “Homicide: Life on The Street,” a heavy crime drama on NBC based on a book by David Simon, later creator of “The Wire.” “.
For this role he won his first Emmy Award in his career, namely the trophy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1998.
His second role was in the 2006 FX miniseries Thief, starring in a miniseries or film. Braugher has received a total of 11 Emmy Award nominations.
Years later, he played a very different cop character in a very different type of series, moving into comedy as Captain Ray Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine with Andy Samberg. The series will run for eight seasons from 2013 to 2021 on Fox and NBC.
Although he turned to comedy with the series “Men of a Specific Age,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” still marked a big change for Braugher, who is known for his starring roles in dark and heavy dramas.
“I just felt like it was an opportunity to do something completely different than the rest of my career,” Braugher told the Associated Press. I like it because it opens my mind and forces me to think differently. So I think I've become much more flexible as an actor and more open to the incredible variety of ways to play a scene. » During this adventure he was nominated for four Emmys.
Braugher was married to Ami Brabson, his co-star in Homicide: Life on The Street, for over 30 years. They had three sons.
His death was first reported by the website Deadline Hollywood.