Eriq La Salle (full name Erik Ki La Salle) was born in 1962, July 23 in the city of Hartford, Connecticut. He was one of 4 siblings. All the kids were raised by their mother Ada. Eriq went to Julliard School where he attended drama part of the school for 2 whole years. After finishing what could be called his high school, Salle enrolled in the New York University. He finished his studies with eased and graduated holding his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. After being done with university Eriq began pursuing his career in movies and TV shows as both an actor and a director.
Career
It was in 1985 when Eriq began his work in the entertainment world. Just after graduating he got a role in the production of Henry V, a play by Joseph Papp. After this, he caught the attention of people working in the industry and knew he would not starve to death due to the lack of money. Since then he always had worked as an actor on Broadway as well as on television. His first time on the screen was on ABC's soap opera One Life to Live as a journalist Mike Rivers. In 1988, Erik joined the cast of John Landis' comedy Coming to America. The film featured the likes of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall and was a success at the Box office making almost 290 million dollars. Next gig of Salle's was in 1994 when NBC announced their new drama ER. Salle was playing doctor Peter Benton and worked there for 8 years until deciding to leave the show because of other commitments. He did, however, return to the show for its final season making an appearance in 3 episodes and directing one of the final episodes. In 2006, La Salle starred in Mark Hammond's gangster movie Johnny Was where he joined Vinnie Jones, Patrick Bergin, and others. He was playing a Jamaican gangster and one of the leads in the film. In 2015, Eriq made a return to TV. He directed an episode of Under the Dome's second season and got a role to play on the show's 3rd season.
Besides the acting and directing, Eriq is also known for writing. He published a few books, including Laws of Wrath and Laws of Depravity. For those who are interested in the author's work should visit his official website.
Personal life and trivia
The actor was married to Angela Johnson but the two got divorced. Since then not much is known about the personal life of Eriq La Salle as he likes to keep things under-radar.
Eriq joined Twitter in the summer of 2012 and has more than 25 thousand followers.
Awards and nominations
During his long career, La Salle has 9 noticeable awards and twice as many nominations. The actor was nominated numerous times for Image Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards and won some of them. His biggest achievement is the Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for his work in the television series ER.
A great director and an actor Eriq La Salle seems to be focusing on his career as a writer now. He seems to be working on television less frequently each year and thinks that being a writer is a more fulfilling and better life.
| Birth Date: | 23 Jul, 1962 |
| Age: | 57 yrs |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Hartford |
| Education: | Juilliard School New York University Tisch School of the Arts |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | American actor |
| Net Worth 2021: | 25 million |
