Mykelti Williamson
(Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith)

While never afraid to play a wide variety of characters, Mykelti Williamson has only recently been labeled "fearless," an apt description of the veteran of film and television who now takes on the role of Detective Bobby "Fearless" Smith in NBC's new drama Boomtown.

The son of an Air Force staff sergeant and a public accountant, Williamson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where he began acting at the age of 9. He quickly became enamored with television, but it wasn't until his family made the move to Los Angeles that he directed his attention towards acting professionally. The then-15-year-old ignored his athletic promise in favor of performing with his high school cheerleading squad.

Perhaps best known for his critically acclaimed role as Bubba in the Academy Award®-winning film Forrest Gump, starring opposite Tom Hanks, Williamson made his big-screen debut in Streets of Fire with Willem Primary Colors, Wildcats, Free Willy, Number One with a Bullet, Waiting to Exhale, Con-Air (starring Nicolas Cage) and Michael Mann's cop-drama Heat (partnered with Al Pacino). Most recently, he starred as boxing promoter Don King in Michael Mann's Ali.

Williamson began his professional career as a frequent TV guest star in such dramas as Hill Street Blues, Starsky and Hutch and China Beach. Returning to television in 1996, he starred opposite Delroy Lindo as the legendary Negro League catcher Josh Gibson in the TV movie Soul of the Game. Williamson's other credits include the cable series Hoop Life, and the films Twelve Angry Men and Buffalo Soldiers.

On stage, Williamson garnered the prestigious L.A. Theater Award as a player in Clark Gregg's ensemble drama Distant Fires, starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson.

An avid sports fan and devoted family man, Williamson enjoys restoring classic cars and rodeoing in his free time. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two of his three daughters. His birthday is March 4.