January 16, 2013

Movie, television, and Tony Award-winning theater actor and director Ruben Santiago-Hudson is acclaimed for his work that tells stories of the African-American experience. Santiago-Hudson will visit on Monday, February 25th and Tuesday, February 26th with our Television, Film & Video, and Theater programs. He’ll give a talk and host a screening on Monday, February 25th. Santiago-Hudson most recently directed the revival of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Piano Lesson for New York’s Signature Theatre Company. Variety said, “Under Ruben Santiago-Hudson's flawless helming, a brilliant cast makes this play live and breathe and sing for a new generation.” Santiago-Hudson wrote Lackawanna Blues, an autobiographical play in which he portrayed himself and twenty different characters from his past, for New York’s Joseph Papp Public Theater. He adapted Lackawanna Blues into a film for HBO that won the Humanitas Award and earned Emmy and Writers Guild of America nominations. Santiago-Hudson appeared on Broadway in Jelly's Last Jam and in the title role of Henry VII for the New York Shakespeare Festival. He received the 1996 Tony Award for his performance in August Wilson's Seven Guitars.

On television, Santiago-Hudson starred as New York City Police Captain Roy Montgomery in the ABC series Castle, as well as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The West Wing. He appeared in the films American Gangster, Coming to America, and The Devil’s Advocate.