Chi McBride was born September 23, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, where he also grew up. He was raised in the Seventh-day Adventist church, though he wasn't an active churchgoer. He graduated high school at the age of 16, and later on became a telephone operator with MCI. He originally planned to pursue a musical career but after his success with the blues band Covert, he considered acting as well. He was cast for In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and featured in the TV-movie Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation. In 1998, he made his first blockbuster premiere Mercury Rising alongside Bruce Willis. After several blockbuster hits, he was cast for the role of Steven Harper on the hit series Boston Public. Other notable television appearances are on The John Larroquette Show, House, The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, Killer Instinct, and The Nine. His film appearances are in Gone in Sixty Seconds, The Frighteners, Narc, The Terminal, I, Robot, Roll Bounce, Annapolis, and Let's Go To Prison.

Emerson Cod is played by Chi McBride on the television series Pushing Daisies. Emerson was a former cop who is now Ned's business partner. While chasing down a criminal, Emerson witnessed Ned bringing a person back to life and then killing them with his touch, leading him to strike up a business deal with Ned. If they can bring back murder victims from the dead and find out who killed them, then the two of them can reap the reward.


(Photo courtesy of ABC)