Blair Underwood
Board Member
A true multi-hyphenate, with a career spanning 30 years in film, television and theatre, as an award winning actor, director and producer.
Known for his compelling performances in projects like “L.A. Law,” “In Treatment,” “Quantico,” and Broadway’s “A Soldier’s Play,” Underwood has consistently brought depth and authenticity to his roles.
Blair was recently seen in the critically-acclaimed thriller, “Longlegs,” directed by Oz Perkins and starring Nicolas Cage & Maika Monroe as well as the Starz drama “Three Women,” and the Sky TV UK romantic comedy “Smothered.” In 2023 he appeared in Ava DuVernay’s heralded film “Origin.” He recently directed, produced & starred in the independent psychological thriller “Viral,” currently in post-production.
Underwood secured his first Tony Award nomination as Best Lead Actor in a Play, having starred in the 2020 revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning drama “A Soldier’s Play” for director Kenny Leon and the Roundabout Theatre Company. He took his love for Broadway behind-the-scenes in 2021, serving as a producer of the new critically acclaimed show, “Pass Over,” which was the first show to reopen Broadway after the Covid shutdown.
Netflix credits include the Emmy-Award nominated limited series “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ Walker” (for which he won an NAACP Image Award), Ava DuVernay’s Emmy-winning limited series “When They See Us,” a recurring role on “Dear White People” and Clark Johnson’s “Juanita,” opposite Alfre Woodard. He also appeared as Vernon Jordan in Ryan Murphy’s “Impeachment” for FX, HBO Max’s “Love Life” and “Bad Hair” for Hulu.
Underwood’s series regular roles include the ABC drama series “Quantico,” and “Marvel’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “In Treatment,” “The Event” and “L.A. Law.”
Underwood co-starred opposite Cicely Tyson in the Lifetime telefilm & theatre production of “A Trip to Bountiful,” based on the Tony Award-winning play. He also executive produced and narrated two critically-acclaimed documentary features, Peabody Award winning “Mr. SOUL!” and “Olympic Pride, American Prejudice.”
In 2010 he made his feature film directing debut with “The Bridge to Nowhere.” He has also directed the 360 degree virtual reality Megadeath concert video (for which he won a Clio Award), the short film “The Second Coming,” as well as several music videos and commercials.
Underwood is an Emmy Award winner (as producer of the philanthropy-centered Saturday morning series “Give,” a two-time Golden Globe Award nominee, and eight time NAACP Award winner. He won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word as co-narrator of Al Gore’s audiobook, An Inconvenient Truth. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he is also active in several philanthropic endeavors.