Rucker was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Malaya (née Ray) and Eric Rucker.[1][2] He has partial ancestry from Barbados.[3][4] Rucker spent his formative years in the greater Washington, DC, Maryland area. He developed an interest in acting after he was placed in several child pageants. His first acting role was a portrayal of Martin Luther King in the 4th grade. He joined the drama club in 7th grade and attended high school at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. Rucker then studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and Duquesne University.[5]
Career
Rucker has appeared in a number of short films and television movies. His first major acting role came in 2002 when he assumed the role of attorney T. Marshall Travers on the CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns opposite Tamara Tunie. He left the series the following year and portrayed Garret Williams on ABC soap opera All My Children in 2005. During this time, he also had recurring roles on the UPN sitcoms All of Us and Half & Half.
In 2015, Rucker was cast as one of the leads in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf. For five seasons, he played Jacob Greenleaf, the only son of Bishop James Greenleaf (Keith David) and his wife, First Lady Daisy Mae Greenleaf (Lynn Whitfield).[8][9]
On August 29, 2019, he shared personal life experiences that he credits for his success with the Hampton University football team.[10]
