Carl Lumbly

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Carl Lumbly
Lumbly in his senior year of high school
Born	Carl Winston Lumbly (1951-08-14) August 14, 1951 (age 70) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	South High School Macalester College
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse(s)	Vonetta McGee ​ ​ (m. 1987; died 2010)​ Deborah Santana ​ ​ (m. 2015; div. 2019)​ [1]
Children	1

Carl Winston Lumbly (born August 14, 1951)^[2] is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dick Hallorann in Doctor Sleep, NYPD detective Marcus Petrie on the CBS police drama Cagney & Lacey, CIA agent Marcus Dixon on the ABC espionage drama series Alias, and as the voice of J'onn J'onnz / Martian Manhunter in the animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, as well as the direct-to-DVD animated film Justice League: Doom and the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us.^[3] Lumbly is also known for his roles on The CW's Arrowverse as J'onn J'onnz's father, M'yrnn, on Supergirl from 2017 until 2019, and on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Isaiah Bradley in 2021.

Early life and background[]

Lumbly was born to Jamaican immigrants in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from South High School there and Macalester College in nearby St. Paul.

Lumbly's first career was as a journalist in Minnesota. While on assignment for a story about a workshop theatre, he was cast as an actor. He stayed with the improvisational company for two years and later moved to San Francisco where he discovered a newspaper ad seeking “two black actors for South African political plays.” He went to the audition and landed one of the parts (along with then-unknown Danny Glover). Lumbly toured with Glover in productions of Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi is Dead and The Island.^[4]

Career[]

His first major role was Detective Marcus Petrie on the television series Cagney & Lacey (1982–1988), where his character was paired with Detective Victor Isbecki (Martin Kove). In 1985, he appeared as Theseus in The Gospel At Colonus, an African-American musical iteration of the Oedipus legend on PBS' Great Performances series.

In 1987, he garnered positive reviews for his portrayal of Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale in the HBO television film Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8. From 1989 to 1990, he portrayed ongoing character Earl Williams (named for the prisoner in Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's story The Front Page), a teacher falsely accused of the rape/murder of a female student, in the hit TV series L.A. Law.

In 1990, he co-starred in Charles Burnett's critically acclaimed film To Sleep with Anger. From 1994 to 1995, Lumbly starred as the main character in the short-lived science fiction series M.A.N.T.I.S.. One of his most visible roles was as Marcus Dixon in the American television series Alias (2001–2006).

Other prominent roles include providing the voice for the Martian Manhunter in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, which is why he was cast as the father of the same character in 2017 for the TV show Supergirl. In Superman: The Animated Series, Lumbly voiced the mayor of Metropolis in the episode "Speed Demons" in 1997, and an alien military general in the episode "Absolute Power" in 1999. He voiced the villain Stalker on Batman Beyond.

In 2000, Lumbly portrayed activist and Congressman Ron Dellums in the Disney Channel original film The Color of Friendship. Although the film was focused on Dellums' daughter's friendship with a white South African girl, the film also discussed Dellums' role in ending apartheid in South Africa.

Also in 2000, Lumbly guest starred in the season one The West Wing episode "Six Meetings Before Lunch" as Jeff Breckenridge, a nominee for U.S. Assistant Attorney General who supports reparations for slavery. Lumbly appeared as Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek in the 2004 television series Battlestar Galactica. He also plays a role in the Kane's Wrath expansion pack for the video game Command and Conquer 3. More recently, he played police captain Joe Rucker on TNT's Southland.

In 2017, Lumbly had some guest spots on Supergirl as the Martian Manhunter's father M'yrnn J'onzz.

In 2021, Lumbly guest starred in several episodes of the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Isaiah Bradley, which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Personal life[]

Lumbly has been married twice and has one son. He was married to actress Vonetta McGee from 1987 until her death in 2010. Together they had one son, born in 1988. Lumbly married author Deborah Santana in 2015 and the couple divorced in 2019.^[1]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Television[]

Theatre[]

• 1980 Eden
• 1997 Macbeth
• 2013 The Motherfucker with the Hat
• 2013 Storefront Church
• 2015 Let There Be Love
• 2015 Between Riverside and Crazy
• 2016 Red Velvet

Video games[]

Awards and nominations[]

• 1980: Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Lead Performance - Eden^[9]

References[]

External links[]

• Carl Lumbly at IMDb