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A seasoned actor in television, theatre, and film, best known for his role as Paramedic Dwight Zadro on NBC's ER for fifteen seasons, has won the SAG Award for Best Dramatic Ensemble four times. His film and cable credits include The Player's Club, HBO's Laurel Avenue, TNT's Lily in Winter opposite Natalie Cole; a three-year role on One Life to Live; and numerous television appearances on shows such as Shameless, Detroit 187, and Cold Case.
His writing work includes the award-winning short Something for Nothing, which he also directed and starred Sharif Atkins and Brent Jennings, as well as The Art of Theft, winner of the Feeding Frenzy Screenwriting competition.
His extensive stage experience covers Broadway's King Hedley II (performed as Mister alongside Viola Davis and Leslie Uggams), A Few Good Men, Prelude to a Kiss, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and Fences at the Kennedy Center; New York Public Theatre's East Texas Hotlinks; and Cleveland Playhouse's African American production of The Glass Menagerie.
Recent theatrical performances include a critically acclaimed portrayal of legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in BIRD LIVES! in Los Angeles. He has also performed 132 shows of the one-man play Thurgood, a hit at Pittsburgh Public Theatre and Florida Studio Theatre. Other recent works include The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, which earned the NAACP Best Ensemble Award.
His connection with August Wilson began as a teen when he originated the role of Youngblood in the inaugural production of Jitney at Allegheny Repertory Theatre in Pittsburgh. August Wilson later wrote him a letter of recommendation, enabling him to attend Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts for conservatory actor training. Since then, he has performed in nine of the ten plays in Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. In October 2015, he was set to appear in The Piano Lesson, becoming the first actor to perform in all ten Wilson plays.
He holds a degree from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA from Rutgers' Mason Gross School of the Arts. A member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, he is actively engaged in South LA through his nonprofit organization, Successful Youth Los Angeles. More information can be found at MontaeRussell.net.
