All All. Sign In. List activity. Andre Braugher. Many actors have attempted to crack both genres of drama and comedy. Few have succeeded, among them the genial Andre Braugher pronounced 'Ahn-dray Brow-er'. A two-time Emmy Award winner, he is especially remembered for two seminal roles: as the intense, often explosive Detective Frank Pembleton signature character in the first six seasons of NBC's gritty drama Homicide: Life on the Street , and, in stark contrast, as droll, deadpan father figure Captain Ray Holt in eight seasons of the hilarious spoof Brooklyn Nine-Nine What made the Holt character special was Braugher's unerringly perfect comic timing, great punchlines and moments of endearing pathos.
Originally a Shakespearean actor noted for his portrayal of Henry V on the New York stage , he debuted on screen in the Civil War drama Glory , as an erudite corporal, the first volunteer to enlist in one of the Union Army's African-American regiments. His inaugural portrayal of a police officer was as Kojak's sidekick, Detective Winston Blake, in a slew of made-for-TV movies.
From there, Braugher became a popular casting choice for determined, no-nonsense authority types. To name but a few: Lt. Benjamin O. Then there was, of course, his defining role in Homicide, as the compelling, intense interrogation expert Frank Pembleton. Braugher had a leading non-military role as an angel named Cassiel no, not Castiel! He then headlined as the title character in the medical drama Gideon's Crossing , loosely based on the career of a real-life professor of medicine, Jerome Groopman.
His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Braugher next co-starred in Hack , another crime drama, in which he played a Philadelphia cop who aids his former partner David Morse , who, after having left the force under a cloud, has turned into a hero vigilante.
Moreover, it would be remiss not to mention Braugher's insightful and poignant performance as Dr. Daryl Nolan, the psychiatrist who effectively treats Gregory House whilst in rehab at the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital during the opening episodes of House , season six. His was one of very few individuals capable of anticipating and thwarting House's ploys and manipulations without creating acrimony in the process. For once on the wrong side of the law, he starred as a master criminal in the acclaimed miniseries Thief for which he won an Emmy for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor.
