AVERY BROOKS
Avery Brooks played Captain Benjamin Sisko, the Starfleet Captain in charge of the Deep Space Nine space station on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Ever since his wife was killed in an attack during the famous encounter with the Borg (the bloodiest battle ever recorded in Federation history) Sisko has also been a single parent raising his son, Jake. "Since its inception, Star Trek has always provided a positive message of life in the future," Brooks commented on being a part of the Star Trek legacy. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine provides an opportunity to reinforce how critical it is to find a way to live together." Born and raised in Indiana, Brooks attended Oberlin College, Indiana University and, later on, Rutgers University, where he was the first black MFA graduate in acting and directing. These were his first steps in developing into a distinguished and respected actor, director, musician and teacher. In 1993, Brooks was named Artistic Director of the National Black Arts Festival. Held biannually since 1988 in Atlanta, Georgia, the internationally renowned festival celebrates African-American culture and people of African descent.
Prior to joining Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Brooks performed to critical acclaim in the title role of the Phillip Hayes Dean play "Paul Robeson." He has performed the role since 1982 at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles, and also at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and the Longacre Theater on Broadway. He also portrayed Robeson in "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?," both on and off-Broadway.
A veteran of numerous theatre productions, Brooks has appeared in the lead role in Shakespeare's "Othello" at Washington D.C.'s Folger Theatre, and sang the title role in Anthony Davis's opera, "X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X."
Brooks has hosted several documentaries, including the award winning "The Musical Legacy of Roland Hayes." His television credits include starring in the ABC series A Man Called Hawk and co-starring with Robert Urich in ABC's Spenser: For Hire, a role which he reprised in four two-hour movies for Lifetime.
Furthermore, Brooks has done extensive work with the Smithsonian Institute's Program in Black American Culture. He was seen in the title role in the film "Solomon Northup's Odyssey" for PBS' American Playhouse. Brooks also earned a Cable ACE Award nomination for his portrayal of Uncle Tom in Showtime's production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." He also is the narrator for the large format IMAX film "Africa's Elephant Kingdom." Also in the animal kingdom, Brooks could recently be heard as the narrator behind the highly acclaimed "Walking with Dinosaurs" documentary.
On the feature film front, Brooks recently starred in New Line Cinema's "American History X" co-starring Edward Norton, Edward Furlong and Jennifer Lien. He additionally co-starred with Mark Wahlberg and Lou Diamond Phillips in the Tri-Star feature film "The Big Hit," produced by Wesley Snipes and John Woo.
Since 1972, Brooks has been affiliated with Rutgers University, where he is a tenured professor of theatre at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rutgers University Hall of Distinguished Alumni. He has also taught at Oberlin College and Case Western Reserve University.
