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Harold Perrineau, Jr. (born August 7, 1963) is an American actor, known for the roles of Michael Dawson in the U.S. television series Lost, Link in The Matrix films and games, Augustus Hill in the American television series Oz (his character also serves as the narrator for the series), and Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. He is often credited without the suffix "Jr.". A theatrically trained actor, Harold Perrineau has appeared in a wide array of roles throughout his busy – but often unrecognized – career. Because of this variety of parts, Perrineau has been difficult to typecast – an accomplishment the actor not only appreciated, but worked hard to achieve. Though he broke in with a brief stint on “Fame” (1981-87), Perrineau became more of a known commodity with a supporting role on HBO’s grisly prison drama, “Oz” (1997-2003). But it was his role as Michael Dawson on the hit ABC series “Lost” (2004- ), a man struggling to be a father to his son (Malcolm David Kelly) after crash landing with 46 others on a mysterious island, that finally earned the actor the name recognition he long deserved. Harold's wife Brittany is a model actress. He and his wife Brittany have a daughter, Aurora Robinson Perrineau. Grew up in Brooklyn. He studied music & theater at the Shenandoah Conservatory. Perrineau is his mother's maiden name, and his father is Harold Williams Sr. His parents never married, so he used both names growing up, eventually settling on Williams. When he joined SAG there was already a Harold Williams, so he took the Perrineau from his mom and the Jr. from his dad for his stage name, even though there is no actual Harold Perrineau Sr. Perrineau, Jr. was born Harold Perrineau in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Harold Williams, Sr. His parents changed his name to Williams at the age of 7. Harold later legally changed his name back to his birth name, after discovering there was already a Harold Williams in the screen actors guild union. His French surname is actually his mother's maiden name. Perrineau and his wife, Brittany, have a daughter, Aurora Robinson Perrineau, born 1995. It was confirmed in People Magazine that Brittany and Harold are expecting their second daughter, due in May of 2008. In 1989, Perrineau was cast as the original Tyrone Jackson in the world premiere of the stage adaptation of the 1980 hit movie Fame (now known as Fame: The Musical) at the Walnut Street Theatre. In 1995, he finagled his way into playing a 16-year-old in Wayne Wang’s critically acclaimed film "Smoke," a comedy that wove together stories centering around a smoke shop. Despite being closer to 30 than 16, Perrineau pulled off the role brilliantly, earning himself an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Male. An accomplished Shakespearean actor, he naturally fit into the role of Mercutio opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, and John Leguizamo in Baz Luhrmann's contemporary rendition of "William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet" (1996). The following year, Perrineau was cast in the critically acclaimed series "OZ,” created by Tom Fontana. Perrineau portrayed Augustus Hill, the wheel chair-bound narrator imprisoned for 20 years-to-life for drug dealing and murder, whose neutrality in gang matters allowed him to be one of the more decent characters, making him the moral center of the series. Continuing to widen his acting palette, Perrineau was cast in the romantic comedy "The Best Man" (1999); then played a drag queen in Fina Torres' "Woman on Top" (2000), co-starring Penelope Cruz. In 2003, Perrineau gained wide exposure as Link, the pilot and crew operator aboard the Zion hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, in the blockbuster sequels "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions." The following year, Perrineau was cast in the critically acclaimed series "OZ,” created by Tom Fontana. Perrineau portrayed Augustus Hill, the wheel chair-bound narrator imprisoned for 20 years-to-life for drug dealing and murder, whose neutrality in gang matters allowed him to be one of the more decent characters, making him the moral center of the series. Continuing to widen his acting palette, Perrineau was cast in the romantic comedy "The Best Man" (1999); then played a drag queen in Fina Torres' "Woman on Top" (2000), co-starring Penelope Cruz. In 2003, Perrineau gained wide exposure as Link, the pilot and crew operator aboard the Zion hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar, in the blockbuster sequels "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions." Michael made his series exit at the end of the second season after making a deal with Ben Linus (Michael Emerson), the controlling leader of the Others, who gave him and Walt a boat and directions to get off the island. With speculation circling whether or not he would return to “Lost,” Perrineau moved on to other projects, appearing in a small, but pivotal role in “28 Weeks Later” (2007), a surprisingly good sequel to Danny Boyle’s excellent sci-fi horror film “28 Days Later” (2002), that saw the British Isles devastated by the so-called rage virus, which turns humans into unstoppable, blood-thirsty zombies. Perrineau took the role of Link in The Matrix series after the original operator Tank was written off the script when Marcus Chong was fired over money disputes. Lost co-star Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje starred with Perrineau on the HBO series Oz. Perrineau was temporarily written off Lost with his character leaving the island with his son at the end of season two and did not appear at all in season three; however, his return to the show for its fourth season was announced in July 2007. |
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