LaRoyce Hawkins
Hawkins in 2022
Born (1988-05-04) May 4, 1988
Harvey, Illinois, US
Alma materIllinois State University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Comedian
  • Poet
Years active2008–present
Children1

LaRoyce C. Hawkins (born May 4, 1988) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, spoken word artist,[1] and musician. Hawkins stars on NBC's police drama Chicago P.D., where he portrays Officer Kevin Atwater. The show is in its tenth season. Hawkins also has a regular role on the crossover show Chicago Fire.[2]

Early life

Hawkins was born and raised in Harvey, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago. While Hawkins was growing up he lived with his grandparents until he was 13 and he credits them with shaping his life and the lives of his siblings.

Hawkins attended Thornton High School, where he initially played basketball.[3] Influenced by his grandfather's advice to “choose what makes you feel better,” Hawkins left the basketball team sophomore year and joined the speech team, where he became a two-time state champion.

In 2005, Hawkins won the state title in the Illinois High School Association's Original Comedy event, also placing third at the IHSA state competition in Humorous Interpretation. In 2006, he and a partner won the state title in Humorous Duet Acting, while Hawkins also placed fourth at state that year in Original Comedy.[4]

Career

Hawkins attended Illinois State University on a full tuition scholastic scholarship where he majored in theatre arts. In his first college play, he starred as Toledo from the August Wilson production Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. While in college, he landed his first major motion picture role in the feature film The Express: The Ernie Davis Story, the biopic of Ernie Davis, portraying Davis' teammate Art Baker. He took a year-and-a-half off from school, returning in 2007 and graduating in 2012.[5] He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. [5]

Prior to Chicago P.D., Hawkins made appearances in various television series, including HBO's Ballers, TBS' Tyler Perry's House of Payne, MTV's Underemployed, and ABC's Detroit 1-8-7.

Personal life

His son, Roman John was born April 13, 2017.[6][7]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2008 The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Art Baker
2018 Canal Street Amari Crawford
2018 Hope Springs Eternal Mr. Baser
2019 The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.
2021 Hands Up Ty Lord
2022 North of The 10 Kyle Shaw Streaming film

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Detroit 1-8-7 Dorcey Gamble Episode: "Ice Man/Malibu"[8]
2012 Underemployed N\A Episode: "The Gig"
2013–present Chicago Fire Kevin Atwater Recurring role, 12 episodes
2014–present Chicago P.D. Kevin Atwater Main role
2017 Chicago Justice Kevin Atwater 2 episodes
2019–present South Side Michael 'Shaw' Owens Recurring role
2019–present Chicago Med Kevin Atwater 3 episodes

References

  1. ↑ "Actor Bio - LaRoyce Hawkins". NBC. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  2. ↑ Rackl, Lori. "Harvey actor LaRoyce Hawkins brings local flavor to 'Chicago Fire' spinoff". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "It All Started Here: Chicago P.D.'s LaRoyce Hawkins". National Federation of State High School Associations. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ↑ "IHSA Speech Individual Events Medalists". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Former Redbird stars on new NBC show Chicago P.D." Illinois State University. January 6, 2014.
  6. ↑ Mercuri, Monica (July 5, 2023). "Atwater Fan? Chicago P.D.'s LaRoyce Hawkins Reveals What His Six-Year-Old Son Really Thinks of the Show". Soaps.com. SHE Media. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  7. ↑ Macke, Johnni (July 4, 2023). "Chicago P.D.'s LaRoyce Hawkins Says His Son Roman 'Definitely' Has the Acting Bug: 'He Does His Own Stunts'". Us Weekly. A360media. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ "LaRoyce Hawkins of Chicago P.D." RedEye. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
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