| Biography: Eriq La Salle |
| ERIQ LASALLE: Dr. Peter Benton Two days into the filming of "ER" the producers had not yet cast the regular role of the self-assured Dr. Benton. Eriq La Salle seized the moment. "I was surprisingly calm," says La Salle. "When casting waits that long, they're basically waiting for someone to come in and take the role. I was ready and completely focused. I came into the office with a stethoscope and surgical greens I had left over from ‘The Human Factor' (a previous medical series in which he played a doctor). When I left, I wanted them to say, ‘That's Dr. Benton.'" Three days later, La Salle suited up again-this time on the set as Peter Benton, a role which earned him the 1999 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, as well as three Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. La Salle was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, one of four children. He remembers how, in the third grade, his usually boisterous classmates were transfixed while they watched his cousin perform a dance. At that moment La Salle decided, "There was something about that experience I wanted to know more about." In 1984, after studying for two years at Juilliard, he received a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater arts from New York University. Just before his graduation, he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare-in-the-Park theater company. Weeks later he landed his first feature film role in a low-budget Italian movie shot in Florida. He soon found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama "One Life to Live" as reporter Mike Rivers. In 1991, La Salle moved to Los Angeles to co-star (with John Mahoney of NBC's "Frasier") in the drama series "The Human Factor." He piled up television credits by guest-starring on NBC's "L.A. Law," "Quantum Leap" and "A Different World," as well as in cable's "Vietnam War Stories." Among his television movie credits are "Empty Cradle," "Circumstantial Evidence," "What Price Victory?" and "Leg Work." His feature films include "Coming to America," "Five Corners," "Jacob's Ladder," "The Color of Night" and "D.R.O.P. Squad." On stage he appeared in "Two Trains Running" at the Goodman Theatre. La Salle is also making his mark in Hollywood as a director of film and television projects. He wrote and directed "Psalms from the Underground," a 35-minute short film in which he also starred. He also directed the critically acclaimed HBO movie "Rebound," a story about legendary athlete Earl Manigault, whose drug addiction destroyed his promising basketball career. La Salle has written, directed and produced two short films that won awards at the Worldfest Houston film competition and the USA Film Festival. Recently, La Salle co-produced the television movie "Mind Prey," in which he starred as Lucas Davenport, the policeman made famous in a series of mystery novels by John Sandford. In his free time, La Salle enjoys shooting pool and working out (he used to compete in martial arts). His birthday is July 23. |
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