David Alan Grier

David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. Grier gained popularity with his roles in the American sketch comedy television series In Living Color (1990–1994) and Reverend Leon Lonnie Love on the Fox comedy series Martin (1993–1997). Grier made his feature film debut in Robert Altman's drama Streamers (1983), which won him the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. Some of his notable films include A Soldier's Story (1984), Jumanji (1995), Baadasssss! (2003), and The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024).

On the stage, he has won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway revival of A Soldier's Play (2021). Grier’s other Broadway roles include Jackie Robinson in The First (1983), Henry Brown in Race (2009), and Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess (2012). His career in television has been extensive with roles such as Bernard on Damon (1998), Jerome Dagget on DAG (2000–2001), and Hal on A Series of Unfortunate Events (2018). He also created and executively-produced the American satirical show Chocolate News (2008) for Comedy Central. Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a school teacher and a psychiatrist. He holds an M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama.