Emerson Brooks
Emerson Brooks pursued his dream of acting a bit later in life, but eventually became a recognizable character actor in TV and film in the early 21st century. Brooks was born in Atlanta, GA, and joined the Army when he was still a teen. After rising up the ranks to Infantry Officer, Brooks decided to go to college, earning a B.S. in Business, Information Technology from the University of Arizona. Following graduation, Brooks spent a few years in Washington D.C. working in the aerospace industry, but his lifelong dream of being an actor still clawed at him, and in 2004, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time. After years of booking small roles and cameos on TV shows such as "NCIS" (CBS, 2003-), "The Office" (NBC, 2005-2013), "24" (FOX, 2001-2010), and "Justified" (FX, 2010-15), and in films like "Terminator Salvation" (2009), "Brüno" (2009), and "Super 8" (2011), Brooks scored his big break in 2011, becoming a series regular on the final season of the legendary soap opera "All My Children" (ABC, 1970-2011). From there, Brooks worked with Clint Eastwood on the Oscar nominated war drama "American Sniper" (2014), and became part of the Marvel Universe with "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014). Brooks went back to his military roots with his next big role, playing Capt. Joseph Meylan in the Navy drama "The Last Ship" (TNT, 2014-).