Ving Rhames
American actor (born 1959)
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Key Takeaways
- Irving Rameses Rhames ( RAYMZ ; born May 12, 1959) is an American actor.
- After early stage work in Shakespeare and contemporary plays, he made his screen debut in 1985 and gained attention through roles in Jacob's Ladder (1990), The People Under the Stairs (1991), and as Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994).
- His other notable work includes Con Air (1997), Rosewood (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and voicing Cobra Bubbles in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002).
- Alongside film and television, Rhames has worked extensively in theater, voice acting, and commercial narration.
- He was named "Irving" after NBC journalist Irving R.
Irving Rameses Rhames ( RAYMZ; born May 12, 1959) is an American actor. Born and raised in Harlem, New York City, he studied drama at SUNY Purchase before transferring to the Juilliard School, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1983. After early stage work in Shakespeare and contemporary plays, he made his screen debut in 1985 and gained attention through roles in Jacob's Ladder (1990), The People Under the Stairs (1991), and as Marsellus Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). Rhames achieved further recognition as Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible film series, appearing in all eight installments.
His other notable work includes Con Air (1997), Rosewood (1997), Out of Sight (1998), Dawn of the Dead (2004), and voicing Cobra Bubbles in Disney’s Lilo & Stitch (2002). In 1998, he won a Golden Globe for portraying boxing promoter Don King in Don King: Only in America, memorably giving the award to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon. Alongside film and television, Rhames has worked extensively in theater, voice acting, and commercial narration.
Early life and education
Rhames was born and raised in Harlem, New York City, the son of Reather, a religious stay-at-home mom raising him and his brother Junior, and Ernest Rhames, an auto mechanic whose parents were South Carolina sharecroppers. He was named "Irving" after NBC journalist Irving R. Levine.
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