Bio
Michael Ealy is an American actor best known for his starring role as Darwyn Al-Sayeed in the television drama series Sleeper Cell (2005-2006), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.
He is also known for his role as street thug Ricky Nash in the 2002 film Barbershop, a role he reprised in the 2004 sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business.
He starred as Detective Travis Marks in the comedy-drama police procedural television series Common Law (2012) and also had a starring role as DRN-0167, called "Dorian", a retired DRN model Police Synthetic who shows himself to be unique and resents the term "Synthetic", in the science fiction police procedural television series Almost Human, from 2013-2014.
Ealy starred opposite Halle Berry in ABC and Harpo Films' telepic Their Eyes Were Watching God. The special received rave reviews and was viewed by over 24 million people. Ealy earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for his portrayal of Teacake.
Ealy also starred in two Sundance films: the film noir Never Die Alone opposite DMX and David Arquette and November with Courteney Cox, Anne Archer and James LeGros for director Gregory Harrison.
A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Michael graduated college with a degree in English. Shortly after, Michael headed to New York where he performed in several stage productions, including the Off-Broadway hits Joe Fearless and Whoa Jack, for which he earned an Adelco Award nomination for his performance.
It would not be long before Michael nabbed guest-starring roles in NBC's Law & Order and Showtime's hit series Soul Food.
On the heels of his television appearances, he was then cast in the critically-acclaimed film Kissing Jessica Stein for Fox Searchlight, where he played Greg, the delivery boy with a strong craving for sex.
Michael then segued into the role of G. Mo, the best friend of Jake Hayes (Chris Rock), in Bad Company for director Joel Schumacher.
While visiting his friends in Los Angeles, Michael heard about auditions for Barbershop. After placing a call to his manager and a few rounds of auditions, he landed the role of Ricky Nash, a two-strike offender working at the local barbershop under the supervision of his friend Calvin (Cube).
The film earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Motion Picture as well as a People's Choice Award nomination for Favorite Comedy Motion Picture.
After landing his role in Barbershop, he promptly moved to Los Angeles to further pursue acting, but suddenly found himself whisked away to Miami, to film 2 Fast 2 Furious and finally settled in Los Angeles and completed a stint on the Emmy-winning series ER for NBC.
Since Ealy's breakout performance in Barbershop, he was quickly named one of People's "On the Verge" actors in the magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" 2002 issue.
Following his performance in Barbershop 2, he was named one of E! Entertainment Television's "Sizzlin' 16" of 2004 and appeared on the cover of Essence magazine's "Hollywood Screen Gems" for their April 2004 issue.
He has since had significant recurring roles on the television series FlashForward, The Good Wife and Californication, as well as a guest starring role in Hawthorne.
Michael currently resides in Los Angeles.