Michael Potts

Acting

Michael Potts

Born

1962-09-21 (64)

Place of birth

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

50 titles

Michael Potts (born September 21, 1962) is an American actor known for his captivating performances across stage and screen. A Juilliard alum, he soared in Broadway, earning acclaim for "The Book of Mormon." His portrayal of Brother Mouzone in HBO's "The Wire" showcased his depth. Potts' talent spans television ("True Detective," "The Good Fight") and film ("The Promised Land"), embodying diverse characters with magnetic authenticity. With each role, he leaves an indelible mark, captivating audiences with his nuanced portrayals and solidifying his place as a revered actor in the industry.

Known for

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

The Blacklist poster
7.6

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

The Blacklist

2013

FBI poster
7.9

The New York office of the FBI brings to bear all their talents, intellect and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep their city and the country safe.

FBI

2018

Blue Bloods poster
7.8

A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.

Blue Bloods

2010

Person of Interest poster
8.1

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars. 

Person of Interest

2011

Film credits

2020s · 11 titles

Highest 2 Lowest poster
5.5

When a titan music mogul, widely known as having the "best ears in the business", is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.

Highest 2 Lowest

2025

The Piano Lesson poster
5.9

A brother and sister's battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived — and who defines a family legacy.

The Piano Lesson

2024

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom poster
6.6

Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

2020

Measure of Revenge poster
4.6

Theater actress Lillian Cooper's son dies mysteriously. When the investigating officer rules the cause of death an accidental overdose, Lillian conducts her own investigation which leads her to an unlikely alliance with her son's former drug dealer. On her quest for answers, Lillian hallucinates some of the iconic characters she's played on stage which serve as her inner voice, urging her to avenge her son's death.

Measure of Revenge

2022

Rustin poster
6.5

Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.

Rustin

2023

Cicada poster
5.8

Ben is a young bisexual man. He comes out to the world and develops an intense relationship with Sam, a man of color struggling with deep wounds of his own. As the summer progresses and their intimacy grows, Ben's past crawls to the surface.

Cicada

2021

Rounding poster
5.2

A driven young medical resident transfers to a rural hospital for a fresh start. There, the demons of his past start to catch up to him when he becomes consumed by the case of a young asthma patient.

Rounding

2022

Shakespeare in the Park: Richard III poster
NR

Experience The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare’s tragedy with one of his most indelible villains starring Danai Gurira in the title role. Recorded live in July 2022 from Central Park.

Shakespeare in the Park: Richard III

2023

The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision poster
NR

Join the director, cast and producers of The Piano Lesson for an illuminating, intimate conversation about about bringing August Wilson's play to the screen.

The Piano Lesson: Legacy and a Vision

2024

Out of Order poster
10.0

A lawyer trying to turn his life around, finds himself in double jeopardy when he takes on a big new case - representing both sides.

Out of Order

2025

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen poster
6.2

Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, George C. Wolfe and more share the heart, soul and history that brought August Wilson's timeless play to the screen.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: A Legacy Brought to Screen

2020

2010s · 3 titles

1990s · 3 titles

Series credits

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit poster
8.0

In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1999

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

Law & Order poster
7.3

In cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing the evidence and questioning the suspects until someone is taken into custody. The district attorney's office then builds a case to convict the perpetrator by proving the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Working together, these expert teams navigate all sides of the complex criminal justice system to make New York a safer place.

Law & Order

1990

The Blacklist poster
7.6

Raymond "Red" Reddington, one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, surrenders in person at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He claims that he and the FBI have the same interests: bringing down dangerous criminals and terrorists. In the last two decades, he's made a list of criminals and terrorists that matter the most but the FBI cannot find because it does not know they exist. Reddington calls this "The Blacklist". Reddington will co-operate, but insists that he will speak only to Elizabeth Keen, a rookie FBI profiler.

The Blacklist

2013

FBI poster
7.9

The New York office of the FBI brings to bear all their talents, intellect and technical expertise on major cases in order to keep their city and the country safe.

FBI

2018

Blue Bloods poster
7.8

A drama about a multi-generational family of cops dedicated to New York City law enforcement. Frank Reagan is the New York Police Commissioner and heads both the police force and the Reagan brood. He runs his department as diplomatically as he runs his family, even when dealing with the politics that plagued his unapologetically bold father, Henry, during his stint as Chief.

Blue Bloods

2010

Person of Interest poster
8.1

John Reese, former CIA paramilitary operative, is presumed dead and teams up with reclusive billionaire Finch to prevent violent crimes in New York City by initiating their own type of justice. With the special training that Reese has had in Covert Operations and Finch's genius software inventing mind, the two are a perfect match for the job that they have to complete. With the help of surveillance equipment, they work "outside the law" and get the right criminal behind bars. 

Person of Interest

2011

Elementary poster
7.6

A modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks the NYPD's most impossible cases. Following his fall from grace in London and a stint in rehab, eccentric Sherlock escapes to Manhattan where his wealthy father forces him to live with his worst nightmare - a sober companion, Dr. Watson.

Elementary

2012

True Detective poster
8.3

An American anthology police detective series utilizing multiple timelines in which investigations seem to unearth personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within or outside the law.

True Detective

2014

Gotham poster
7.6

Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?

Gotham

2014

The Wire poster
8.6

Told from the points of view of both the Baltimore homicide and narcotics detectives and their targets, the series captures a universe in which the national war on drugs has become a permanent, self-sustaining bureaucracy, and distinctions between good and evil are routinely obliterated.

The Wire

2002

White Collar poster
8.2

In exchange for his freedom, charming con artist Neal Caffrey provides his expertise to help straight-man FBI agent Peter Burke catch elusive white-collar criminals.

White Collar

2009

Madam Secretary poster
7.0

After years away from the CIA, Elizabeth McCord is pulled back into the political arena. The newly appointed Secretary of State is tough, fair, and smart, driving international diplomacy, wrangling office politics, and circumventing protocol as she negotiates global and domestic issues, both at the White House and at home.

Madam Secretary

2014

The Good Fight poster
7.5

Picking up one year after the events of the final broadcast episode of "The Good Wife", an enormous financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia Rindell, while simultaneously wiping out her mentor and godmother Diane Lockhart's savings. Forced out of her law firm, now called "Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert, Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum & Associates", they join Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago's preeminent law firms.

The Good Fight

2017

Bull poster
7.1

Dr. Jason Bull is the brilliant, brash, and charming founder of a hugely successful trial consulting firm.

Bull

2016

Damages poster
7.5

Damages is an American legal thriller television series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler. The plot revolves around the brilliant, ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes and her protégée, recent law school graduate Ellen Parsons. Each season features a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. The first two seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Hewes & Associates and begins an independent career.

Damages

2007

Nurse Jackie poster
7.1

Every day is a matter of life and death in a hectic New York City hospital, but for Nurse Jackie that's the easiest part. Between chronic back pain that won't quit, and a personal life on the constant edge of collapse, it's going to take a white lie here, a bent rule there, and a handful of secret strategies to relieve the pain, and stay one step ahead of total disaster.

Nurse Jackie

2009

Taken poster
6.5

The origin story of younger, hungrier, former Green Beret Bryan Mills as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills.

Taken

2017

Prodigal Son poster
8.0

The son of a notorious serial killer becomes an acclaimed criminal psychologist who uses his unique insight into how killers think to help the NYPD.

Prodigal Son

2019

Best Medicine poster
7.1

Martin Best is a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin's blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he's all they’ve got.

Best Medicine

2026

Nemesis poster
7.7

A relentless LAPD cop becomes obsessed with taking down the master thief behind a string of daring heists — and only one can come out on top.

Nemesis

2026

God Friended Me poster
7.7

A self-proclaimed "pesky atheist" is encouraged to help strangers by someone claiming to be God who friends him on Facebook.

God Friended Me

2018

The Irrational poster
6.7

Alec Mercer is a world-renowned professor of behavioral psychology with a unique insight into human nature who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, corporations and law enforcement. However, he meets his match in a female domestic terror suspect who turns his world upside down.

The Irrational

2023

Flight of the Conchords poster
8.0

The trials and tribulations of a two man, digi-folk band who have moved from New Zealand to New York City in the hope of forging a successful music career. So far they've managed to find a manager (whose "other" job is at the New Zealand Consulate), one fan (a married obsessive) and one friend (who owns the local pawn shop) -- but not much else.

Flight of the Conchords

2007

East New York poster
7.0

Regina Haywood is the newly promoted deputy inspector of East New York, a working-class neighborhood at the edge of Brooklyn. She leads a diverse group of officers and detectives, some of whom are reluctant to deploy her creative methods of serving and protecting in the midst of social upheaval and the early seeds of gentrification.

East New York

2022

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector poster
7.4

Former NYPD detective and forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme was at the top of his game until a serious accident at the hands of a notorious serial killer forced him out of the field. When Amelia Sachs, an intuitive young officer who has a gift for profiling, finds herself hot on the killer's trail, Rhyme finds a partner for this new game of cat and mouse.

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector

2020

The First Lady poster
5.7

A revelatory reframing of American leadership through the lens of the First Ladies. Exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, family life, and world-changing political contributions, the impact of the White House's women is no longer hidden from view.

The First Lady

2022

BrainDead poster
7.3

A young fresh-faced Hill staffer gets her first job in Washington, D.C. and discovers two things: 1. The government has stopped working, and 2. alien spawn have come to earth and eaten the brains of a growing number of Congressmen and Hill staffers.

BrainDead

2016

Allegiance poster
6.7

Alex O'Connor, a young idealistic CIA analyst specializing in Russian affairs, learns a shocking secret and his close-knit, affluent family is about to be split apart when it's revealed that his parents, Mark and Katya, are covert Russian spies deactivated decades ago. But today the Kremlin has re-enlisted them into service as they plan a terrorist operation inside the U.S. border that will bring America to its knees.

Allegiance

2015

Thomas Jefferson poster
7.5

The complex life of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that "all men are created equal" yet owned slaves, is recounted by master filmmaker Ken Burns in this probing documentary. Covering Jefferson's diplomatic work in France, his two presidential terms, his retirement at Monticello and more.

Thomas Jefferson

1997

Thomas Jefferson poster
7.5

The complex life of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote that "all men are created equal" yet owned slaves, is recounted by master filmmaker Ken Burns in this probing documentary. Covering Jefferson's diplomatic work in France, his two presidential terms, his retirement at Monticello and more.

Thomas Jefferson

1997