Andre Braugher, the star of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Homicide: Life on the Street, has died aged 61 following a brief illness.
Braugher often portrayed police officers during his career, performing both in dramatic and comedic roles.
He won two Emmy Awards, from a total 11 nominations across his career, for his roles in Homicide and Thief.
Terry Crews, who played Terry Jeffords in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, paid tribute to Braugher’s “irreplaceable talent”.
“I’m honoured to have known you, laughed with you, worked with you and shared eight glorious years watching your irreplaceable talent,” Crews posted on Instagram.
“This hurts. You left us too soon. You taught me so much. I will be forever grateful for the experience of knowing you. Thank you for your wisdom, your advice, your kindness and your friendship.
“You showed me what a life well lived looks like.”
Born in Chicago, Braugher graduated from Stanford University before attending The Juilliard School for drama.
He was nominated for 11 Emmy Awards – including four for his role as Captain Raymond Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
He won in 1998 for his role in Homicide: Life on the Street, and in 2006 for his performance in Thief, in which he played the leader of a heist crew.
Braugher’s breakthrough came in the 1989 film Glory, where he played a soldier in a black Union regiment in the American civil war.
Directed by Ed Zwick, the film also starred Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman and Denzel Washington – who won his first Academy Award for his supporting role in the film.
Braugher’s television career flourished playing detective Frank Pembleton in the gritty Baltimore police show Homicide: Life on the Street, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1998.
He most recently starred in She Said, the biographical drama that sees Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan play the investigative journalists who broke the Harvey Weinstein story.
He played Dean Baquet, the New York Times executive editor who oversaw the two reporters.
The actor’s other film credits include Primal Fear, which saw him star opposite Richard Gere, Salt, with Angelina Jolie, and City of Angels, alongside Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage.
But many will remember him best for his role as Captain Ray Holt in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which saw Braugher star alongside Andy Samberg, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio and Melissa Fumero, playing New York police officers in Brooklyn’s fictional 99th Precinct.
David Simon, whose non-fiction book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets inspired the show Homicide: Life on the Street, said Braugher’s death was “too damn soon”.
“I’ve worked with a lot of wonderful actors. I’ll never work with one better,” Simon, who also created The Wire, said on X.
Actor Marc Evan Jackson, who played Braugher’s on-screen husband in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, shared a picture of the pair hugging while on set, wearing their wedding rings.
He captioned the post on X: “O Captain. My Captain.”
Source:bbc.com
