David Alan Grier

**David Alan Grier** (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. Grier gained popularity with his roles in the American sketch comedy television series *In Living Color* (1990–1994) and *Reverend Leon Lonnie Love* on the Fox comedy series *Martin* (1993–1997). Grier made his feature film debut in Robert Altman's drama *Streamers* (1983), which won him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. Some of his notable films include *A Soldier's Story* (1984), *Jumanji* (1995), *Baadasssss!* (2003), and *The American Society of Magical Negroes* (2024). On the stage, he has won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway revival of *A Soldier's Play* (2021). Grier’s other Broadway roles include Jackie Robinson in *The First* (1983), Henry Brown in *Race* (2009), and Sporting Life in *Porgy and Bess* (2012). His career in television has been extensive with roles such as Bernard on *Damon* (1998), Jerome Dagget on *DAG* (2000–2001), and Hal on *A Series of Unfortunate Events* (2018). He also created and executively-produced the American satirical show *Chocolate News* (2008) for Comedy Central. Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a school teacher and a psychiatrist. He holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.