Biography
Donnell Turner was born on January 8th in Tacoma, WA. When he was a baby his family relocated to Chicago. The love for acting was born as a child when Turner participated in church plays. In high school he played basketball and played trumpet in the band. The talented athlete briefly played semi-pro basketball as a shooting guard before changing his focus to pursue acting full-time. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2001, Turner has booked more than 100 print ads worldwide including: Nike, Pepsi, Hilton, Disney, AT&T, Coke, and Infinity. In addition to these major brands, he has also worked in 9 national commercial campaigns in the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Turner was the 2014 Mercedes Benz C-Class Spokesman.
Turner has modeled ALL over the U.S. and internationally including: Hong Kong, Thailand, France, Italy, Amsterdam, Belgium, and Spain. The actor has noted that one of his favorite places in the world is Florence, Italy. He trained with Northern California Casting, Van Marr Academy, Beverly Hills Playhouse, and Lesley Kahn Acting Studios.
In 2014 and 2015 he was the lead in two important plays in Los Angeles including the classic, "The Black Doctor" (Ira Aldridge circa 1759) at the Legendary Matrix Theater, and, the modern "Crescent City Ghosts" (a tribute to the 10 year anniversary of hurricane Katrina). Turner says, "Ira Aldridge was known as the "Black Shakespeare" and I knew if I could proficiently carry the lead in that, I could do anything, performance wise! What an Honor!"
Some of his television credits include: "How To Get Away With Murder," "Dexter," " Anger Management," "Rizzoli and Isles," " 2 Broke Girls," "Revenge," "The Mindy Project," "Teen Wolf," "CSI," "90210," and "Parks and Recreation." The versatile actor is not a stranger to daytime drama. He portrayed the character of Dr. Aiden Williams opposite to Kristian Alfonso on "Days of Our Lives" for five episodes between 2009 and 2010. He also briefly portrayed a doctor on "The Young and the Restless" in 2015 for two episodes. Turner's perseverance and tenacity paid off. He grew up watching General Hospital and began writing to casting director Mark Teschner in the 1990's. He auditioned for the role of the District Attorney in 2014.
However ABC had other plans for this hidden gem, and later offered a 4-year contract to bring life to the original character created specifically for him as Curtis Ashford on "General Hospital." Since November 30th, 2015 he has been gracing our screens with his good looks, talent, skill, and charisma portraying this unpredictable anti-villain.
In reference to the craft he loves so much, Turner states, "I believe Theater training is vital for any actor."
He has given motivational speeches empowering and encouraging others across the country at high schools, colleges, religious organizations, and professional business events. On April 2, 2016 (Global Autism Awareness Day), Donnell was an honored guest speaker at the Autism Speaks Walk Now event.
Fitness is an integral part of Donnell Turner's life. Aside from a regular workout routine that includes hiking and kickboxing, which he has been practicing for 30 years. He has Firearms (9 mm) training, Knife Combat, Nun Chuckas, Submission Wrestling, Tae Kwon Do, Tang So Do, Muay Thai and Yoga. He is very proud to have studied and practiced Muay Thai in Bangkok, Thailand. You can enjoy seeing photos of him on his social media accounts; Twitter: @donnellturner1 and Instagram: Donnellturner.
Turner talks about how that urban-to-countryside transition helped him with his acting career. He said, "I moved from the concrete to the sticks and I believe that gives me range as an actor. There have been many real-world bumps in the road along the way and I choose to use everything that I've been through as a point of reference as an actor.
