Courtney B. Vance

COURTNEY B. VANCE is a respected actor who has been recognized for his work on the stage and the screen.

He starred in "Final Destination 5;" the indie thriller, "The Divide," which has screened at several film festivals; and "Extraordinary Measures," with Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser.

Among Vance's other film credits are "Hurricane Season," with Forest Whitaker and Taraji P. Henson; Rod Lurie's "Nothing But The Truth," opposite Matt Dillon and Kate Beckinsale; Clint Eastwood's "Space Cowboys"; Robert Altman's "Cookie's Fortune"; "Blind Faith," for which he earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor; Penny Marshall's "The Preacher's Wife"; "Dangerous Minds"; "The Adventures of Huck Finn"; John McTiernan's "The Hunt For Red October"; and John Irvin's "Hamburger Hill," in which he made his feature film debut.

On television, Vance starred for five seasons on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," playing Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver, a role that brought him an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. He has also appeared in recurring roles on such critically acclaimed series as "ER," and "Flash Forward" and "The Closer." Earlier, Vance co-starred with Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher in HBO's fact-based historical drama "The Tuskegee Airmen," and he also shared the screen with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott in Showtime's production of "12 Angry Men," directed by William Friedkin. He was also nominated for a Cable ACE Award for his work in Hallmark Hall of Fame's presentation of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson."

Drawing on their extensive experience, Vance and his wife, Angela Bassett, have formed Bassett/Vance Productions. As their first venture, the two have partnered in optioning Percival Everett's novel Erasure, and brought on Dwayne Johnson-Cochran to write the adaptation of the dramatic comedy, now entitled "United States." The film will also mark Bassett's directorial debut.

A native of Detroit, Vance graduated from Harvard College and the prestigious Yale School of Drama before heading to New York to pursue his career. He quickly established himself on the New York stage, receiving a Tony Award nomination for his performance in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences," in which he starred opposite James Earl Jones. He earned his second Tony nomination, and won Theater World and Clarence Derwent Awards, for his portrayal of a seductive con man passing himself off as Sidney Poitier's son in John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation." In addition, Vance was the recipient of an Obie Award for his inspired work in South African playwright Athol Fugard's "My Children! My Africa!" In 2005, he returned to the stage for a well-received run as Walter Burns in John Guare's stage adaptation of "His Girl Friday" at Minneapolis's renowned Guthrie Theatre.

Vance is an Ambassador for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and he and Angela Bassett are also U.S. Ambassadors for UNICEF. In 2006, the pair co-wrote their first book, Friends: A Love Story, an autobiographical story about their individual roads to romance and marriage.

© 2012 Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment