Leland Gantt

Leland Gantt
Born	McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Point Park College (BA)
Occupation(s)	Actor, writer

Leland Gantt is an American actor and writer known for his roles in various television series and films. Gantt is also a theatre actor, and has appeared in a one-man show, Rhapsody in Black.^[1][2][3]

Early life and education

Gantt was born and raised in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.^[4] After graduating from McKeesport Area High School, he attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Park College.^[5] After struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Gantt was inspired to pursue acting by a theatre teacher and moved to New York City in 1983.^[6]

Career

After moving to New York, Gantt appeared in Broadway productions of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,^[7] Fences, Richard III, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Gem of the Ocean, Judas Iscariot,^[8] and The Fall of Heaven.^[9][10] In 1991, Gantt was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Let Me Live, losing to Kevin Spacey.^[11][12]

Gantt has also appeared in episodes of Law & Order and JAG. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1987 miniseries Hoover vs. The Kennedys.^[13] He also starred in The Affair.^[14]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Rockin' Road Trip	Curtis Smith
1990	Presumed Innocent	Leon Wells
1991	The Super	Male Tenant
1992	Malcolm X	Wilbur Kinley
1998	Pants on Fire	Allen
1998	Out of the Past	Bayard Rustin	Documentary; voice
2000	Requiem for a Dream	Ward Attendant Penn
2008	Miracle at St. Anna	Livingston
2020	Another Year Together	Keith

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Hoover vs. The Kennedys	Martin Luther King Jr.	2 episodes
1993, 2001	Law & Order	FBI Agent Jeff Washington / Jonas 'Skate' Stark
1995	New York Undercover	Jerome Willard	Episode: "All in the Family"
1995	The Affair	Barrett	Television film
1995	JAG	Briefing Officer	Episode: "Scimitar"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Stew Matos	Episode: "Fallacy"
2018	Titans	Thurman	Episode: "Atlas Shrugged"
2019	The Good Fight	Partner Thomas	Episode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce"

References

1. BWW News Desk. "LeLand Gantt Stars in RHAPSODY IN BLACK Presented by The Cincinnati Arts Association". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
2. Benson, John. "Playhouse Square making it easy to experience LeLand Gantt's one-man show 'Rhapsody in Black'". The News-Herald. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
3. Star, Lincoln Journal (December 2016). "One-man show tackles racism in America". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
4. "Rhapsody in Black". Red Shell Management. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
5. "Theater roundup: PICT's 'Woman in Black'; LeLand Gantt's 'Rhapsody in Black'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
6. "McKeesport's own LeLand Gantt to perform at August Wilson Center, Nov. 15". New Pittsburgh Courier. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
7. "Inside the Playbill: Leland Gantt". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
8. Collins-Hughes, Laura (2017-03-14). "Review: For 'Judas Iscariot,' a Courtroom Drama of Epic Proportions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
9. "The Week in Culture Pictures, Jan. 29 - The New York Times > Arts > Slide Show > Slide 10 of 19". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
10. "Leland Gantt theatre profile". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2021-05-08.
11. "Leland Gantt". Playbill. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
12. Gussow, Mel (1991-01-17). "REVIEW/THEATER; Black Leftist's Jail Ordeal In the South in the 1930's". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
13. Corry, John (1987-11-18). "TV REVIEWS; 'HOOVER VS. THE KENNEDYS,' MINI-SERIES ON CHANNEL 11". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
14. New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. 1995-10-16.