VONDIE CURTIS-HALL spent his hiatus from his starring role as Dr. Dennis Hancock in the Emmy-winning series "Chicago Hope" making his feature film directorial debut of his own original screenplay, "Gridlock." Starring Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur, the film is the story of two out of control poets who on New Year's Day decide to enter drug "rehab" -- and what happens in their forty-eight hour odyssey that follows. It is scheduled for release early next year.
Although Curtis-Hall plays a doctor on "Chicago Hope," ironically, he garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of a suicidal transsexual on NBC's rival ensemble drama, "ER."
On film, Curtis-Hall may be best remembered for his starring role as Sugar LeDoux, the persistent suitor who wins Alfre Woodard's heart in the Oscar-nominated "Passion Fish," directed by John Sayles. Other credits include Phil Joanou's "Heaven's Prisoners," with Alec Baldwin; John Woo's hit action-adventure "Broken Arrow"; "Falling Down," Spike Lee's "Crooklyn," "The Drop Squad," "The Mambo Kings," "One Good Cop," "Die Hard 2," "Coming To America," "Black Rain" and "The Cotton Club."
His television credits include a recurring role on the critically-acclaimed series "I'll Fly Away," Fox-TV's "South Central" and Showtime's acclaimed drama "Fallen Angels," with Gary Oldman, directed by Phil Joanou. Trained at Juilliard and London's Richmond College, Curtis-Hall is also an accomplished stage actor. His Broadway credits include Michael Bennett's "Dreamgirls," as well as "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music" and "It's So Nice To Be Civilized," directed by Frank Corsaro. Off-Broadway, he starred in the American Place Theatre's "Williams & Walker," for which he won the 1987 Audelco Award for Best Actor; "The War Party," with the Negro Ensemble Company, "A Raisin in the Sun" and "Trinity."