A distinguished actor of the stage and screen, Danny Glover is known for his work in both Hollywood blockbusters and serious dramatic films. Towering and quietly forceful, Glover lends gravity and complexity to the diverse characters he has portrayed throughout his lengthy career.
A native of San Francisco, where he was born July 22, 1947, Glover attended San Francisco State and received his dramatic training at the American Conservatory Theatre's Black Actors' Workshop. He made his film debut in Escape from Alcatraz (1979). In the early '80s, Glover made his name portraying characters ranging from the sympathetic in Places in the Heart (1984) to the menacing in Witness (1985) and The Color Purple (1984). He reached box-office-gold status with the three Lethal Weapon flicks produced between 1987 and 1992, playing the conservative, family-man partner of "loose cannon" L.A. cop Mel Gibson. Glover carried over his fiddle-and-bow relationship with Gibson into his off-screen life, and also contributed an amusing cameo (complete with his Lethal Weapon catch-phrase "I'm gettin' too old for this!") in Maverick (1994). In 1998, Glover again reprised his role for the blockbuster-proportioned Lethal Weapon 4, and that same year gave a stirring performance in the little-seen Beloved.
On television, Glover played the title role in Mandela (1987), cowpoke Joshua Deets in the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove, legendary railroad man John Henry in a 1988 installment of Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales, and the mercurial leading character in the 1989 "American Playhouse" revival of A Raisin in the Sun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A native of San Francisco, where he was born July 22, 1947, Glover attended San Francisco State and received his dramatic training at the American Conservatory Theatre's Black Actors' Workshop. He made his film debut in Escape from Alcatraz (1979). In the early '80s, Glover made his name portraying characters ranging from the sympathetic in Places in the Heart (1984) to the menacing in Witness (1985) and The Color Purple (1984). He reached box-office-gold status with the three Lethal Weapon flicks produced between 1987 and 1992, playing the conservative, family-man partner of "loose cannon" L.A. cop Mel Gibson. Glover carried over his fiddle-and-bow relationship with Gibson into his off-screen life, and also contributed an amusing cameo (complete with his Lethal Weapon catch-phrase "I'm gettin' too old for this!") in Maverick (1994). In 1998, Glover again reprised his role for the blockbuster-proportioned Lethal Weapon 4, and that same year gave a stirring performance in the little-seen Beloved.
On television, Glover played the title role in Mandela (1987), cowpoke Joshua Deets in the 1989 miniseries Lonesome Dove, legendary railroad man John Henry in a 1988 installment of Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales, and the mercurial leading character in the 1989 "American Playhouse" revival of A Raisin in the Sun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Danny has been nominated for two SAG Awards. In 2001, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries for Freedom Song. In 2007, he was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Dreamgirls.
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Danny has been nominated for five Emmy Awards. In 1988, he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for Mandela. In 1989, he was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for Lonesome Dove. In 1996, he was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Fallen Angels. In 2000, he was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Freedom Song. In 2003, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special for Just a Dream.
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Danny is the oldest of five children.
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Danny was arrested when he sixteen for riding around on a stolen motor scooter.
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Danny graduated from George Washington High School.
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Danny attended City College of San Francisco.
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Danny was a member of the Black Students Union while attending San Francisco State University.
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Danny participated in the longest student strike in United States history. While Danny was a member of Black Students Union at San Francisco State University, while alongside the Third World Liberation Front led a five month strike to get a class about Ethnic Studies.
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Danny graduated from San Francisco State University in 1968 with a BA in economics.
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Danny was an evaluator for the San Francisco Model Cities program, he quit to pursue his acting career.
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Danny trained with Jean Shelton at the Shelton Actors Lab. He also credits he for much of his development as an actor.
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Danny has portrayed Nelson Mandela in two different movies, one for PBS and another for HBO. In both cases actress Alfre Woodard portrayed Nelson Mandela's wife.
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Danny appeared in Michael Jackson's music video for "Liberian Girl".
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Danny formed the Robey Theatre Company in 1994 with actor Ben Guillory.
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Danny has stated that he did Operation Dumbo Drop and Gone Fishin' strictly for the money.
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Danny received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from San Francisco State University in May 0f 1997.
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Danny has accused New York City cab drivers of not picking up black passengers. He made this accusation after a cab driver would not let him sit in the front seat of the cab.
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Danny is a goodwill ambassador to the United Nations.
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Danny signed a petition protesting the United States "campaign of destabilization" against Cuba. This led to Joe Scarborough to call for his firing at MCI, a company that Glover had been appearing in commercials for.
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Danny mentored actor Eli Harris while filming 16 Blocks.
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In 2007 Danny endorsed former United States Senator John Edwards for the Democratic nomination.
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Danny is a fan of the San Francisco Giants.
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Danny is 6' 3 1/2" (1.92 m).
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Danny has appeared in the following plays:
The Blood Knot
-Master Harold...and the Boys
-Macbeth
-Suicide in B Flat
-The Island (edit) Danny got paid seven million dollars to reprise his role in Lethal Weapon 4. (edit) Danny is good friends with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and fellow actor Alfree Woodard. (edit) He suffers from epilepsy. (edit)
The Blood Knot
-Master Harold...and the Boys
-Macbeth
-Suicide in B Flat
-The Island (edit) Danny got paid seven million dollars to reprise his role in Lethal Weapon 4. (edit) Danny is good friends with Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and fellow actor Alfree Woodard. (edit) He suffers from epilepsy. (edit)
[On how he became an actor]
Danny Glover: I never thought about being an actor. In 1967, the students at San Francisco State invited the poet Amiri Baraka to the campus for a semester. He attracted other influential black writers such as Sonia Sanchez, Ed Bullins, Eldridge Cleaver. What emerged was something we called the community communications program. That's how I got involved; I got involved in a little play. As the BSU [Black Students Union] went through restructuring, I was named the minister of culture. At 20 or 21 years old, I wasn't even imaginative enough to know what that meant. But that's how I first got involved in acting. (edit) Danny: It would be extraordinary for [the American] film culture to unravel slavery but it doesn't. People are afraid to deal with it. There is no framework for people to unravel it. (edit) Danny: Every day of my life I walk with the idea I am black no matter how successful I am. (edit)
Danny Glover: I never thought about being an actor. In 1967, the students at San Francisco State invited the poet Amiri Baraka to the campus for a semester. He attracted other influential black writers such as Sonia Sanchez, Ed Bullins, Eldridge Cleaver. What emerged was something we called the community communications program. That's how I got involved; I got involved in a little play. As the BSU [Black Students Union] went through restructuring, I was named the minister of culture. At 20 or 21 years old, I wasn't even imaginative enough to know what that meant. But that's how I first got involved in acting. (edit) Danny: It would be extraordinary for [the American] film culture to unravel slavery but it doesn't. People are afraid to deal with it. There is no framework for people to unravel it. (edit) Danny: Every day of my life I walk with the idea I am black no matter how successful I am. (edit)
