Keith Powell
| Keith Powell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2002-present |
Keith Powell[1] is an American television actor, writer, and director who is known for his role as James "Toofer" Spurlock on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, and for creating and starring in the web series Keith Broke His Leg.
Career
Powell was the Producing Artistic Director of Contemporary Stage Company, a summer theater in Wilmington, Delaware. He has produced/starred in/directed shows with Lynn Redgrave, Jasmine Guy, Keith David, Richard Easton, Duncan Sheik, and Sean Patrick Thomas. Producing credits include New York productions of The Mouse That Roared, Enter Pissarro, Indra & Agni Collide and a workshop of Kidding Jane with Ellen McLaughlin and William Charles Mitchell. Powell was the resident director for Equalogy, a professional touring company promoting social change, for which he directed two plays by August Schulenberg, Four Hearts Changing and One Night. His other directing credits include Dutchman, Quality of Silence, The Visit and Enter Pissarro. As an actor, Powell has appeared in numerous national network commercials. His theatre credits include Romeo & Juliet (The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C. ), Kidding Jane (Portland Stage Company), Macbeth (Pittsburgh Public Theater), As Bees in Honey Drown (Hangar Theater, Ithaca, New York), and The French (HB Playwrights Foundation, NYC) among others.[1]
In the spring of 2007, while working as a recurring character on 30 Rock, he shot an ABC pilot called Judy's Got A Gun. It was subsequently not picked up for the Fall 2007 season, and Powell returned to 30 Rock, where he was promoted to a series regular.
In October 2008, Powell launched and starred in a self-funded web series called Keith Powell Directs a Play chronicling Powell’s foray into directing Uncle Vanya at a fictional repertory theatre group.[2]
In 2009, Powell was a guest commentator on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s, and also played a Tuskegee Airman in the movie Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
In 2014, Powell began a recurring role on the television series About a Boy as Richard, Will's workaholic friend/accountant/business manager.[3]
Powell recurred on the final season of The Newsroom. He also appeared in the feature film My Name Is David.
In 2015, he created, wrote, directed, and starred in the web series Keith Broke His Leg.
In 2016 Powell appeared as a middle school talent show instructor in a music video for the Jukebox the Ghost song "Hollywood"
Biography
Powell was born in West Philadelphia and later moved to California.[4] Powell graduated from St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts[5] in 2001.
In July 2012, Keith proposed to his girlfriend of three years, visual artist Jill Knox.[6] They married in October 2013.[7] Before they were married the pair were featured buying a fixer upper to move into together on the HGTV series House Hunters
Powell splits his time between New York City and Los Angeles.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Dog Eat Dog | Raleigh Fitzsimmons | short |
| 2003 | Law and Order: Criminal Intent | Gregg Monroe | 1 episode |
| 2004 | Jargon | Our Hero | short |
| 2005 | Law & Order | Mike | 1 episode |
| 2006-2013 | 30 Rock | Toofer | 80 episodes |
| 2007 | Judy's Got a Gun | Brad Wilkes | TV movie |
| 2008 | Last Comic Standing | Talent Scout | 1 episode |
| Best Week Ever | Himself | 1 episode | |
| I Love the New Millennium | Himself | 8 episodes | |
| 2009 | Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian | Tuskegee Airman #1 | |
| Black to the Future | Himself | ||
| The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet | Himself | 1 episode | |
| Armless | Hotel Receptionist | ||
| Reno 911! | Innocent Black Man | 1 episode | |
| 2012 | House Hunters | Himself[8] | |
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Robert Pierce | 1 episode | |
| 2013 | Syrup | Cameron | |
| 2014 | About a Boy | Richard | 6 episodes |
| The Newsroom | Wyatt Geary | 2 episodes | |
| 2015 | My Name Is David | David | |
| Keith Broke His Leg | Himself | 10 episodes | |
| 2016 | Deadbeat | Lonathan | 1 episode |
References
- 1 2 Jones, Kenneth (29 March 2005). "Wilmington's Contemporary Stage Lures Richard Easton and Keith David, for Restoring the Sun and Harlem-Set Fourposter". Playbill.
- ↑ Stidham, Lindsay (2008-10-08). "30 Rock’s Keith Powell ‘Directs a Play’… For Real!". Tubefilter News. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ↑ Gelman, Vlada (March 3, 2014). "TVLine Items: Justified Fave Joins CBS Drama, Orphan Black's Latest Killer Promo and More". TVLine.
- ↑ Virtel, Louis (December 2, 2010). "Keith Powell on the 30 Rock Writers Room, Tina Fey's Rise to Fame and the Science of Cheers" (interview). MovieLine.
- ↑ Reinhardt, Ciarán; Cummins, Ian (August 4, 2010). "Keith Powell Interview" (interview). Pop Culture Monster.
- ↑ Eggenberger, Nicole. "30 Rock's Keith Powell Is Engaged to Jill Knox". Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ↑ Oliveira, Denise (October 18, 2013). "A Shy and Logical Guy Finds His Open and Wild Match". The New York Times.
- ↑ "New Coast, New House, New Kitchen". House Hunters. Season 1. Episode 10. HGTV. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
External links
- Official Keith Powell website
- Keith Powell at the Internet Movie Database
- A Chat with Keith Powell of 30 Rock
- Interview with Keith Powell
- Duncan Sheik Will Conjure Ghosts in New Musical, an article including Powell
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