Darrin Henson

Darrin Henson
Darrin Henson
	Henson at the Valder Beebe Show in 2019
Born	Darrin Dewitt Henson; May 5, 1972 (age 52); The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Choreographer; dancer; actor; director; producer;
Years active	1990–present
Children	4

Darrin Dewitt Henson (born May 5, 1972) is an American choreographer, dancer, actor, and producer. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music 1980s group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".^[2] He worked as a choreographer for various artists and received the 2000 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography for "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC.

Henson made his acting debut starring as Lem Van Adams in the Showtime drama series, Soul Food (2000–2004), for which he received two NAACP Image Awards nominations. He later appeared in films The Salon (2005), Stomp the Yard (2007), The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008), Tekken (2009), Black Coffee (2014), and Chocolate City (2015). In 2018 he began starring as Orlando Duncan in the BET+ crime drama series, The Family Business.

Life and career

Henson was born in The Bronx, New York. He attended Prep for Prep, a non-profit organization whose vision is to prepare New York City's top minority students for success in education and in life. Hensen was a brief member of freestyle music 1980s group Trilogy and was featured on their single "Good Time".^[2] He has choreographed music videos and concerts for such popular music artists as New Kids on the Block, Jordan Knight, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Hi-Five, 98 Degrees, NSYNC and The Spice Girls. He is the winner of the 2000 MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography for "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC.^[3] Henson is also known for his instructional dance video Darrin's Dance Grooves (which was heavily marketed in 2001 and 2002),^[1]

As an actor, Henson made his Broadway debut appearing in Ron Link's playStand-up Tragedy in 1990,^[4] and later performed in off-Broadway of David E. Talbert's play Fabric of a Man. He made his television debut appearing as a dancer in the 1999 made-for-television drama film Double Platinum starring Diana Ross and Brandy. In 2000 he was cast as Lem Van Adams, one of leading characters in the Showtime drama series, Soul Food, the longest-running drama at that time with a predominantly African-American cast in television history. Henson was twice nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, in 2004 and 2005, for his portrayal as the struggling young husband and father in this series. The series ended in 2004.^[3]

After Soul Food, Henson moved to film, starring alongside Vivica A. Fox in the 2005 comedy-drama The Salon.^[5] In 2007 he appeared opposite Queen Latifah in the drama film Life Support, which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and starred in the dance drama Stomp the Yard. The film received mixed reviews from critics but grossed $75 million worldwide.^[6] In 2008, Henson played football player Jim Brown in the sports film, The Express: The Ernie Davis Story. In 2009 he starred in the science fiction box-office bomb Tekken.^[7] Henson later co-starred in films Blood Done Sign My Name (2010), The Inheritance (2011), and The Last Fall (2012). In 2011, Henson starred in the Gospel Music Channel's debut of John Ruffin's stage play The Ideal Husband, which also stars Jackée Harry, Ginuwine, Clifton Powell, Shirley Murdock, Shanti Lowry and Erica Hubbard.^[8] He later guest-starred in Single Ladies and Being Mary Jane.

In 2014, Henson played the leading role in the romantic comedy film, Black Coffee.^[9] In 2015 he starred in the comedy-drama film Chocolate City.^[10] He later reprised his role in its sequels, Chocolate City: Vegas Strip (2017) and Chocolate City 3: Live Tour (2021). He also appeared in other films in later years, notable South African romantic comedy Zulu Wedding (2019), for which he received nomination for an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 16th Africa Movie Academy Awards.^[11] In 2018, Henson began starring in the BET crime drama series, The Family Business playing the role of Orlando Duncan. He was also interviewed by director Maria Soccor for the documentary Freestyle Music: The Legacy in 2022.^[12]^[13]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Longshot	Male Flight Attendant
2005	The Salon	Michael
2005	The Fabric of a Man	Joshua King
2006	The Last Stand	TD
2007	Stomp the Yard	Grant
2007	April Fools	Detective Ward
2008	The Hustle	Brother Efrom
	A Good Man Is Hard to Find	Clarence
	The Express: The Ernie Davis Story	Jim Brown
2009	Tekken	Raven
2010	Blood Done Sign My Name	Eddie McCoy
2010	Kiss the Bride	Thomas
2011	The Inheritance	Tyrone
2012	The Marriage Chronicles	David Jones
	The Last Fall	Rell Lee
	The Great Divide	Randy
2013	The Hotel	Devin	Short film
	Four of Hearts	Derrick	Also producer
	The Last Letter	Doctor Jacobs
	Frat Brothers	Quincy Cooper	Also executive producer
2014	Black Coffee	Robert
2014	After	Andy
2015	Ex-Free	Robert
	Chocolate City	Magnus
	What Love Will Make You Do	Trey Boston	Also producer
	A Christmas to Remember	Michael
	Sons 2 the Grave	Detective David Reynolds
2016	Silent Cry Aloud	Lemar
	Pee-Wee's Big Holiday	Police Officer
	Bad Girl	Pastor Charles Robinson
2017	Zulu Wedding	Tex Wilson	Nominated — Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
	Chocolate City: Vegas Strip	Magnus
	Candid	-	Short
2018	The Products of the American Ghetto	Easy	Also executive producer
	The Choir Director	Aaron Mackie
	Nothing Like Thanksgiving	Kenneth Swain	Also executive producer
	Intensive Care	Jeremiah
	It's a Date	Wesley Franks
	Kinky	Bradley
2019	The Last Astronaut	General James Rex	Nominated — WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Submission	Cowboy
	Staged Killer	Trent
2020	Happiness
2022	Sons 2 the Grave	Detective David Reynolds
2022	Chocolate City 3: Live Tour	Magnus
2023	Forbidden Daughter	Shannon
2023	Till Death Do Us	Pastor Marcus
2024	Spawns	Ian Banks
2024	Bid for Love 2	Mr. Neely

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Double Platinum	Dancer	TV movie
2000–04	Soul Food	Lem Van Adams	Main cast
2007	Life Support	MJ2	TV movie
2007–08	Lincoln Heights	Ruben	Recurring cast: season 2-3
2010	Gillian in Georgia	Terrance	Recurring cast
2011	Single Ladies	Blake	Episode: "Cry Me a River" & "Indecent Proposal"
2011	Champion Road the Series	Benjamin	TV mini series
2011	The Ideal Husband	Devin	TV movie
2011	Milk & Honey	Damon	Episode: "Pilot"
2013	In the Meantime	Kwame	TV movie
2014	Being Mary Jane	-	Episode: "The Huxtables Have Fallen"
2017	Vivica's Black Magic	Choreographer/Self	TV series
2018	The Avengers of Extreme Illusions	General James Rex	Episode: "The Last Astronaut"
2018–present	The Family Business	Orlando Duncan	Main cast
2020	Steppin' Back to Love	Derrick	TV movie
2020–2024	Double Cross	Detective Ryan	Main cast, also producer
2022	I Got a Story to Tell	Detective Carlson	Episode: "I'm So Fatefull"

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Production	Result
2000	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Choreography	"Bye Bye Bye" (by NSYNC)	Winner
2004	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Soul Food	Nomination
2005	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Soul Food	Nomination
2019/20	High Maintenance Award	Author of the Year	Book: Pregnant With Thought	Winner