Dennis Haysbert

At 69 years old, Dennis Haysbert has this physical status:

Dennis Dexter Haysbert (born June 2, 1954) is an American actor and voice actor.

In the U.S. he is known for his appearances in commercials for Allstate Insurance.

He portrayed baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, Secret Service Agent Tim Collin in the 1997 political thriller film Absolute Power, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit.

He is also known for playing U.S. Senator (later President) David Palmer on the first 5 seasons of 24 and has appeared in the films Love Field, Heat, Waiting to Exhale, Far from Heaven, and the science fiction series Incorporated.

Early life

Haysbert was born in San Mateo, California, the son of Gladys (née Minor), a homemaker and house cleaner, and Charles Whitney Haysbert, Sr., a deputy sheriff and airline security guard. He is the eighth of nine children, having two sisters and six brothers. His parents were from Louisiana. Haysbert was raised Baptist.

Haysbert graduated from San Mateo High School in 1972. After high school, being 6 ft 5 in tall, he was offered athletic scholarships but instead chose to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Personal life

Haysbert announced in April 2009 that he was starting a production company. His first project was to be a documentary for HBO about an up-and-coming boxer.

During the 2010 California elections, Haysbert supported Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer by appearing with her at campaign events and recording radio commercials.

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Career

Haysbert has been acting in film and television since 1978, beginning with a guest appearance in The White Shadow. Lou Grant, Growing Pains, Laverne & Shirley, The A-Team, Night Court, Dallas, The Incredible Hulk, Magnum, P.I., Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Duckman and Brooklyn 99 were among his television guests. He appeared in Return to Lonesome Dove in 1993 as a member of Cherokee Jack Jackson. Haysbert appeared in Now and Again in 1999, which was cancelled after one season.

Haysbert first came to fame in 2001 as the United States' highest civilian actor. Senator David Palmer, who appeared on the program as the first black president of the United States, appeared on the second and third seasons. In the last six episodes of season 4 and the first episode of season 5, he appeared as a guest star. In 2002, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and a Golden Satellite Award for his service. In an interview with Haysbert, the three men he admires the most—Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Colin Powell—everyly embody his vision of what a President should be like. Haysbert believes that his appearance on David Palmer on 24 aided Barack Obama—whom Haysbert—to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.

Haysbert was the first actor to portray Kilowog, a Green Lantern Corps member, in a medium outside of comics. Kilowog appeared on several episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, providing him with the voice of Kilowog. Haysbert appeared on "Belated Black History Moment" live-action/animated TV funhouse cartoon hosted by Natalie Portman on March 4, 2006. Haysbert's role in Outer Space paid tribute to the fictional short-lived Saturday morning cartoons starring black characters, such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Nelson Mandela was also depicted in Goodbye Bafana (also known as The Color of Freedom). In the CBS military action-drama The Unit, Haysbert portrayed lead character Jonas Blane. In the Pacific Theater, he hosted and narrated the Military History Channel's Secrets of Pearl Harbor, which chronicled his scuba dives with a film crew on World War II-era Japanese and American warships. On the Showtime television channel, Haysbert narrated the documentary The World According to Dick Cheney. Haysbert appeared in the fifth episode of the fourth season of The Boondocks on May 19, 2014. Haysbert played Detective John Almond in Backstrom in 2015.

Haysbert has been the first voice to introduce NBC's Meet The Press since September 6, 2015.

Haysbert appeared in Incorporated in November 2016. Haysbert portrays Julian, a ruthless security head working for one of the larger corporations, in a dystopian future ruled by businesses. On the showcase in Canada and Syfy in the United States, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are co-executive producers on the film, which was shot in British Columbia, Canada, and is available on Showcase in Canada and Syfy in the United States.

He has also been cast to play God in the second half of Lucifer's fifth season.

Haysbert made his first major appearance as Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing Cuban refugee baseball player, in the Major League in 1989. Haysbert followed it up with a role in 1990's Navy SEALs, which also starred Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn, before moving to another baseball film, Mr. Tom Selleck is a baseballer who plays for the Boston Red Sox. Nick Sanrio, a former detective, appeared in K-9000 in 1991. He co-starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field, a film about a series of events contemporaneous with President John F. Kennedy's assassination and funeral. Haysbert played Cerrano in Major League II in 1994. This was followed by small performances in Waiting, Heat, and Absolute Power. Haysbert made another appearance as Cerrano in Major League: Return to the Minors in 1998. Haysbert appeared in three films in 1999: The Minus Man, The Thirteenth Floor, and Random Hearts. Haysbert appeared as Zeke McCall in Love & Basketball in 2000.

Haysbert played Raymond Deagan in Far From Heaven in 2002. For that role, he received three awards (Satellite Award, Black Reel Award, and the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association Award). He appeared in Sam Mendes' film Jarhead in 2005. In 2007, Haysbert returned to the big screen to portray Nelson Mandela in Goodbye Bafana and an FBI agent in Breach. He played General Hologram in Wreck-It Ralph and served as an official judge for the Noor Iranian Film Festival in 2012. In Sin City, Michael Clark Duncan was replaced as Manute: A Dame to Kill For (2014). Haysbert appeared as Dean Fairbanks in Dear White People and General Lyons' in 2014.

Haysbert would appear in the Netflix psychological thriller Secret Obsession in December 2018. On July 18, 2019. The film was released on July 18, 2019.

Haysbert has served as the official spokesperson for the Allstate Insurance Company since 2003. His commercials usually ended with one of the two Allstate Corporation official slogans, "Are you in good hands?" says the CEO. Or "That's Allstate's Stand" in Allstate's case. However, his merchants have mingled the two products with the slogan, "That's Allstate's Stand."

Are you in good hands?"

He has appeared in Spanish-language advertisements with the following line: "Con Allstate, Estás Buenas Manos" also appears. (You're in good hands with Allstate.) Haysbert, as a spokesperson for Allstate, smuggish the coin before the 2007 Sugar Bowl between LSU and Notre Dame.

Haysbert debuted in national television ads in 2008 to raise public knowledge of loan discrimination. The advertisements were sponsored by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. Haysbert warns consumers that lenders are targeting minorities for inferior loan products in one of these commercials.

Haysbert did voice work for Brigham Young University's ticket sales promotions during the 2006 college football season. He did it as a favor to his younger brother Adam, who played wide receiver at BYU in the early 1980s.

Haysbert also supports the Military Channel's commercials with the slogan: "The Military Channel." "Go Behind the Lines," Go Beyond the Lines said.

Haysbert has also performed in numerous video games, such as Irving Lambert in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and his television appearance of David Palmer in 24: The Game.

In June 2010, Haysbert appeared in David Mamet's Race on Broadway as Henry Brown, alongside actor Eddie Izzard, Richard Thomas, and Afton Williamson. The play was on display until August 21, 2010.

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