Hm, most of the time he is credited Shiek instead of Sheik, but as long as the Internet Movie Database acknowledges him as either, I'll think of him as Sheik.

Sheik was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. He says he was military brat so his father was probably in the army (unsubstantiated at this point). Growing up he started boxing and kept at it. He planned on making a career out of it and became a NYC Golden Gloves Quarter Finalist. His acting career began in a small company maintained by his boxing trainer, Adolph Caesar.

Sheik joined the National Black Theatre of Harlem and the Improvisation Theatre Company, where he appeared in "Family Linen," "Mind, Body and Soul" and "My Africa", the last written by himself. At the suggestion of Morgan Freeman, Sheik decided to learn all he could from the business, and he enrolled at NYU, taking classes in writing, cinematography and film production.

Sheik's film debut was "See No Evil, Hear No Evil", in which also the two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey appeared. He has later been seen in "Bonfire Of Vanities", "Kiss Of Death" and "Night Falls On Manhattan", where he portrayed a vicious drug dealer.

From his experiences of portraying a bad guy in films he says he got a good perspective into his Profiler character, Marcus Payton. He was introduced as bad guy but developed into a genuinely likable member of the team. The character often brought light, humorous scenes into the series and co-star Julian McMahon acknowledges that. Sheik's own thoughts on his character: "Marcus has a love for the love and has no patience for dishonesty. He knows how to survive by depending on his own experience on the streets as a kid from the projects. I share some qualities with him in that we are both thinkers who calculate almost every move as if life were a chess game."

On the current state of his career Sheik remarks: "I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing. It took me a long time to know what I wanted, and I think it's a blessing when you have the opportunity to do something you want to do, that you love doing and are making a living doing. I'm in a good space in my life, so I'm really, really happy."

Sheik's athletic talents aren't limited to boxing alone: he holds a black belt in karate. He enjoys working on new projects for his production company, Isamar Entertainment.

Photo:
Small Vices press shot