Leonard Roberts

American actor Leonard Roberts was born on November 17, 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the DePaul University Theater School in Chicago, Illinois, with a BFA in acting. He quickly plunged into that career, first appearing in a driver’s education video in 1996, and was followed by a guest role in the Canadian police drama "Due South." He made his film debut the following year, playing a supporting role in the independent romantic comedy "Love Jones." He also appeared in guest roles for shows such as "Turks" and "Any Day Now."

Roberts got his first big break in 1999, when he got a role in the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." He played the role of Forrest Gates, a member of the Initiative who is a friend of Riley Finn (Marc Blucas). He initially condoned the possibility of a relationship between Riley and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), but later vocally disapproved of Buffy when it was discovered that she is an enemy of the Initiative.

One of Roberts’ major film roles came in 2002, when he starred in the film "Drumline." There he took on the role of Sean Taylor, the percussion leader of the marching band that Devon Miles (Nick Cannon) recently joined. The film is partly marked by the conflict between the new, talented drummer and the veteran performer. He continued appearing on television, playing guest roles on "JAG," "Tru Calling," "24," "CSI: Miami," "Bones" and "NCIS." He also played Nam-Ek in two episodes of "Smallville." In 2006, Roberts was cast as beleaguered construction worker D.L. Hawkins on the hit series "Heroes." His ability to phase through solid objects led him to a mission to clear his name from a robbery which he didn’t have participation in, and save his son (Noah Gray-Caley) from his wife (Ali Larter).

In 2008, Leonard Roberts got involved in another project. He was cast in the action horror film "Red Sands," directed by Alex Turner. The film also featured Shane West, Aldis Hodge, and Theo Rossi. In 2014, Roberts appeared in the war film "American Sniper." Most recently, he joined the cast of FX's new anthology series, "American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson."