Biography
The Journey
From the rugged streets of Buffalo, New York and the dark hallways of the Michigan Street Baptist Church (once a place of refuge for runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad) award-winning director, writer and actor Addison Henderson emerged.
Growing up on the east side of Buffalo, Henderson was exposed to the bitter realities of the urban environment that surrounded him. However, being raised by his father, a local historian/pastor, and his mother, a politician/Army veteran, allowed him to occasionally escape this backdrop. While spending summers abroad and in other cities throughout the U.S., Henderson learned early on about the plight of people from various cultures. He became introspective at an early age and longed to express what he was feeling. This led Henderson to discover his passion for acting, and he began to perform in church plays.
Henderson went on to attend Alfred State College on a football scholarship, but still kept his passion for the arts. However, it was not until he experienced the painful tragedy of losing his best friend to gun violence that Henderson realized he had to stop taking life for granted. He knew it was time to pursue his dream of becoming an actor and filmmaker.
In 2001, he began formal training as an actor at HB Studios in New York City, where he studied with world-renowned instructors Edward Morehouse, Austin Pendleton and Eleanor Harris. He also appeared in several stage productions. While pursuing acting in New York, Henderson worked as the marketing and production coordinator at The Film Life, Inc. (the producers of the acclaimed American Black Film Festival) under the tutelage of President Jeff Friday. There, Henderson gained invaluable business knowledge of the film industry and the inner workings of a film company.
After relocating to Los Angeles in 2003, Henderson continued to hone his acting skills and studied with noted acting coach, Tom Todoroff. A year later, he interned at Eriq LaSalle's Humble Journey Films where he was able to expand his creativity as an artist.
Henderson's experience as a director began with the stage. Notably, he directed Blood Knot, a two-man play about South African brothers, in which he also starred. In 2005, Henderson formed his own production company, Night Owl Republic. It was then that he stepped behind the camera to direct his first film, A Step Away from A Note, in which he played the lead role.
Later that pivotal year, Henderson went on to co-direct the award-winning documentary, The Forgotten City, which was a love letter and call to action for his hometown, Buffalo, New York. The soul-binding film contained groundbreaking footage and interviews from prominent figures in the city. It chronicled the murder of his best friend and other stories reflecting life in the inner city, and explored ideas on how to effect change. The film found a home on Free Speech TV, reaching millions of homes and changing the lives of many. To this day, Buffalo residents approach Henderson to discuss the importance of the film and the impact it had on them. In 2008, Henderson completed The Experience, an inspirational documentary about finding identity. Henderson took a film crew of fifteen people to Ghana, West Africa for six weeks. The group explored the transatlantic slave trade throughout the country, and met with residents documenting their oral history. The documentary received a positive reception and was distributed on The Africa Channel.
After spending years holed up in creative heaven writing pilots and feature films, 2012 would prove to be another great year for Henderson. It was then that he co-created and directed the acclaimed web-series, The Q&A Show - a raw and hilarious sketch comedy show, executive produced by Jeff Friday. Henderson and Friday collaborated again on The Pro Hollywood Boot Camp, Friday's innovative project that brought pro football players together to learn the trade of filmmaking and complete a short film in forty-eight hours. Over the course of three years, Henderson scouted locations, produced production crews, and facilitated script development for approximately sixty players.
It was also in 2012 that Henderson developed The Sunder, a high-concept science fiction disaster series chronicling the seven years of tribulation. During this time, Henderson directed six more short films. Henderson also reconnected with Buffalo native, Kevin Polowy, the senior correspondent for Yahoo Entertainment. The two came together to create The Healer, a television series dealing in the supernatural realm. The project was one of nine selected from thousands of applicants to be part of the Producers Guild of America - Producing Program. Since the inception of his production company Night Owl Republic in 2005, Henderson has written, produced, and directed feature documentaries, short films, commercials, and music videos. Among the highlights, Henderson directed a commercial for American Black Film Festival, produced the multi-award winning short film, Lifeline (for which he was recently commissioned to write the feature script), has served as a producer for the annual NAACP Cinematic Short Film competition for the past four years, and directed and produced several short form documentaries for various non-profits to promote their work in the community, as well as a virtual fundraiser for the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles.
Most recently, Henderson wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film, Givers of Death (G.O.D.), a prescient apocalyptic thriller. The independent film went on to premiere at the American Black Film Festival, secured multiple nominations, and won Best Screenplay. Givers of Death is available on all streaming platforms and is also playing on The Showtime Network. A New York Times article listed it as one of its "Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now" and reporter, Elisabeth Vincentelli wrote, "Henderson shows a rare command of mood on what probably was a shoestring budget." Henderson also worked closely with the extraordinary Chadwick Boseman on some of the highest-grossing films of all time, including Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame. Working alongside such a phenomenal artist and friend has imbued Henderson with a great responsibility to carry the torch forward.
Henderson's next project is a feature-length sports documentary about Bills Mafia. As an artist Henderson has motivated and touched many people through his filmmaking, as well as his teaching. He frequently conducts filmmaking workshops with inner city youth and college students. The future is proving to be a bright one as Henderson continues to forge his path ahead by creating artistic and meaningful work for the masses.
