Ruben Santiago-Hudson

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Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Tribeca Film Festival
Born
Ruben Santiago Jr.

(1956-11-24) November 24, 1956 (age 67)
, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • playwright
  • director
Years active1988–present
SpouseJeannie Brittan
Children4

Ruben Santiago-Hudson (born Ruben Santiago Jr., November 24, 1956) is an American actor, playwright, and director who has won national awards for his work in all three categories. He is best known for his role of Captain Roy Montgomery from 2009 to 2011 on ABC's Castle. In November 2011, he appeared on Broadway in Lydia R. Diamond's play Stick Fly.[1][2] In 2013, he starred in the TV series Low Winter Sun, a police drama set in Detroit. In 2021, he was nominated for best adaptation by the Screen Writers Guild for the film version of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

Early life

Ruben Hudson was born in 1956 in

Buffalo State College and Wayne State University.[4]

Career

In 2003, he was the reader in Volume 13 of the

autobiographical play in which he portrayed himself and some twenty different characters from his past, which was produced in New York at the Joseph Papp Theatre in 2001.[5] He adapted it for a highly acclaimed, award-winning 2005 HBO film, in which the parts were played by different people.[6] It won the Humanitas Prize and earned Emmy and Writers Guild of America Award nominations.[7]

Santiago-Hudson appeared on Broadway in Jelly's Last Jam (1992), written by George C. Wolfe. He received the 1996 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in August Wilson's Seven Guitars.[8]

On television, he has appeared on the daytime soap operas

Nova documentary about the life of chemist Percy Lavon Julian
.

In 2013, Santiago-Hudson won the

Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Director,[9] an Obie Award for Direction,[10][11] and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play for his work in the Off-Broadway production of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson.[12]

In 2016, he won the Obie Awards Special Citation for Collaboration for his work on Skeleton Crew with Dominique Morisseau and the Atlantic Theater Company.[13]

Selected filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Coming to America Street Hustler Credited as Ruben Hudson
1994 Blown Away Officer Blanket
Bleeding Hearts Todd
1997 The Devil's Advocate Leamon Heath
2000 Shaft Detective Jimmy Groves
2001 Domestic Disturbance Sergeant Edgar Stevens
2002 Winning Girls Through Psychic Mind Control Samuel Menendez
2006 Brother's Shadow Manny Botero
2007 Mr. Brooks Detective Hawkins
Honeydripper Stokely
American Gangster 'Doc'
2009 The Invention of Lying Landlord
2014 Selma Bayard Rustin
2020 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Screenplay by

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990–1992
Dear John
Larry / Orlando / Curtis 6 episodes
1990–1993 Another World Billy Cooper Soap opera
1990–2008 Law & Order Mr. Gaines / Detective Brian Keene / Attorney Winters / Dr. Paul Jackson 6 episodes
1994 The Cosby Mysteries Police Officer Episode: "Expert Witness"
1994–1995 NYPD Blue Otis 2 episodes
1994–1996 New York Undercover Johnny / Walter Perry 2 episodes
1995
Solomon & Sheba
Tamrin TV film
1995 The Return of Hunter: Everyone Walks in L.A. Detective Stan Lewis TV film
1995–1996 Gargoyles Gabriel 3 episodes (voice)
1997 Spawn
Jess Chapel
Direct-to-video (voice)
1997–1998 Michael Hayes Eddie Diaz 21 episodes
1997–1999 Spawn Jess Chapel Voice
1998 Rear Window Antonio Fredericks TV film
1999 The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer Detective Newhouse TV film (credited as Ruben Santiago Hudson)
1999 Touched by an Angel Dr. Joe Acot Episode: "Such a Time as This"
1999 The West Wing Morris Tolliver Episode: "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc"
1999 Third Watch Detective Wolfort, NYPD Episode: "History of the World"
2000 American Tragedy Christopher Darden TV film
2002 The Red Sneakers Uncle Joe TV film (credited as Ruben Santiago Hudson)
2005 Lackawanna Blues Freddie Combs TV movie (also wrote the screenplay)
2005 Their Eyes Were Watching God Joe Starks TV film
2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Carlos Guzman Episode: "Name"
2009–2014 Castle Captain Roy Montgomery 59 episodes
2011 Person of Interest Sam Latimer Episode: "Mission Creep"
2013 Low Winter Sun Charles Dawson 10 episodes
2015 Public Morals Lieutenant King 10 episodes
2016 The Family Chief of Police Len Bucksey 3 episodes
2016–2019 Billions Raul Gomez 8 episodes
2017 Designated Survivor General Contreras Episode: "Commander-in-Chief"
2017 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Dr. Roland Pattillo TV film
2017–2018
The Quad
Cecil Diamond 18 episodes
2022 East New York Officer Marvin Sandeford

Honors

  • 1996, Tony Award for performance in Seven Guitars
  • 2006, Humanitas Award for writing, for HBO film adaptation of his play Lackawanna Blues.[14]
  • 2009, NAACP Lifetime Achievement Theatre Award at the Los Angeles NAACP Theatre Awards.[14] He played Mayor Joe Starks in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Personal life

Santiago-Hudson has four children: Broderick Santiago and Ruben Santiago III from previous relationships, and Trey and Lily from his marriage with Jeannie Brittan.[15]

When he came to New York in 1983, he was known as Ruben Santiago. He tried to get a part at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and was asked if he spoke Spanish, which he does not. When he wanted to work at the Negro Ensemble Company, "they laughed and said, 'We don't have Puerto Ricans.'" So he added his mother's name, Hudson, and eventually won a part in A Soldier's Play at the Ensemble Company.[16]

See also

  • List of famous Puerto Ricans
  • List of Puerto Ricans of African descent

References

  1. ^ "All that you wanted to know about the Broadway production 'Stick Fly'". StickFlyBroadway.com. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  2. ^ Hetrick, Adam (September 7, 2011). "Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Dulé Hill and Tracie Thoms to Star in Stick Fly on Broadway". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "Ruben Santiago-Hudson profile, FilmReference.com; accessed October 14, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Ruben Santiago-Hudson profile, DanaRoc.com; accessed April 19, 2016.
  5. ^ Gordon, Eric A. (March 15, 2019). "'Lackawanna Blues' a theatrical triumph for Ruben Santiago-Hudson". www.peoplesworld.org. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  6. ^ "The Many Lives of 'Lackawanna Blues'". centertheatregroup.org. February 25, 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Ruben Santiago-Hudson". sdcfoundation.org. Stage Directors and Choreographers Workshop Foundation. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  8. ^ Gerard, Jeremy (June 2, 2017). "Tony Watch: Ruben Santiago-Hudson On His August Wilson Passion Project, 'Jitney'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  9. ^ Healy, Patrick (2013-05-05). "'Piano Lesson' and 'The Whale' Win Lortel Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-06.
  10. ^ Gans, Andrew (2013-05-20). "Detroit, Grimly Handsome, Eisa Davis, John Rando, Shuler Hensley and More Are Obie Winners". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  11. ^ Healy, Patrick (2013-05-20). "Obie Awards Honor 'Detroit' and 'Grimly Handsome'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
  12. ^ Hetrick, Adam (2013-05-19). "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, Pippin, Matilda, Vanya and Sonia Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2013-05-20.
  13. ^ Village Voice Staff, "The Complete List of 2016 Obie Award Honorees", The Village Voice, May 24th, 2016.
  14. ^ a b ABC's Castle "Ruben Santiago- Hudson" aka Det.Montgomery, October 17, 2009; accessed October 14, 2010.
  15. ^ "Ruben Santiago-Hudson | The HistoryMakers". www.thehistorymakers.org. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  16. ^ Smith, Dinitia (14 May 1996). "A Performance Shaped by Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2018.

External links