Leland Gantt is an American actor and writer known for his roles in various television series and films. Gantt is also a theatre actor, and has appeared in a one-man show, Rhapsody in Black.
Early life and education Gantt was born and raised in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. After graduating from McKeesport Area High School, he attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Point Park College. After struggling with drug and alcohol addiction, Gantt was inspired to pursue acting by a theatre teacher and moved to New York City in 1983.
Career After moving to New York, Gantt appeared in Broadway productions of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Richard III, Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Gem of the Ocean, Judas Iscariot, and The Fall of Heaven. In 1991, Gantt was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Let Me Live, losing to Kevin Spacey.
Gantt has also appeared in episodes of Law & Order and JAG. He portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1987 miniseries Hoover vs. The Kennedys. He also starred in The Affair.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1985Rockin' Road TripCurtis Smith1990Presumed InnocentLeon Wells1991The SuperMale Tenant1992Malcolm XWilbur Kinley1998Pants on FireAllen1998Out of the PastBayard RustinDocumentary; voice2000Requiem for a DreamWard Attendant Penn2008Miracle at St. AnnaLivingston2020Another Year TogetherKeith
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1987Hoover vs. The KennedysMartin Luther King Jr.2 episodes1993, 2001Law & OrderFBI Agent Jeff Washington / Jonas 'Skate' Stark1995New York UndercoverJerome WillardEpisode: "All in the Family"1995The AffairBarrettTelevision film1995JAGBriefing OfficerEpisode: "Scimitar"2003Law & Order: Special Victims UnitStew MatosEpisode: "Fallacy"2018TitansThurmanEpisode: "Atlas Shrugged"2019The Good FightPartner ThomasEpisode: "The One with the Celebrity Divorce"
References