Save the Last Dance

Background:

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Sean Patrick Thomas turned to acting and began receiving notice in the late '90s, thanks to his roles in such films as "Picture Perfect" (1997), "Conspiracy Theory" (1997), "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998), "Cruel Intentions" (1999), and "The Sterling Chase" (1999).

The actor who made his film debut in Edward Zwick's military drama "Courage Under Fire" (1996; starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan), got his breakout film role in 2001 when he starred opposite Julia Stiles, playing a teenage interracial couple in Chicago, in the surprisingly successful teen romantic/musical drama "Save the Last Dance," which won him two MTV Movie Awards and one Young Hollywood Awards.

He has since added to his resume by appearing in the films "Not Another Teen Movie" (2001), "Halloween: Resurrection" (2002), "Barbershop" (2002), "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" (2004), "The Fountain" (2006), and "Honeydripper" (2007). He will next be seen in an upcoming horror/thriller film with a Western theme, "The Burrowers," alongside Clancy Brown and William Mapother.

Meanwhile, TV viewers could catch him starring as Officer/Detective Temple Page in the CBS cop drama series "The District" (2000-2004). The 5' 8" talented actor, who has performed in various stage productions, recently and appeared in the TV movie adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning 1959 play, "A Raisin in the Sun" (2008).

Thomas has been married to actress Aonika Laurent since 2006 and has one daughter with her.

Guyana Roots

Childhood and Family:

In Wilmington, Delaware, Sean Patrick Thomas was born on December 17, 1970, to Guyanese parents Carlton Thomas (deceased), a former engineer for DuPont, and Cheryl Thomas, a former financial analyst also for DuPont. He has two younger siblings.

Thomas went to St. Mary Magdalen and then graduated from Brandywine High School, Wilmington, Delaware. He originally wanted to be a lawyer and went to the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, where he received a BA in English. But after taking a chance for an audition for a part in "A Raisin In the Sun," he was bitten by the acting bug and ultimately got his MFA degree in drama from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University (NYU), New York, New York, in the mid '90s.

On April 22, 2006 in New Orleans, Thomas married actress Aonika Laurent, whom he met at a party thrown by “Barbershop” director Tim Story. Their marriage was originally planned for the Fall of 2005 in New Orleans, but postponed due to Hurricane Katrina. The couple welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Lola Jolie Thomas, on May 16, 2008. Thomas and his family currently lives in Los Angeles.

The District

Career:

After sharpening his craft at the NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Sean Patrick Thomas ventured to television in the mid '90s, beginning with a guest spot in an April 1996 episode of Fox one-hour police drama series, "New York Undercover." Thats same year, he made his film debut in Edward Zwick-directed military drama that depicts the 1991 Gulf War, "Courage Under Fire" (1996), starring Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips and Matt Damon.

He also performed on the stage, playing Lucilius in New York Shakespeare Festival's production of William Shakespeare's "Timon of Athens" (1996), headlined a Philadelphia theater musical adaptation of "Cooley High" (1997), and was featured in Moliere's "The Cheats of Scapin" (1999), produced by Circus Theatricals in Los Angeles.

“When you're doing a play you get to go full speed ahead, all night in front of an audience. It's a roller-coaster ride, responding to other actors, it feeds you.” Sean Patrick Thomas.

Meanwhile, Thomas played a surveillance operator in Richard Donner's thriller/horror film "Conspiracy Theory" (1997), was featured in Glenn Gordon Caron's romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jay Mohr, "Picture Perfect" (1997), and portrayed a jock sidekick to Peter Facinelli's popular creep character, in writers/directors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan's high school graduation party-set ensemble romantic teen comedy, "Can't Hardly Wait" (1998).

He co-starred as Selma Blair's music teacher in Roger Kumble's drama film based very loosely on the 18th century French novel "Les Liaisons dangereuses,""Cruel Intentions" (1999), and was featured with Nicholle Tom, Devon Odessa, and John Livingston in Tanya Fenmore's independent coming-of-age drama film "The Sterling Chase," which was screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival on September 17, 1999. He also appeared in the pilot episode of the sport drama series "Push" (1998) and was tapped to co-star as a regular on "Manchester Prep" (1999), the TV series adaptation of "Cruel Intentions" which was canceled before airing. Additionally, he appeared in the music video "Every You, Every Me" by Placebo (1999), and on "The Tonight Show," where he was picked out of the audience to appear in a question and answer segment with Jay Leno.

Entering the new millennium, Thomas appeared in K-Ci & JoJo's music video "Crazy" and had a co-starring role, as Officer/Detective Temple Page, in the CBS cop drama series "The District" (2000-2004), alongside Craig T. Nelson.

During his "District" tenure, Thomas provided his voice for the animated short film "Herschel Hopper: New York Rabbit" (2000; with Brad Renfro, Brendan Sexton III, and Jason Priestley), and was cast opposite Gerard Butler in Wes Craven-produced horror movie, "Dracula 2000" (2000). He also had a deleted scene in the direct-to-video released "Cruel Intentions 2" (2000).

In the following year, he landed a breakthrough film role when he starred opposite Julia Stiles, playing a teenage interracial couple in Chicago, in Thomas Carter's surprisingly successful teen romantic/musical drama, "Save the Last Dance" (2001). It won Thomas two MTV Movie Awards, one for Best Kiss he shared with Stiles, and another one for Breakthrough Male Performance. He also took home a Young Hollywood Award for Standout Performance – Male.

Afterwards, he had an uncredited role in a parody of the teen movies, "Not Another Teen Movie" (2001), and appeared in Rick Rosenthal's horror film built upon the continuity of "Halloween: H20," "Halloween: Resurrection" (2002). He also played Jimmy James, a recent college graduate and academically-astute who works at the barbershop as his "bridge" to a "real" job, in the comedy "Barbershop" (2002; alongside Queen Latifah and Ice Cube), and later reprised the role in its sequel, "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" (2004). Additionally, he became additional voices in the direct-to-video released animated film based on the DC Comics character, "Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman" (2004).

“I did study the art of being a barber because I wanted to figure out what my routine would be Do you start in the front or back? Top or bottom? Swivel the chair or walk around? What I did discover is there's no such thing as the perfect haircut!” Sean Patrick Thomas.

During this time, Thomas was spotted as a guest in an episode of the CBS television drama "The Agency," the video game show "Electric Playground," and Kids' WB animated series "Static Shock."

After "The District" ended in 2004, Thomas co-starred in writer/director Darren Aronofsky's science fiction/fantasy film starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, "The Fountain" (2006), and in John Sayles' musical drama film starring Danny Glover, "Honeydripper" (2007). He also returned to the stage to portray "Winston" in Athol Fugard's The Island at Contemporary Stage Company in Wilmington, Delaware.

On television, Thomas teamed up with Clancy Brown and William Mapother in the seven-part series "The Burrowers" (2007) and played George in the TV movie adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning 1959 play, "A Raisin in the Sun" (with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, and Sanaa Lathan), which debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast by ABC on February 25, 2008. He will soon complete his upcoming film project, the big screen version of "The Burrowers."

“I'm always playing the nice guy in most of the projects that I do. As an actor, I needed to do something where I didn't have pressure to be likeable.” Sean Patrick Thomas.

Awards:

• MTV Movie: Best Kiss, "Save the Last Dance," 2001 (shared with Julia Stiles)

• MTV Movie: Breakthrough Male Performance, "Save the Last Dance," 2001

• Young Hollywood: Standout Performance - Male, "Save the Last Dance," 2001