Michael Jai White

Michael Jai White

An American actor and professional martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn. White was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved as a teen to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he graduated from Central High School in 1988. White started martial arts training at the age of seven and is now an accomplished martial artist, holding seven legitimate black belts in Shotokan, Tae Kwon Do, Kobudo, Goju Ryu, Tang Soo Do, Wushu and Kyokushin, with a specific focus in Kyokushin (although his style incorporates aspects of many different martial arts forms). His first major starring role and breakout performance was in the 1995 HBO film Tyson, as heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. In 1997, he portrayed the eponymous character in the 1997 movie Spawn. His work in Spawn earned him a nomination for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Male Newcomer. White starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in Universal Soldier: The Return. In 2001, he also starred opposite fellow martial artist Steven Seagal in Exit Wounds. In 2003, he starred in Busta Rhymes' and Mariah Carey's music video "I Know What You Want". Since 2003, in addition to his on screen roles, White has been doing voice work, including Static Shock, Justice League, and the Spawn animated series. White showcases his martial arts skills in the direct-to-DVD film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing. He also appears in Michelle Yeoh's Silver Hawk in 2004. His film, Why Did I Get Married? opened at number one at the box office on October 12, 2007. White played the role of the mob boss Gambol in the 2008 film The Dark Knight. He also starred in the film Blood and Bone and the Blaxploitation homage Black Dynamite, both released in 2009. White wrote the scripts for both Black Dynamite and his upcoming 3 Bullets in which he stars with Bokeem Woodbine. White will make his directorial debut and star in Never Back Down 2, which is slated for a 2011 release. In August 2005 he wed his girlfriend of two years, Courtenay Chatman. The couple have a daughter named Morgan Michelle who was born on December 24, 2008. Michael has two sons from a previous relationship. He is an avid chess player, as seen in his movie Blood and Bone.

Known For: Acting

Born: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, 1967-11-10

Died: null

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1989	The Toxic Avenger Part II	Apocalypse Inc. Executive	55
2	1991	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze	Audience Man	62
3	1995	Tyson	Mike Tyson	61
4	1996	Shaughnessy: The Iron Marshal	Carpenter	50
5	1997	City of Industry	Odell Williams	55
6	1997	Spawn	Al Simmons / Spawn	54
7	1998	Ringmaster	Demond	42
8	1999	Mutiny	Ben Cooper	48
9	1999	Thick as Thieves	Pointy	59
10	1999	Universal Soldier: The Return	SETH	59
11	2000	Freedom Song	Coleman Vaughnes	55
12	2001	Exit Wounds	Lewis Strutt	58
13	2002	The Making of Exit Wounds	Self	0
14	2002	Pandora's Box	Hampton Hines	58
15	2003	Justice	Tre	10
16	2004	Silver Hawk	Morris	54
17	2005	Getting Played	Actor	61
18	2006	Undisputed II: Last Man Standing	George Chambers	73
19	2007	Why Did I Get Married?	Marcus	65
20	2008	The Dark Knight	Gambol	85
21	2009	Blood and Bone	Isaiah Bone	73
22	2009	Black Dynamite	Black Dynamite	71
23	2010	Why Did I Get Married Too?	Marcus	65
24	2010	One Angry Juror	Derrick	42
25	2011	Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown	Case Walker	65
26	2011	Tactical Force	Hunt	55
27	2012	We the Party	Officer Davis	47
28	2012	Freaky Deaky	Donnell Lewis	50
29	2012	The Philly Kid	Arthur Letts	55
30	2012	Somebody's Child	Douglas	53
31	2013	Generation Iron	Self	67
32	2014	Android Cop	Hammond	40
33	2014	Falcon Rising	John 'Falcon' Chapman	63
34	2014	Skin Trade	Reed	60
35	2015	Chocolate City	Princeton	53
36	2015	Chain of Command	James Webster	49
37	2021	Bisping	Self	58
38	2022	Dead Zone	Boss	52
39	2022	As Good as Dead	Bryant	62
40	2023	A Snowy Day in Oakland	Reverend Carter	66
41	2023	You're Not Alone	Keith Mitchell	18
42	2023	Come Out Fighting	Sergeant AJ 'Red' McCarron	46
43	2023	The Island	Mark	62
44	2023	MR-9: Do or Die	Duke	65
45	2023	Outlaw Johnny Black	Outlaw Johnny Black	57
46		To Live and Die in the Midwest		0
47	2024	One More Shot	Robert Jackson	65
48	2024	Scream Before You Die	Joe Washington	15
49	2025	Trouble Man!	Jaxen	0
50		Fight Or Flight		0
51	1989	The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie	Apocalypse, Inc. Executive	50
52	1993	Full Contact	Low-Ball	50
53	1995	Ballistic	Quint	29
54	1995	Ring of Fire III: Lion Strike	Silvio	48
55	1996	Captive Heart: The James Mink Story	Elroy	38
56	1996	2 Days in the Valley	Buck	62
57	1997	Spawn The Director's Cut	Al Simons / Spawn	100
58	1997	The Making of 'Spawn'	Self	77
59	1999	Breakfast of Champions	Howell	51
60	2001	Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes	Spawn (archive footage)	69
61	2004	UnConventional	Self	35
62	2009	The Legend of Bruce Lee	Ali	55
63	2013	Fedz	Big D	30
64	2014	Beyond the Game	Himself	63
65	2015	The Real Miyagi	Self	65
66	2016	The Asian Connection	Greedy Greg	39
67	2016	Never Back Down: No Surrender	Case Walker	70
68	2016	Chocolate City: Vegas Strip	Princeton	59
69	2016	Vigilante Diaries	Barrington	41
70		Hostile Takeover	Pete	0
71	1991	True Identity		55
72	1992	Universal Soldier	Soldier	63
73	1994	On Deadly Ground	Oil Worker (uncredited)	52
74	2016	The Crooked Man	Milo	45
75	2017	S.W.A.T.: Under Siege	Scorpion	58
76	2017	Cops and Robbers	Michael	49
77	2018	Accident Man	Mick	62
78	2018	Making a Killing	Orlando Hudson	52
79	2018	Every Day Is Christmas	Justin	48
80	2019	Dragged Across Concrete	'Biscuit'	66
81	2019	The Hard Way	Payne	54
82	2019	Triple Threat	Devereaux	64
83	2019	Hidden Colors 5: The Art of Black Warfare	Self	63
84	2019	Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks	Self	68
85	2019	In Search of the Last Action Heroes	Himself	70
86	2019	Undercover Brother 2	Undercover Brother / Narrator	44
87	2020	Welcome to Sudden Death	Jesse Freeman	62
88	2021	Batman: Soul of the Dragon	Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger (voice)	67
89	2021	Assault on VA-33	Chief Malone	55
90	2021	Send It!	Coach	58
91	2021	Rogue Hostage	Sparks	56
92	2021	Take Back	Brian	59
93	2021	Black Friday	Archie	49
94	2022	The Commando	James Baker	57
95	2022	The Hit	Brooke	28
96	2024	Chuck Zito: An American Story	Self	20
97	2024	Don't Mess with Grandma	JT	53
98		Drive Through Fire		0
99		Spymasters		0
100		Karate Ghost		0

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1989	Saved by the Bell	Military Police Man #2 (uncredited)	78
2	1992	Renegade	Luther - Dawn's boyfriend	67
3	1995	JAG	Peter Quinn / Martin Payne	73
4	2000	Wonderland	Derrick Hatcher	100
5	2000	Static Shock	Osebo (voice)	80
6	2000	Boston Public	Darren Schofield	76
7	2001	Justice League	Doomsday (voice)	82
8	2002	CSI: Miami	Roy Bailey	77
9	2004	Justice League Unlimited	Doomsday (voice)	83
10	2004	Clubhouse	Ellis Hayes	35
11	2008	The Legend of Bruce Lee	Ali	69
12	2008	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Tattooed Man (voice)	76
13	2011	Mortal Kombat: Legacy	Major Jackson 'Jax' Briggs	69
14	2011	For Better or Worse	Marcus Williams	73
15	2012	Black Dynamite	Black Dynamite	75
16	2012	Arrow	Ben Turner / Bronze Tiger	68
17	2012	Arrow	Ben Turner	68
18	2012	Metal Hurlant Chronicles	Teague	61
19	2012	Metal Hurlant Chronicles	Balt	61
20	2014	black-ish	Vincent	72
21	2016	Insecure	Zeke	73
22	2018	Carl Weber's The Family Business	Vegas Duncan	83
23	2020	The Art of Action	Self	84
24	2022	Kingdom Business	Julius “Caesar” Jones	78

Michael Jai White

Film

Television