Why does Deputy Sheriff Kent from Blue Bloods look so familiar?
Since its debut, “Blue Bloods” has maintained its penchant for casting stellar actors in one-off cameos. “Snakes on a Plane” star Flex Alexander appears as Detective DeMarcus King in the “Blue Bloods” pilot, “Reno 911!” actor Mather Zickel appears as Dr. Leonard Walker in the Season 13 finale, and more. In fact, if fans happen to recognize a particular guest character in Season 5, Episode 21 of “Blue Bloods,” it’s likely because he’s also played by a major face in the film industry and television role. We’re talking about Deputy Chief Donald Kent, a stalwart of the NYPD and friend of Frank Reagan (Tom Sellick), who ends up becoming the unlucky victim in a murder case.
Although Kent’s screen time is brief, it may be long enough for some viewers to realize that they recognize his actor. Indeed, the character is played by Dennis Haysbert, a performer who has amassed a long list of film and television credits dating back to the late 1970s. Haysbert has appeared in small roles. in all sorts of projects and he has also worked extensively as a voice actor on a variety of animated media projects. However, the highlights of his career have seen him star in some of the most popular television series and films of the past several decades.
Heat (1995)
While the first few decades of Dennis Haysbert’s professional acting career saw him appear in a series of notable projects, arguably his greatest credit during this period of his life came in 1995 with the release of Michael Mann’s iconic crime film, “Heat”. In this cat-and-mouse game between LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and master thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro), Haysbert’s character finds himself allied with the latter. He plays Don Breedan, the good-natured getaway driver for McCauley’s final robbery. Of course, viewers know that things really aren’t going well for the criminal and his accomplices.
Acting opposite De Niro proved to be an extremely memorable experience for Haysbert. In an interview with /Film, he singled out his co-star’s performance in the film’s dinner scene as one of his favorite memories from the shoot. “The first thing that came out of ‘Heat’ was, oh my God, watching De Niro getting ready and standing in the middle of that little restaurant,” he said. “There seemed to be a flurry of activity going on around him, and he seemed very grounded in that moment. I just said, ‘I’m watching one of the best actors alive working here ‘, and he was just in his element.” own head.”
Decades have passed since “Heat” first came out, but it seems Haysbert hasn’t forgotten that experience. In a 2022 interview with Looper, the actor expressed his desire to work with Mann on another project in the future.
24 (2001)
While Heat was a landmark role for Dennis Haysbert, his major career-defining breakthrough role came a few years later when he joined the cast of the hit action film that year. 2001 Fox’s “24”. During the first five seasons, Haysbert played Senator David Palmer, the show’s main character opposite Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer. At the beginning of the series, Bauer is assigned to protect Palmer from an assassination attempt. The two forged a relationship and Palmer later became president of the United States, although the character was eventually written off in Season 5.
In an interview with CinemaBlend, Haysbert spoke highly of his time working on “24” and how the series challenged his doubts from the beginning. “As soon as I started working on it, I saw the seriousness and intensity of the work and the sheer beauty of the script,” he explains. “Not a lot of people know this, but the whole time I was on that show, I never changed a line. That’s how well it was written.”
Haysbert’s portrayal of Palmer attracted attention as one of the most prominent depictions of a black American president in the media before the real-life election of Barack Obama in 2008. At the time election, Haysbert told TODAY that his portrayal of Palmer may have swayed his voter base. “I think my role as David Palmer may have helped open the eyes of the American people,” he said. “And I mean the American people in general… To demonstrate the possibility of having an African-American president, a female president, any kind of president that puts the people first.”
While “The Unit” was well received by critics, the series did not achieve the same commercial success as “24.” Ultimately, the series was canceled after four seasons, although plans for a fifth season were written. The following years saw Haysbert move further into film rather than television.
Sin City: A Woman Who Deserves to Kill (2014)
In a major departure from his roles in “24” and “The Unit,” Dennis Haysbert took on a more villainous role in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s gritty dark blockbuster, “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”. The actor only appears in one of the story vignettes throughout the anthology film’s runtime – that of the title “A Dame to Kill For” – but he left a standout impression during his time. limited amount of appearances.
In the film, Haysbert plays Manute, the strong and ever-loyal bodyguard of Eva Green’s Lord Ava Green. Despite his polite personality, Manute has a rather intimidating body, with limited superhuman strength and a tendency to disregard fatal injuries. Suffice it to say, he proves to be a major threat to Josh Brolin’s Dwight McCarthy as he unravels the secrets behind Ava’s motives.
Haysbert took over the role of Manute from the late Michael Clarke Duncan, who portrayed the character in 2005’s “Sin City” and died in 2012. As Haysbert explained in an interview with Collider, he sought how to distinguish Manute’s iteration from the closed version. by Duncan. “I can’t sit there and try to imitate Michael Clarke Duncan,” the actor said. “I thought it would be a disaster. I had to make it my own. I tried to take the many nuances that he had with the character and utilize them as best I could, and create a Unique character for me.”
The Dark Tower (2017)
Moving from adaptation to adaptation, 2017’s The Dark Tower — based on Stephen King’s series of novels of the same name — cast Dennis Haysbert in a pivotal role. Specifically, Haysbert plays Steven Deschain, father of Idris Elba’s Roland Deschain, aka Gunslinger. Steven’s murder at the hands of Walter Padick (Matthew McConaughey) serves as the driving force behind Roland’s journey, as he embarks on a strange quest to get revenge on Walter and stop him from destroying the Black Tower. Dark.
Although Haysbert had not read any of “The Dark Tower” before filming the film adaptation, he was drawn to the project by recognizing King’s status as an acclaimed author and its unique blend of unique among its genres. “It’s different,” he said in an interview with Ebony.com. “It’s interesting because it’s a great story, it has those two elements – science fiction and the Western. It’s very rare that they combine the two with real success.”
Although the critical reception of “The Dark Tower” was ultimately mixed, plans were initially made for a television series by “The Walking Dead” producer Glen Mazzara development will have continuity with the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project is expected to feature several film actors reprising their roles, including Haysbert as Steven. However, work on the show eventually ended after Amazon passed on the series.
Lucifer (2020)
Rounding out Dennis Haysbert’s list of notable credits is his recurring part on Netflix’s “Lucifer,” which might just be one of his most towering roles. Throughout the show’s fifth season, Haysbert appeared several times as God – as a religious deity who was actually God. In a rather surprising plot twist, God returns to Earth and meets his son, Lucifer (Tom Ellis) and his friends just as he announces his retirement. The result was a major power struggle between his Angel children, although luckily Lucifer eventually resolved things.
According to Ellis, he was pleased to see that his chemistry with Haysbert while filming made Lucifer’s God and father-son dynamic believable. “The nice thing about working with him is that it’s really easy,” he explained in an interview with In Creative Company. “Like, Dennis felt like my dad from the moment I met him. Now, maybe it’s because I respect him so much as a performer, an actor, and a president , but it’s not difficult to think of him as my father.”
Interestingly, Haysbert’s stint on “Lucifer” ended up being a mini “24” reunion. As God, the actor appears alongside D.B. Amenadiel of Woodside. Of course, the pair of actors previously worked together on “24,” with Haysbert and Woodside playing brothers David Palmer and Wayne Palmer, respectively. That’s not a coincidence either. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Lucifer” showrunner Joe Henderson revealed that Woodside was the one who suggested the team approach Haysbert for the role.
