American film, television and stage actor Hill Harper has been exposed to countless forms of media. He was born on May 17, 1966 in Iowa City, Iowa to a psychiatrist and a practicing anesthesiologist. Harper began acting at the age of seven, and soon made his way to graduate as magna !$#!# laude at Brown University. He was also able to garner a J.D. from Harvard Law School, as well as a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. This determined actor didn’t give up on his stage work, joining Boston’s Black Folks Theater Company while studying.
In 1993, Hill Harper was able to debut on both film and television. He was given a recurring role on the series Married…with Children, as well as breaking through the film industry in Confessions of a Dog. In 1996, he earned his first substantial role, playing the character Xavier on Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus. He soon found himself appearing on more shows like ER, The Dave Chappelle Project and Cosby. Harper continued to demonstrate his flexibility in acting by accepting roles on He Got Game in 1998, as well as Christopher Scott Cherot’s Hav Plenty in 1997. Harper rose to fame in both mainstream and the independent film circuits. He starred in Beloved, and the indie comedy Loving Jezebel. In 2000, he was given a role in The Skulls, entering into the realm of teen horror flicks. He also earned acclaim for his performance in The Visit and became even more known for playing Sheldon Hawkes on the TV series CSI: NY. Harper portrayed the Chief Medical Examiner who was comfortable with the idea of death. Some of Harper’s other credits include The Handler, City of Angels, The Sopranos, American Brown, NYPD Blue and Soul Food. Harper is also known to be the author of two books, which are Letters to a Young Brother published in 2006, and Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny, in 2008. Harper also took on the film This is Not a Test with fellow CSI:NY star, Eddie Cahill.