J.W. Smith

J.W. Smith is a producer and actor with more than 40 years of entertainment experience in motion pictures and television. J.W. grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where he began his acting career at The Karamu House Community Theater. In the early 1970s, J.W. moved to New York City where he became a student in Uta Hagen's acting class at HB Studio and at The Henry Street Playhouse. During his stint in New York City, J.W. met and became close friends with Morgan Freeman and Bill Duke. More than four decades later, J.W. remains close friends with both Morgan and Bill, often collaborating on scripts and potential projects. J.W. spent several successful years performing on Broadway and Off Broadway in plays including, "We Interrupt This Program," Public Theater's production of "On the Goddam Lock-in," and "So Nice, They Named It Twice." In addition to acting, J.W. produced shows in and around New York City for the Amas Repertory Theater Company. In the early 1980s, J.W. moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in film and television where he immediately landed his first job in television on "Palmerstown, U.S.A." He was selected to be a part of Paramount Pictures Associate Producers Training Program, working on several ground-breaking series for television including, "The Best of The West," "Taxi," and "Cheers." J.W. has also appeared in numerous television shows including, "L.A. Law," "Cagney and Lacey," "Reno 911," "The X-Files," and "Hill Street Blues." Showing his range and depth of talent, J.W. has appeared in many popular feature films including, "Red Heat" (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger), "Johnny Handsome" (starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, and Morgan Freeman), "Undisputed" (starring Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames), "Beetlejuice" (starring Michael Keaton), "Hoodlum" (starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, and directed by Bill Duke), "The Warriors" (cult classic directed by Walter Hill), to name a few. J.W. is President of 3000 Realms Entertainment, a production company he co-founded with friend and business partner, Bryan Behuniak. J.W.'s project in development with 3000 Realms Entertainment is "Dead Wrong," executive produced by Morgan Freeman, with producers Bryan Behuniak, James Dyer, and writer Matt Benjamin.

Known For: Acting

Born: null, null

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1979	The Warriors	Turnbull A.C.	77
2	1983	Deal of the Century	Will	46
3	1983	Imps*	Receiver	37
4	1984	Attack on Fear	Synanon Man	70
5	1986	Crossroads	Man at Auto Wrecking Yard	73
6	1986	Let's Get Harry	Mercenary	62
7	1987	Outrageous Fortune	Dealer #1	60
8	1988	Red Heat	Salim	62
9	1989	K-9	Pimp	61
10	1989	L.A. Takedown	Witness Talking to Hanna	55
11	1989	Johnny Handsome	Larry	63
12	1990	False Identity	Willi	50
13	1992	Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight	Sporty Black	46
14	1996	Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood	Detective Cliche	70
15	1997	Hoodlum	Calvin	64
16	1998	Driven	Angry Man	15
17	2000	Spanish Judges	Red	50
18	2002	Undisputed	Mess Guard	65
19	2017	Created Equal	Apartment Manager	60

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1979	Knots Landing	Cabbie	69
2	1979	Knots Landing	Partner	69
3	1981	Falcon Crest	Front Desk Security Guard Pat Stevens	55
4	1982	The New Odd Couple	Eddy	50
5	1984	Airwolf	Roach	76
6	1985	The Atlanta Child Murders	Nathaniel Carter	60
7	1989	Quantum Leap	Eddie Davies	80
8	1989	Tales from the Crypt	Ledbetter (segment "The Man Who Was Death")	80
9	1992	Martin		76
10	1993	The X-Files	Steve	84
11	1994	Sister, Sister	Walt	71
12	1994	Sister, Sister	Man With Bandaged Head	71
13	1994	Touched by an Angel	Stuart	72
14	1995	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Doorman / Factory Worker (voice)	60
15	2003	Reno 911!	Prefect of Wanganui	72
16	2004	Listen Up!	Construction Worker #2	62

J.W. Smith

Film

Television