Erik Todd Dellums (born September 21, 1964) is an American actor and narrator. He is known for playing the drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for two seasons on Homicide: Life on the Street. He also voiced the roles as the radio DJ Three Dog in the 2008 video game Fallout 3; Prince Arcann, Thexan, and Oggo in Knights of the Fallen Empire, the 2015 expansion to Star Wars: The Old Republic; and Aaravos in the animated Netflix series The Dragon Prince, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination.
Early life and education Erik Dellums was born in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and later moved to Washington, D.C. He is the son of Leola "Roscoe" Higgs Dellums, a lawyer, and Ron Dellums, the former U.S. representative from California and mayor of Oakland. His sister Piper Dellums is an author.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Brown University in 1986.
Career Dellums had minor appearances in several Spike Lee films early in his career, such as She's Gotta Have It (1986) and Do the Right Thing (1989). He was portrayed (as a child) by Travis Kyle Davis in a Disney Channel Original Movie entitled The Color of Friendship (2000), which was based on what happened when his family hosted a foreign exchange student from South Africa during the Apartheid era; Dellums had a cameo role as himself. He provided the voice of the character Koh the Face Stealer in the animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, as well as the narration for Key Constitutional Concepts, a documentary produced in 2006 by the Annenberg Foundation.
Dellums has had parts in television police dramas such as New York Undercover, Homicide: Life on the Street (in which he played drug kingpin Luther Mahoney), and The Wire (in which he played a medical examiner). He also played a doctor in one episode of Homeland. Dellums provided voice acting for the 2008 video game Fallout 3 as Three Dog. He provided the voice of Nazir, a character in the video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Dellums narrates the Travel Channel series Mysterious Journeys, as well as the documentary television series How the Universe Works and NASA's Unexplained Files on the Science Channel. Dellums narrates the Science series The Planets – hosted by former astronaut Mike Massimino – which premiered in 2017 and was retitled The Planets and Beyond for its second season in 2018.
Dellums also reprised the role of Three Dog in the YouTube lore series by ShoddyCast, and he also performs the voice for Prince/Emperor Arcann in the game Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion Knights of the Fallen Empire and its sequel expansions Knights of the Eternal Throne and Onslaught. He's also the voice provider of the character Aaravos in the Netflix series The Dragon Prince.
Dellums' political and social writings on his personal blog gained notice in 2011, and his criticisms of the presidency of Barack Obama earned him guest appearances on Fox News.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes 1986She's Gotta Have ItDog #3Good to GoBam-Bam1988School DazeGammite Slim Daddy1989Do the Right ThingCustomer in PizzeriaUncredited1991The DoorsHairdresser at the Sullivan Show1997Joe Joe Angel & the Dead GuyThe Man1998Dr. DolittleJeremy2000BlackMaleVictor2003Brother OutsiderVoice of Bayard Rustin 2005Bellclair TimesDevinCamp D.O.A.Watcher2008PatsyHarry2022Almost Human: Rise of the ApesNarrator
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1996–1998Homicide: Life on the StreetLuther Mahoney6 episodes 1998New York UndercoverMohammadEpisode: "Change, Change, Change"Walker, Texas RangerDavid 'Lucifer' ThompsonEpisode: "The Children of Halloween"1999JAGCharlie LynchEpisode: "Goodbyes" 2000NYPD BlueInez / Harold CarmichaelEpisode: "A Hole in Juan"The Color of FriendshipOliver Television film2001BoycottBayard Rustin2002–2004The WireDr. Randall Frazier6 episodes 2005Jonny ZeroAntoine NegasiEpisode: "Diamonds & Guns"Avatar: The Last AirbenderKoh2 episodes2012Narrow Escapes of WWII Narrator4 episodes2012–2021How the Universe Works14 episodes 2013Golden BoyPablo VegaEpisode: "Next Question"HomelandDoctor GrahamEpisode: "Tower of David"2014–2017NASA's Unexplained FilesNarrator39 episodes2015AmnesiaSargent JohnsonEpisode: "Awakening"2017Great American Eclipse NarratorTelevision film 2017–2018The Planet9 episodesThe Planets and Beyond17 episodes2018–2024The Dragon PrinceAaravos26 episodes
Video games YearTitleRole2008Fallout 3Three Dog2009League of LegendsNasus2011The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimNazir 2015Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire Various voicesStar Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne 2017The Elder Scrolls: LegendsTyrStar Wars: The Old Republic: OnslaughtVarious voices2022Star Wars: The Old Republic: Legacy of the Sith
Awards and nominations Year Organisation Category Project Result Ref. 2025 Children's and Family Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Voice Role Performer The Dragon Prince
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