Harry J. Lennix

Harry Lennix is a distinguished film, television, stage actor and director. Lennix’s breakout role was “Dresser” in 20th Century Studio’s feature The Five Heartbeats, from director Robert Townsend. He has portrayed fan-favorite characters in blockbuster franchise films such as “General Swanwick/Martian Manhunter” in a number of DC Entertainment’s films and as “Commander Lock” in Warner Brothers’ The Matrix franchise films. He also starred as “Joe Adams” in the Oscar Award-winning feature Ray and received widespread critical acclaim and a Golden Satellite Award as “Aaron” in Julie Taymor’s Titus with Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange. 

On television, Lennix starred as political activist “Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.” in Showtime’s Keep the Faith Baby. For his performance, he won a Black Reel Award and earned Golden Satellite Award and NAACP Image Award Nominations. He also starred as “Jim Gardner,” the Chief of Staff to POTUS, in the Golden Globe-nominated ABC series Commander in Chief, for which he received an NAACP Image Award Nomination. However, he is perhaps best known for his character “Harold Cooper” on NBC’s long-running, hit series The Blacklist. 

In theatre, Lennix made his Broadway debut in August Wilson’s Tony nominated Radio Golf. His portrayal of “Malcolm X” at the Goodman Theater earned him the first Ollie Award. He directed the stage version of Robert Townsend’s The Five Heartbeats, which received three NAACP Theater Award Nominations and The Glass Menagerie for Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. In 2001, he was part of the first American company to be Invited to the Royal Shakespeare Company in the production of Cymbeline.

In 2014, Lennix created Exponent Media Group, a movie production company he founded with longtime Chicago associate Steve Harris. He also joined forces with Goodman Theatre director Chuck Smith to form Legacy Productions, which  has performed plays throughout the country. His foundation, the Lennix Foundation, aims to support young artists and promote cultural enrichment within underprivileged communities. The foundation has worked to provide opportunities for emerging talent, helping bridge the gap in access to the arts.

A proud Chicagoan raised on the city’s South Side, Lennix is creating The Lillian Marcie Center and AAMPA (African American Museum of The Performing Arts) in Bronzeville, an arts complex he calls “the Black version of Lincoln Center.”