LaMonica Garrett: Movies & Box Office

LaMonica Garrett was born on May 23, 1975 in San Francisco, California, and was named after the legendary Oakland Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, a tribute to his parents' football fandom. During his childhood he moved to Los Angeles, where he attended Burbank High School and initially struggled to make the varsity football team, an experience he later described as a wake‑up call that taught him humility and accountability. After high school he played linebacker at a Los Angeles junior college before transferring to Central State University in Ohio, where he led his team in tackles and pursued a professional football dream, even running a strong Pro Day and working out for the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, though an NFL contract never materialized. Shifting focus, Garrett embraced the emerging sport of Slamball, becoming the league’s leading scorer and earning a spot on the All‑Slamball Team while simultaneously working as a FedEx driver to fund his acting classes. His early on‑screen break came in a One Tree Hill episode that featured Slamball, opening the door to guest spots on shows such as Hawthorne, CSI: Miami, NCIS and a role in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Garrett’s breakthrough arrived in 2011 when he was cast as Deputy Sheriff Cane on FX’s Sons of Anarchy, a role he inhabited for 17 episodes and that cemented his reputation as a compelling character actor. He later portrayed Lieutenant TAO Cameron Burk on The Last Ship and the steadfast Secret Service agent Mike Ritter on Designated Survivor, a part praised for its emotional depth and physicality. In the Arrowverse he embodied the cosmic entities Mar Novu/The Monitor and the Anti‑Monitor, appearing across The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman and becoming integral to the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover. Most recently he has been seen as Thomas in 1883 and as Tucker in Lioness, demonstrating his continued versatility and growing prominence in television drama.