Carl Lumbly is a talented and versatile actor with over 150 credits in theatre, film, television, and voiceover. He has received extensive critical acclaim for his work and has been a familiar face on television, making memorable appearances in shows such as Marvel's "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" and "Supergirl".
In film, Lumbly has played a pivotal role in Warner Bros.' supernatural thriller "Doctor Sleep", the imaginative continuation of "The Shining" storyline, and has starred in the horror miniseries "The Fall of the House of Usher" based on works by Edgar Allan Poe. He has also been cast in Intrepid Pictures' horror feature "The Life of Chuck" based on a Stephen King novella.
Lumbly's television credits include a recurring role as CIA agent 'Marcus Dixon' in ABC's hit drama series "Alias" and as classic DC character M'yrnn J'onzz, the father of J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter in The CW television series "Supergirl". He has also had recurring roles on NBC's "This Is Us", CBS' "S.W.A.T.", Showtime's "The Chi" and CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles".
In addition to his on-screen work, Lumbly has appeared in award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson's "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool", a feature-length documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and screened theatrically to wide acclaim. He has also voiced the iconic jazz musician in this documentary.
Lumbly's feature credits include a role opposite Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr. in "Men of Honor" and starring as a former football player affected by the segregated South in "Everybody's All-American". He has also appeared in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back", "South Central", "Pacific Heights", "To Sleep With Anger", "The Bedroom Window", "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai", "Caveman", "Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation", and director Gore Verbinski's supernatural horror feature "A Cure for Wellness".
Lumbly was raised with three sisters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Jamaican immigrant parents who stressed education and reading as the gateway to respect, success, and achievement. He worked in libraries to earn money and have ready access to the larger worlds of literature, world history, and art, which inspired his early appreciation for literature. An English major in college, Lumbly's first love was writing, and he worked as a journalist in Minneapolis before becoming an actor.
Lumbly's versatility spans a range of characters, from his NAACP Image Award-nominated work in TNT's "Buffalo Soldiers" to a wealthy, black entrepreneur in "Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding". He has also starred in the telefilms "Just a Dream", "Color of Friendship", "Little Richard", "On Promised Land", "The Ditchdigger's Daughters", "Nightjohn", and "Sounder".
In addition to his television and film work, Lumbly has received glowing reviews for his stage performances, including his 2015 performance of 'Pops Washington' in "Between Riverside and Crazy" at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) in San Francisco. He has also starred Off-Broadway at Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre in New York's Pershing Square Signature Center in "stop. reset" and in the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre's 2012 production of British playwright Joe Penhall's comedy drama "Blue/Orange" in San Francisco.
In 2024, The Caribbean Heritage Organization honored Lumbly with the Legend Award, which celebrated the dignity, humanity, and talent of Carl Lumbly and his enormous contributions to the entertainment industry as a Jamaican-American actor and son of Jamaican immigrant parents.
