| Eriq La Salle | |
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 Eriq La Salle at the 1995 Emmy Awards |
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| Birth name | Erik Ki La Salle |
| Born | July 23 1962 Hartford, Connecticut, USA |
Eriq Ki La Salle (born July 23 1962) is an American actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film Coming to America and Dr. Peter Benton during the first eight seasons of the NBC drama series ER.
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Biography
Early life
La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. He was raised by a foster mother, Ada Haynes.[1] La Salle attended New York University's theater program in 1984, after studying for two years at Juilliard, he did not complete the program or receive a degree. After leaving school he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live as reporter Mike Rivers. He always wanted to live in Lake Arrowhead.
Career
La Salle has performed in movies such as One Hour Photo and has also directed for Soul Food: The Series on Showtime. Most recently La Salle was seen playing a Jamaican gangster in the acclaimed independent film Johnny Was [2] opposite Vinnie Jones, Samantha Mumba, Lennox Lewis, and Roger Daltrey. La Salle lived in Belfast for four weeks filming the movie, which he supported recently at the North American premiere of the film, at the American Black Film Festival in Miami. La Salle directed & starred in the movie Crazy As Hell. He has recently directed and made a cameo in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
