Biography
Derricks was born in Knoxville, Tennessee to a pianist mother and Baptist preacher/composer Cleavant Derricks, Sr. His twin brother is actor and musician Clinton Derricks-Carroll. Derricks began his career as a Nashville gospel songwriter. With his father, he wrote the gospel album Satisfaction Guaranteed. He was the musical director and composer for the musical When Hell Freezes Over I'll Skate.
Derricks went to New York City to study acting with Vinnette Carroll at the Urban Arts Theatre. He received rave reviews for his performance in her Broadway shows, including But Never Jam Today. He also won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for creating the role of James "Thunder" Early in Dreamgirls. He also starred in the Broadway musical Brooklyn as the Streetsinger.
Soon afterwards, Derricks appeared in films such as Moscow on the Hudson, Neil Simon's The Slugger's Wife and recently, Wes Craven's Carnival of Souls. He was a series regular on the television series Thea with Thea Vidale and Brandy, and Good Sports with Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal. His role as Rembrandt Brown (known as the Crying Man) on Sliders with Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd and John Rhys-Davies is notable because Derricks is the only original Sliders actor to appear throughout the entire series. In addition, Derricks has had numerous guest-starring roles in series such as Roseanne, A Different World, Miami Vice, Spenser: For Hire, Charmed and many others.
Read more about this topic: Cleavant Derricks (actor)
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