Dennis Haysbert
Dennis Haysbert
Dennis Dexter Haysbertis an American film and television actor. He is best known for playing U.S. SenatorDavid Palmer on the first 5 series of 24, he is also known for portraying baseball player Pedro Cerrano in the Major League film trilogy, Secret Service Agent Tim Collin in the 1997 political thriller film Absolute Power, and Sergeant Major Jonas Blane on the drama series The Unit. He also appears in commercials for Allstate Insurance and has appeared in the films Love...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth2 June 1954
CitySan Mateo, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I definitely wanted to pay homage to what he did and use his performance in the first one as a foundation. But, I had to make it my own. I couldn't sit there and try to imitate Michael Clarke Duncan. I think that would have been disastrous. I had to make it my own. I tried to take as many nuances that he had with the character and utilize them as best I could, while creating a character that was unique to me. That's going to happen, no matter what.
No matter what you set out to do and how you set out to do it, you ultimately have to be who you are, and who you are as that character. So, I paid as much homage as I could to what Michael Clarke did, and had to rely on my own gifts to guide me through it.
There's part of it when Manute has both eyes. And the character was actually fleshed out a lot more, in this movie. I got to show people who Manute is and why he is and how devout he is. He is Ava's protector and punisher.
First of all, I never think of my characters as good or evil. I play them as honestly as I can. When you're playing a good character, you have an idea that you're playing the hero and the good guy.
I would love a combination of action/adventure and... love. And stories told with heart. I would like people to be invigorated as well as moved. People to see the movie and see that. I love to play, y'know, well-rounded characters.
I didn't think Palmer should have been killed at all. I didn't like the message that it sent. There is too much meanness in the world - why kill off a character that is so loved by everybody?
Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.
I would love a combination of action/adventure and... love. And stories told with heart. I would like people to be invigorated as well as moved. People to see the movie and see that. I love to play, y'know, well-rounded characters.
I think I'd make a great superhero. I'm serious. I want to play a superhero, and I've already got one in mind. I think I've still got the body for the costume, and it's something I really want to do.
I took one thing to heart that I heard from Sidney Poitier in 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.' And it resonated so much with me. He says: 'Dad, you always looked at yourself as a black man. I look at myself as a man.'
The fact that I'm an African-American man as a lead, it really doesn't surprise me at all because I've never seen myself as a victim or any of those things. I just thought that when I wasn't a lead before, it was just shortsighted.
There is definitely a certain cadence to David's work. You'll see his fingerprints all over the scripts. It really makes for entertaining dialogue. They were really fun to say.
There is definitely a certain cadence to David's work. And as you see more of the episodes, you'll see that his fingerprints are all over scripts and it really makes for entertaining dialogue, and they were awfully fun to say.
All of the directors I work with have their own unique gifts. My particular segment deals with online dating. It's a very interesting take on it, and a great observation of what goes on there.