Actor
Courtney B. Vance
66 years · Detroit, Michigan, USA · 63 films
Courtney Bernard Vance (born March 12, 1960) is an American actor. Vance started his career on the Broadway stage in the original productions of August Wilson's Fences in 1985, John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation in 1990 and Nora Ephron's Lucky Guy in 2013 for which he won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. He is known for his roles in films such as Hamburger Hill (1987), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Preacher's Wife (1996), Cookie's Fortune (1999), Terminator Genisys (2015), and Isle of Dogs (2018). Vance is also known for work on television on shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, where he portrayed Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He also guest-starred on Law & Order, Picket Fences, The Closer, Revenge, Scandal, and Masters of Sex. He won acclaim for his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in the FX limited series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (2016) for which he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He recently appeared in the HBO television film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017), National Geographic's limited series Genius: Aretha (2020), and the HBO drama series Lovecraft Country (2020) the latter of which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He has been married to actress Angela Bassett since 1997. Vance is on the Board of Directors for The Actors Center in New York City, and is an active supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2019, Vance was appointed as the President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.
Best known for
Terminator Genisys
2015 · Miles Dyson
On Hoopla
The Mummy
2017 · Colonel Greenway
On FXNow
Isle of Dogs
2018 · Narrator (voice)
On HBO Max
Final Destination 5
2011 · Agent Block
On HBO Max
The Hunt for Red October
1990 · Petty Officer Ronald 'Jonesy' Jones (USS Dallas)
On Kanopy
Project Power
2020 · Captain Craine
On Netflix
Filmography 63
Girl Dad
2026 · Actor
W.E.B. Du Bois: Rebel With a Cause
2026 · Self
Lilo & Stitch
2025 · Cobra Bubbles
On Disney Plus
Death Wish
2024 · Pilot (voice)
On Filmzie
Heist 88
2023 · Jeremy Horne
On fuboTV
Between the World and Me
2020 · Self
On HBO Max
Project Power
2020 · Captain Craine
On Netflix
Uncorked
2020 · Louis
On Netflix
The Photograph
2020 · Louis Morton
On Xumo Play
Hollywood's Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story
2020 · Self - Narrator
On Broadway
2019 · Self (archive footage)
On Plex
Ben Is Back
2018 · Mr. Beeby
On Plex
The Groveland Four
2018 · Self - Narrator
Isle of Dogs
2018 · Narrator (voice)
On HBO Max
The Mummy
2017 · Colonel Greenway
On FXNow
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
2017 · Sir Lord Keenan Coefield
On HBO Max
Office Christmas Party
2016 · Walter Davis
On fuboTV
Terminator Genisys
2015 · Miles Dyson
On Hoopla
Let It Shine
2012 · Jacob
On Disney Plus
Joyful Noise
2012 · Pastor Dale
On Hoopla
The Divide
2012 · Delvin
On Kanopy
Final Destination 5
2011 · Agent Block
On HBO Max
Hurricane Season
2010 · Mr. Randolph
On fuboTV
Extraordinary Measures
2010 · Marcus Temple
On Hoopla