The Practice Guy

Background:

Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award nominated actor Steve Harris garnered rave reviews for his portrayal of Judge Eugene Young, the second highest-ranking partner at a Boston law firm and later senior partner, on ABC’s legal drama TV series "The Practice" (1997-2004).

Initially planning on becoming a professional football player until an injury ended his dream, the Chicago native has appeared in such films as "Sugar Hill" (1994), "The Rock" (1996), "The Mod Squad" (1999), "The Skulls" (2000), "Beyond the City Limits" (2001), "Minority Report" (2002), "Bringing Down the House" (2003), "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" (2005), "The Unseen" (2005), and "Ball Don't Lie" (2008). He will next costar in the upcoming films "Quarantine," "12 Rounds," and "Bone Deep."

The multi-talented actor was seen on television playing recurring roles in "Law & Order," "New York Undercover," and "Eli Stone," and costarred in "Heist" (as James Johnson; 2006). He also voiced Detective Ethan Bennett/Clayface (2004-2006) in "The Batman” and has appeared in the TV series "Homicide: Life on the Street," "Murder One," "Chicago Hope," "Ally McBeal," and "Grey's Anatomy."

The 6' actor was one of People Magazine's “Sexiest Men Alive” (2006) and "50 Most Eligible Bachelors” (2002). He was a 2004 Celebrity spokesperson for the Big Brother, Big Sister Organization of America.

Busta, Smooth

Childhood and Family:

“My mother is wonderful. My mother and father helped raise me. I give them credit for whatever the best part of me and then the rest, I did on my own.” Steve Harris

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 3, 1965, Steve J. Harris was raised in Westchester, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Son of John Harris, a bus driver who also worked nights at a racetrack (died in 1999), and Mattie Harris, a housewife, Steve has a younger brother named Wood Harris (born Sherwin David Harris on October 17, 1969), who is also an actor.

Steve played running back at St. Joseph High in Westchester, Illinois, a private school known for developing star athletes such as basketball star Isiah Thomas and was featured in the documentary “Hoop Dreams” (1994). He then played linebacker at Northern Illinois University, in De Kalb, Illinois, where he also studied drama and earned a B.A. degree in theatre arts in 1989. Steve, whose favorite pig-out food is his mom’s caramel cake, received the college nicknames “Busta” and “Smooth.”

Following a torn ankle ligament that ended his football career, Steve completed his studies and earned a Master's of Fine Arts degree in theater from the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

Career:

After his dreams of playing professional football was curtailed by an injury, Chicago-born Steve Harris appeared in writer/director Meir Zarchi's movie "Don't Mess with My Sister" (1985) and as a van driver in Beau Bridges' dramatic film "Seven Hours to Judgment" (1988).

In the early 1990s, after guest starring in a January 1993 episode of NBC's drama series "Homicide: Life on the Street," Harris landed recurring roles on NBC's popular series "Law & Order" and Fox's police drama "New York Undercover" (1994 to 1995). He also appeared in the miniseries based on the novel by John Jakes, "Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III" (1994), and in the HBO thriller about the Attica prison uprising, John Frankenheimer's "Against the Wall" (1994). He then guest starred in an episode of ABC’s series "Murder One” and was cast in the films "Sugar Hill" (1994), a drama starring Wesley Snipes and Michael Wright, and "The Rock" (1996), Michael Bay's Academy Award nominated action film starring Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris.

From 1997 to 2004, Harris played his most prominent role to date, that of Judge Eugene Young on ABC’s TV series "The Practice." His performance in the show won an Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2004 and two Q Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series in 1989 and 1999. He was also nominated for an Emmy in 1999 and 2000, both for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and a Screen Actors Guild Award three times, in 1999, 2000, and 2001, all for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

During his "Practice" tenure, Harris continued acting in films and was seen in William DeVizia's drama "Lesser Prophets" (1997; with Michael Badalucco, Zachary Badalucco, and Amy Brenneman), Mark Freed's drama "Lovers and Liars" (1998; alongside Michael York, David Faustino, and Chris Conrad), Scott Silver's "The Mod Squad" (1999; with Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi, Omar Epps, Dennis Farina, and Josh Brolin), and Rob Cohen's teen thriller "The Skulls" (2000; alongside Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Hill Harper, and Leslie Bibb). He also costarred in the films "Beyond the City Limits" (2001; opposite Jennifer Esposito and Alyson Hannigan), "Minority Report" (2002), Steven Spielberg's science fiction film loosely adapted from the initial storyline of the Philip K. Dick short story, "Bringing Down the House" (2003), Adam Shankman's comedy starring Queen Latifah and Steve Martin, and "Death and Texas" (2004), which was written and directed by Kevin DiNovis. TV viewers could catch him in the book-based TV movies "George Wallace" (1997; TNT; with Gary Sinise, Mare Winningham, and Angelina Jolie), "Nightmare Street" (1998; alongside Sherilyn Fenn and Rena Sofer), and "King of the World" (2000; opposite Terrence Howard). He was also spotted as a guest in an episode of the Emmy Award winning CBS medical drama series "Chicago Hope," Fox’s comedy starring Calista Flockhart, "Ally McBeal," and Nickelodeon's animated television series "The Wild Thornberrys."

Following the demise of "The Practice," Harris began providing the voices of Detective Ethan Bennett/Clayface (2004-2006) on the Kids' WB Emmy Award winning animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero, "The Batman." He then costarred as James Johnson on the short-lived NBC series "Heist" (2006), alongside Dougray Scott and Michele Hicks.

Meanwhile, Harris received a Black Movie Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role of Charles, the rich husband to Kimberly Elise's Helen, in the feature adaption of "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" (2005), which was based on a play of the same name written by Tyler Perry who also costars in the film. That same year, he also starred in Lisa France's interracial relationship drama film "The Unseen" and appeared in the music video "Testify" for rapper Common. Additionally, he appeared as a guest in an episode of Playhouse Disney's cartoon series "Higglytown Heroes" (voice) and ABC's primetime television medical drama "Grey's Anatomy."

Harris recently costarred with Dean Cain and Eric Balfour in an unsold TV series pilot called "Protect and Serve" (2007) and had the recurring role of Jayson Turk (2008) on ABC’s series starring Jonny Lee Miller, "Eli Stone." On the big screen, he teamed up with Rosanna Arquette, Nick Cannon, and Emilie de Ravin in Brin Hill's dramatic film "Ball Don't Lie," an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Matt de la Peña that premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and is set to arrive in theaters in early 2009.

Next, Harris starred opposite Jennifer Carpenter in John Erick Dowdle's horror movie "Quarantine," a remake of the Spanish horror film "REC" that was released on October 10, 2008, by Screen Gems Pictures.

Harris is currently working on the upcoming film project "12 Rounds," an action film that will be directed by Renny Harlin and produced by WWE Studios, and "Bone Deep," a drama helmed by John Luessenhop in which he shares the screen with Hayden Christensen, Paul Walker, Zoe Saldana, and Matt Dillon. He also just completed a new TV movie called "Good Behavior," an American adaptation of the New Zealand series "Outrageous Fortune.” In the movie, he is featured alongside DJ Qualls, Mae Whitman, Gary Cole, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Tambor, and Treat Williams.

Awards:

• Image: Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, "The Practice," 2004

• Q: Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series, "The Practice," 1999

• Q: Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series, "The Practice," 1998