Biography for
Dulé Hill More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

3 May 1975, Orange, New Jersey, USA

Birth Name

Karim Dulé Hill

Height

5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography

Dulé Hill (whose first name is pronounced due-LAY) was born in East Brunswick, New Jersey; raised in Sayreville; and is the youngest of two sons born to his Jamaican parents. His father is an entrepreneur and his mother is an educator. He began attending Marie Wildey School of Dance in East Orange, NJ at the age of 3 and got his first break years later when producers of Broadway's "The Tap Dance Kid" called the school in search of child dancers who could sing and act for the production. As the understudy to Savion Glover in "The Tap Dance Kid," he went on to perform the lead role in the musical's national tour working with Harold Nicholas of the famed Nicholas Brothers for the next 16 months. He also later appeared with Gregory Hines and Jimmy Slyde.

More roles followed in the musicals "Shenandoah," "Little Rascals," and "Black & Blue," and during Hill's senior year of high school, he appeared in his first feature film, Sugar Hill (1993), as the young character later played by Wesley Snipes. Hill also was seen in national commercials such as one for Kellogg's Corn Pops cereal and was cast as one of the "CityKids" (1993), a Saturday-morning series produced by the Jim Henson company, while he was studying business finance at Seton Hall.

Hill's next career boost came with his starring role in the original cast of "Bring in Da' Noise, Bring In Da' Funk" on Broadway, as he re-teamed with Glover but, as a result, had to abandon his college studies during his junior year. He spent two-and-one-half years on the show and earned favorable notices from casting directors and later starred with Freddie Prinze Jr. in the hit feature film She's All That (1999). His other television credits include guest-starring shots on "Cosby" (1996), "Smart Guy" (1997), and "New York Undercover" (1994); and appearances in the TV movies The Ditchdigger's Daughters (1997) (TV), Color of Justice (1997) (TV), and Love Songs (1999) (TV) opposite Louis Gossett Jr.. Away from the set, Hill still enjoys tap-dancing immensely, as well as dominoes, taboo, and marathon Monopoly sessions. He often travels to Jamaica to see family members.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Grace Z (with edit by Anonymous)

Spouse

Nicole Lyn

(10 July 2004 - present)

Trivia

His real first name is Karim, but he dropped it because other kids kept calling him "'Kareem Abdul-Jabaar'." He goes by his middle name, Dule, which was chosen by an aunt. She created the name after a trip to France.

Proficient tap dancer, as seen performing with Savion Glover on the 32nd NAACP Image Awards show.

Both he and his wife, Nicole Lyn, are of Jamaican ancestry.

Attended the wedding of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in 2002.

Is friends with Freddie Prinze Jr., co-star of She's All That (1999).

Studied business finance at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey but left in his junior year to pursue acting.

Graduated from Sayreville War Memorial High School in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1993. Other alums include Jon Bon Jovi, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Greg Evigan.

Personal Quotes

On working with James Roday in the series, "Psych": We have the chemistry off-camera. I think eventually, I personally think it wouldn't work. We both like to have a lot of fun, and I think that translates to the screen. We're all thankful to have a job.

On his role of Gus in the television series, "Psych": It's nice to have a character who has all this knowledge, especially an African American character--he's a very smart guy, but at the same time he's kind of cool...So it's cool to be smart and vice versa. So if we can have the character live in the balance of these two places, then I think it would be a fun journey.

On acting: I learned that the majority of the time, simplicity is the best way to go about things as you peel away the layers...that's when you start finding the gold...I can't say that was from my own acting. That was from observing actors like John Spencer and Martin Sheen...I had a chance just to observe.

On playing, Gus in the series, "Psych": The biggest challenge for me is not making Gus too nerdy or too cool. Because Gus is a nerd..the only place that's interesting to me. I think most people have a little bit of both in them anyway. I think that's where the most interesting place is. I think it's fun trying to play cool but no really being cool at all.

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