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Henry Oswald Simmons Jr. (b. July 1, 1970 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American actor.
Simmons is one of three children; he has a sister who is his twin. Simmons earned a basketball scholarship at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire, where he earned a business degree. After graduating from college, he briefly worked at a Fortune 500 company in Stamford. Unhappy with his job, Simmons began to study acting and after a few bit roles, he landed a recurring role on the soap opera, Another World. Simmons is best known for playing Detective Baldwin Jones on the ABC drama, NYPD Blue. He also played Queen Latifah's boyfriend in the 2004 action/comedy film Taxi (2004 film).
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Not one to mug for the camera or pursue stardom to feed his ego, actor Henry Simmons has thanked his parents for a solid upbringing—they taught him that hard work and doing his best are the keys to success and thanks to this advice, the actor has become a household name. Born and raised in idyllic Stamford, Connecticut into a middle class home—dad was an IRS officer, mom was a teacher—Simmons attended Franklin Pierce College where he majored in business and flirted with acting. After graduation, he was tapped by a prestigious Connecticut-based Fortune 500 company, but he soon found himself sneaking into Manhattan for auditions. Eventually, Simmons made his first on-screen appearance in “Above the Rim” (1994), a low-budget sports drama about basketball and gangsters, and from there Simmons’ career took off.
After guest starring in episodes of “The Cosby Mysteries” (NBC, 1994-5), “New York Undercover” (Fox, 1994-8), and “Swift Justice” (UPN, 1995-6), Simmons landed a regular role on the long-running daytime soap opera, “Another World” (NBC, 1963-99), in 1997. This led to appearances on “NYPD Blue” as Detective Baldwin Jones. Though the character was supposed to be on for only a few episodes, executive producer Steven Bocho was so impressed with Simmons’ acting ability that he became a regular in 2002, replacing Nick Tuturro’s character, Detective James Martinez and lasting through to the end of the series' run in 2005. Meanwhile, Simmons continued to act in movies. He appeared in “Let It Snow” (1999), a mildly funny romantic comedy that fared better on the festival circuit than the box office. Simmons appeared in another supporting role in “A Gentleman’s Game” (2001), a festival drama about a young boy learning to become a man through playing golf.
When Simmons started baring more than his acting abilities on “NYPD Blue”, he quickly became a hot commodity, which led to supporting roles in more prominent features. He played the adoring beau of New York’s fastest cabbie (Queen Latifah) in the dreadful remake of the French action comedy, “Taxi” (2004). In the made-for-TV miniseries “Spartacus” (2004), he appeared as the gladiator Draba, but the remake of Stanley Kubrick’s classic failed to live up to—let alone surpass—its predecessor. Simmons then had a small role in the family-oriented comedy “Are We There Yet?”, starring former gangsta rapper Ice Cube. The light-hearted comedy failed to warm critics, but the movie opened number one anyway and subsequently filled the coffers at Sony Pictures. |
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HENRY SIMMONS PICTURES |
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MOST POPULAR
Angelina Jolie
Jessica Alba
Paris Hilton
Scarlett Johansson
Jessica Simpson
Britney Spears
Christina Aguilera
Lindsay Lohan
Shakira
Beyonce
Hilary Duff
ADDITIONS
Miley Cyrus
Rihanna
Hayden Panettiere
Miranda Cosgrove
Selena Gomez
Demi Lovato
Vanessa Hudgens
Ashley Tisdale
Jonas Brothers
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