Biography
Pronounced "shy," like the colloquial term for his hometown of Chicago, Chi McBride didn't get into acting until he was 30 years old. He is probably most recognized for his role as principal Steven Harper on Fox's
Boston Public. Before his first movie, he worked for a phone company, trained as a gospel singer, and joined the hip-hop band Covert. With McBride as a producer and vocalist, the band released their first and only album For Your Bootay Only in 1991. Not soon after, he started appearing as a guest star on Fox sitcoms, including
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. His feature-length debut happened a year later in Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation. Billed as simply
Chi, he then gained small roles for the
Eddie Murphy movie
The Distinguished Gentleman and the
Tina Turner story What's Love Got to Do With It?
In 1993, McBride found a spot for himself on NBC for The John Larroquette Show, playing the janitor Heavy Gene. Teaming up next with the Hudlin brothers, he then appeared in the HBO
Twilight Zone-style trilogy
Cosmic Slop, hosted by George Clinton. His next few diverse projects were supporting roles in
Peter Jackson's horror comedy
The Frighteners,
Bill Duke's period crime flick
Hoodlum, and the action thriller
Mercury Rising.
McBride's first leading role came in the form of the short-lived and controversial UPN sitcom
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer, playing the stuffy English title character who was mistakenly enslaved to Abraham Lincoln. After appearances in
Gone in 60 Seconds and
Disney's The Kid, he found his well-known spot on
Boston Public. While gaining high marks for his role on the David E. Kelley drama, McBride parlayed his increased notoriety into a number of higher-profile big-screen roles.
2002 found McBride as a police captain in the intense cop-thriller
Narc, and the over-the-top Chief in the comedy
Undercover Brother. And while the following year saw
Boston Public cancelled, the free-time afforded to McBride by the show's end only allowed him to sign on to roles in two of 2004's most anticipated films, the
Steven Spielberg/
Tom Hanks dramedy
The Terminal and I, Robot, an action sci-fi flick starring
Will Smith. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide