NetflixMovies
Glynn Turman

Glynn Turman

30 movies on Netflix

Biography

Glynn Turman is an American actor who began as a child actor in the 1959 Broadway premiere of A Raisin in the Sun, playing Travis Younger at twelve. Born in New York City and trained at the High School of Performing Arts, he apprenticed with regional and repertory companies, then earned stage honors including NAACP Image Awards and a Dramalogue Award. His film career took off in the 1970s with Cooley High (1975), J.D.'s Revenge (1976) and The River Niger (1976), and he later appeared in Men of Honor (2000), Sahara (2005), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Burlesque (2010), Super 8 (2011) and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020). On television he played Lew Miles on Peyton Place, Bradford Taylor on A Different World and Mayor Clarence Royce on The Wire, and he won a Primetime Emmy for his guest role on In Treatment.

79years old

Turns 80 on January 31in 111 days

  • Born New York City
  • Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
  • Also credited as Glynn Russell Turman

Movie Career

Films
30
Career span
51 years1974 to 2025

Genres

First and latest

Share

Did you know?!

  1. A role that slipped away

    Turman tried out for Han Solo in Star Wars. He later said George Lucas had him in mind but thought a black Han Solo and a white Princess Leia might cause too much controversy, so he avoided it.

  2. First role

    At 12, Turman took his first major acting part: Travis Younger in the original Broadway staging of A Raisin in the Sun, alongside Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee.

  3. A change of course

    Turman started Camp Gid D Up, which teaches urban youth in southern California horse skills and values. For almost 40 years he has been co-grand marshal of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, a celebration of black cowboys.

Glynn Turman movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

Top of the page, the section list
  1. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom2020 Drama, Musicas Toledo

    IMDb rating 6.979K votes

  2. The Way Back2020 Dramaas Doc

    IMDb rating 6.757K votes

  3. Bumblebee2018as General Whalen

    IMDb rating 6.7212K votes

  4. Sahara2005as Dr. Frank Hopper

    IMDb rating 6.1110K votes

  5. John Dies at the End2013as Detective

    IMDb rating 6.342K votes

  6. Rustin2023as A. Philip Randolph

    IMDb rating 6.515K votes

  7. Super 82011as Dr. Woodward

    IMDb rating 7.0384K votes

  8. Cooley High1975as Preach

    IMDb rating 7.16.3K votes

Most often with

George C. Wolfe directed two of these films. Carl Lumbly appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top of the page, the section list
Carl Lumbly, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Carl LumblyWhoopi Goldberg, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Whoopi GoldbergForest Whitaker, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Forest WhitakerJames Earl Jones, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with James Earl JonesLouis Gossett Jr., 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Louis Gossett Jr.Angela Bassett, 2 films togetherSee the 2 films with Angela BassettGeorge C. WolfeDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by George C. Wolfe

Films together

Box office

What Glynn Turman's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

Top of the page, the section list

Combined worldwide box office

$1.2 billion

15 of the 30 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 30 films: 15 worldwide figure; 1 us gross only; 5 never in cinemas; 2 streaming, short cinema run; 7 figure not found.

  • 15Worldwide figure
  • 1US gross only
  • 5Never in cinemas
  • 2Streaming, short cinema run
  • 7Figure not found

Top grosser

Bumblebee2018as General Whalen$468 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 97% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Bumblebee2018as General Whalen
    $468M39.4% of the total
  2. 2
    Super 82011as Dr. Woodward
    $260M21.9% of the total
  3. 3
    Sahara2005as Dr. Frank Hopper
    $119M10.0% of the total
  4. 4
    Burlesque2010as Harold Saint
    $90M7.5% of the total
  5. 5
    Men of Honor2000as Chief Floyd
    $82M6.9% of the total
  6. 6
    Takers2010as Chief Detective Duncan
    $80M6.8% of the total
  7. 7
    How Stella Got Her Groove Back1998as Dr. Shakespeare
    $38M3.2% of the total
  8. 8
    The Way Back2020as Doc
    $15M1.2% of the total
Cooley High (1975), $13.0 millionThe Inkwell (1994), $8.9 millionLight It Up (1999), $6.0 millionOut of Bounds (1986), $5.1 millionThe Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974), $3.0 millionThe Outlaw Johnny Black (2023), $300,064John Dies at the End (2013), $142,000

$36.4 millionfrom the other 7 films with a worldwide figure, 3% of the total

Awards

Two awards and honors, one of them major.

Top of the page, the section list
Glynn Turman's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Emmy Awards
2008Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama SeriesIn TreatmentWon
Other honors
Ovation AwardsWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

Top of the page, the section list