Emmy nominee William Jackson Harper is most notably known for his portrayal of Chidi in NBC’s award-winning comedy series The Good Place. For the show’s fourth and final season, Harper earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. For two consecutive years, he received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Harper is currently in pre-production on HBO Max’s Love Life, for which he will star in and produce. He will next be seen starring opposite Aya Cash in the indie rom com We Broke Up, releasing on VOD on April 23. This May, Harper will star in Barry Jenkins’ Amazon limited s
Emmy nominee William Jackson Harper is most notably known for his portrayal of Chidi in NBC’s award-winning comedy series The Good Place. For the show’s fourth and final season, Harper earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. For two consecutive years, he received a Critics’ Choice Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Harper is currently in pre-production on HBO Max’s Love Life, for which he will star in and produce. He will next be seen starring opposite Aya Cash in the indie rom com We Broke Up, releasing on VOD on April 23. This May, Harper will star in Barry Jenkins’ Amazon limited series The Underground Railroad, portraying the character of Royal, a freeborn Black man who is dedicated to the pursuit of freedom for himself and all Black people.
Earlier this year, Harper narrated the Marvel audiobook series Black Panther: Sins of the King. In 2020, he starred in the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Audible presentation of Animals by Stacy Osei-Kuffour.
In 2019, Harper starred in the Focus Features’ legal drama Dark Waters, which centered on the scandal revolving around the DuPont chemical company. Directed by Todd Haynes, Harper starred alongside Mark Ruffalo and Tim Robbins. Harper also starred in A24’s thriller Midsommar with Florence Pugh and directed by Ari Aster. His additional feature film credits include Lost Holiday, Paterson, True Story, All Good Things and How to Tell You’re a Douchebag.
On television, Harper co-starred as the character Xander opposite John Krasinski in the second season of Amazon’s Jack Ryan. Additionally, he has made guest appearances on numerous acclaimed television series including 30 Rock, The Blacklist, Law & Order, Law & Order: CI, Hulu’s Deadbeat, High Maintenance, Unforgettable and the PBS children’s series The Electric Company. His credits also include the telefilms The Breaks and The Share.
Born in Dallas, Harper has an extensive background in theater, co-starring alongside Cristin Milioti in After The Blast at Lincoln Center, as well as on Broadway in the Tony Award winning play All The Way, with Bryan Cranston. In 2018, Harper made his playwriting debut with the drama Travisville, which centers on a Texas church community untouched by the tumult of the civil rights movement. The play opened at New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre to critical praise, with The New York Times noting Harper’s “serious writing chops.” Additional stage performances include A Family for All Occasions at the Labyrinth, Modern Terrorism at Second Stage, The Total Bent, Titus Andronicus and Measure for Measure at the Public, Placebo and A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick at Playwrights Horizons and Queens Boulevard and Paradise Park at the Signature. Harper also has numerous regional theater credits, including Ruined, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet.
Harper currently resides in Brooklyn with his dog Chico.
