Rockmond Dunbar is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Baines on the NBC series Earth 2, Kenny Chadway on Showtime family drama Soul Food, and Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin on the Fox crime drama Prison Break. He also played Sheriff Eli Roosevelt on the FX Drama series Sons of Anarchy, FBI Agent Dennis Abbott on The Mentalist, FBI Agent Abe Gaines in the Hulu series The Path, and Michael Grant on 9-1-1 (2018-).
Early life and education
Dunbar was born in Oakland, California. He attended Oakland Technical High School and graduated from Morehouse College before moving on to study at the College of Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico.
Career
Television
Dunbar is known for his leading role as Kenny Chadway on the television series Soul Food, and TV Guide named him as one of “Television’s 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time”. He landed a regular role as Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin on the television series Prison Break. In 2007, Dunbar starred on the short-lived TNT medical drama Heartland. He made a guest appearance on Noah’s Arc as himself to give Noah (screenwriter and the main character of the show) some ideas about his movie Fine Art. He also had a recurring role on the UPN series Girlfriends, and is also known for his role as “Pookie” on the television series The Game. He was also a regular on the short-lived FX series Terriers.
Dunbar’s other TV credits include guest appearances in Earth 2, Felicity, The Pretender, Two Guys and a Girl, and North Shore.
In 2011, he joined the cast of FX’s show Sons of Anarchy as the new Sheriff of Charming, Eli Roosevelt. In 2013, Dunbar joined the CBS crime drama The Mentalist as FBI agent Dennis Abbott. In 2018, Dunbar joined the cast of 9-1-1 as Michael Grant.
Film
His film projects include Punks (which debuted at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival), Misery Loves Company, Sick Puppies, Whodunit, Dirty Laundry, All About You, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and the Tyler Perry-produced film, The Family That Preys.
Other
Rockman dunbar has contributed to the art world through the mixed media exhibit, ARTHERAPY. He posed for the November 2003 issue of Playgirl magazine.
Personal life
According to DNA analysis, Dunbar’s ancestry is mainly from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. On his visit to Nigeria, he was given the Yoruba name, Omobowale (a variant form of Omowale) meaning “our son has come home”.
He was married to Ivy Holmes from 2003 to 2006. After dating for less than a year, Dunbar became engaged to his girlfriend Maya Gilbert, an actress and writer. The couple’s engagement took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica on December 30, 2012.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993 | Misery Loves Company | Eric Haynes | Independent film |
1994–1995 | Earth 2 | Baines | TV series |
1997 | The Good News | Bonz | TV series |
1998 | The Wayans Bros. | Barry | TV series |
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place | Tommy | TV series | |
1999 | Pacific Blue | Tiger Bates | TV series |
The Practice | Byron Little | TV series | |
The Pretender | Joe Taylor | TV series | |
Felicity | Man on Train | TV series | |
2000 | Punks | Darby | Independent film |
G vs E | Sonny Rhymes | TV series | |
2000–2004 | Soul Food | Kenny Chadway | TV series |
2001 | All About You | Tim | |
2003–2004 | Girlfriends | Jalen | TV series |
2004 | Hollywood Division | Det. Reginald Feiffer | TV movie |
North Shore | Agent Fernley | TV series | |
2005 | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang | Mr. Fire | |
Head Cases | Dr. Robinson | TV series | |
2005–2007, 2009, 2017 |
Prison Break | Benjamin Miles “C-Note” Franklin | TV series |
2006 | Dirty Laundry | Patrick/Sheldon | |
2007 | Heartland | Dr. Thomas Jonas | TV series |
Shark | Teddy Banks | TV series | |
Grey’s Anatomy | Sean Brotherton | TV series | |
CSI: Miami | James Reilly | TV series | |
2008 | The Family That Preys | Chris | |
Jada | Simon | Independent film | |
Alien Raiders | Kane | Independent film | |
2009 | Pastor Brown | Amir Rahiem | TV film (also director) |
2009, 2012–2013 | The Game | Pookie from Richmond | TV series |
2010 | Terriers | Det. Mark Gustafson | TV series |
Private Practice | Jacob Deever | TV series | |
2012 | Raising Izzie | Greg | TV movie |
2011–2013 | Sons of Anarchy | Sheriff Eli Roosevelt | TV series |
2012–2013 | For Richer or Poorer | Aubrey | TV series |
2013–2015 | The Mentalist | FBI Agent Dennis Abbott | TV series |
2014 | Curve Ball | James | Independent film |
2016–2017 | The Path | Detective Abe Gaines | TV series |
2017 | Scorpion | Scotty | TV series |
2018 – present | 9-1-1 | Michael Grant | TV series |
2018 | City of Lies | Dreadlocks | Film |