Government Name: Rockmond Dunbar
Hometown: Oakland, Calif.
Line of Work: Actor, Director, Producer and Screenwriter
Claim to Fame: Played Kenny Chadway on the critically acclaimed Showtime original series “Soul Food” from 2000-2004.
Debut: Played Eric Haynes in Misery Loves Company in 1993.
Fun Facts: Named one of “Television’s 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time” by TV Guide. His current show, “Prison Break,” won the 2006 People’s Choice Award for Best New Drama Series. Studied at Morehouse College and the University of New Mexico.
Producer: Co-produced Jada in 2008; produced Dirty Laundry in 2006; and produced The Great Commission in 2003
Director: “Behind the Scenes: The Great Commission” for TV in 2003; and the film The Great Commission, also in 2003.
What Dunbar said then: At the “Soul Food” farewell party at the grandiose Director’s Guild of America building in Los Angeles in 2004, Dunbar proclaimed, “No one can tell me that I can’t do this now.”
What Dunbar is saying now: “No one can tell me that I can’t direct. I did a wonderful job. Everyone loves it. No one can tell me that I can’t produce. I went [to] a network with my producing partners … we pitched seven projects and they liked six.”
What he likes best about the business: “I’m doing it, man — and I love it. I wake up every day just thinking how can I put something else creative together, that I think would be entertain[ing] … lucrative and viable. So … I’m really happy.”
Biggest pet peeve in the business: “I don’t have time to talk. I absolutely hate taking meetings [that fails to include a doable plan of action]. I know people that I’ve taken meetings from 10 years ago. They are still just taking meetings. If it can’t produce anything that is positive or that can help put money into my pocket or get my creative ideas up and running so that it can have longevity, then there’s no reason to do it.”
–terry shropshire
