archytele The Vault

Avery Brooks

Acting Born Oct 2, 1948 Evansville, Indiana, USA 24 credits

Biography

Avery Franklin Brooks (born October 2, 1948) is an American actor, director, singer, narrator and educator. He is best known for his television roles as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and as Dr. Bob Sweeney in the Academy Award–nominated film American History X. Brooks was born in Evansville, Indiana, and raised in Gary, Indiana. He attended Oberlin College, where he studied music and theater. After graduating from Oberlin, he moved to New York City to pursue his acting career.

Brooks's first professional acting role was in the play "The Great White Hope" in 1970. He went on to appear in a number of Broadway productions, including "The Wiz" and "A Chorus Line". He also starred in the television miniseries "Roots" in 1977.

In 1993, Brooks was cast as Captain Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The series ran for seven seasons, and Brooks's performance as Sisko was critically acclaimed. He won a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television in 1995.

After Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ended, Brooks continued to work in television and film. He starred in the series "Shark" from 2006 to 2008, and he appeared in the films "American History X" and "The Score".

Brooks is also a talented singer and musician. He has released two albums, "Song of My People" and "The Way I Feel". He is also a gifted director, and he has directed a number of theater productions and television episodes.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Avery Brooks.

Known for

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

as Benjamin Sisko
Film

American History X

as Sweeney
Film

Double Indemnity

as Hawk

Full filmography

  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) as Benjamin Sisko
  • Gargoyles (1994) as Nokkar (voice)
  • American History X (1998) as Sweeney
  • Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) as King Maximus (voice)
  • Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026) as Benjamin Sisko (voice)
  • Spenser: For Hire (1985) as Hawk
  • The Big Hit (1998) as Paris
  • 15 Minutes (2001) as Leon Jackson
  • A Man Called Hawk (1989)
  • The Captains Close Up (2013) as Self
  • The Captains (2011) as Self
  • What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (2018) as Self
  • Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond (1996) as Self
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987) as Uncle Tom
  • Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1991) as Solomon Northup
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes (1993) as Himself
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Way of the Warrior (1995) as Benjamin Sisko
  • For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (2010) as Self - Narrator
  • Roots: The Gift (1988) as Cletus Moyer
  • Spenser: Ceremony (1993) as Hawk
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Emissary (1993) as Benjamin Sisko
  • The Ernest Green Story (1993) as Rev. Lawson
  • Spenser: The Judas Goat (1994) as Hawk
  • Finnegan Begin Again (1985) as Dude on Bus