Grantham Coleman

Biography

Grantham Coleman is an American actor who studied drama at Juilliard and graduated in 2011. Born in 1990, he had one of his first professional stage appearances in 2012 as Romeo at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. He went on to appear in off-Broadway productions such as Choir Boy and One Night..., and later played Hamlet at the Old Globe. In 2019 he won a Viv award for his Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, an all-Black Shakespeare in the Park production broadcast on PBS, and was nominated for an Antonyo Award for playing Martin Luther King Jr. in The Great Society on Broadway. His film work includes Seberg (2019), Black Bear (2020), and Rustin (2023). On television, he has appeared in The Americans, 11.22.63, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Lawmen: Bass Reeves. In 2024 he was cast in his first lead role, in The Emperor of Ocean Park.

Movie Career

Films: 3
Career span: 4 years2019 to 2023

Every film, newest first

2023RustinIMDb rating 6.5
2020Black BearIMDb rating 6.5
2019SebergIMDb rating 6.0

Genres

Did you know?!

First role
In 2012, Coleman took on the role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet for one of his earliest professional stage appearances, at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
Behind the award
In 2019 Coleman played an "adorably goofy" Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing at the Shakespeare in the Park festival in New York. One performance aired on PBS as part of Great Performances, and the production stood out for its all-Black cast. He won a Viv award for the part.
Big break
In 2024, Deadline reported that Coleman landed his first lead role, playing Tal Garland in The Emperor of Ocean Park, an adaptation of Stephen L. Carter's novel, with Forest Whitaker also starring.