Demetrius Grosse


Demetrius Grosse is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Rock in the film Straight Outta Compton, Emmett Yawners in the Cinemax television series Banshee, Errol in the FX television series Justified, and Baron Samedi in NBC's Heroes.
He joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Eric Williams in the Disney+ series Wonder Man.

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C., Grosse began performing in stage productions as a child at the Summer Musical Theater Workshop, developing a repertoire as an actor, singer, and dancer. Early in his career, Grosse cut hair at Legends, a well-known Los Angeles barber shop. After graduating from Washington's Gonzaga College High School, Grosse attended the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, where he received the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Undergraduate Grant for artistic merit. In 2002, Grosse completed a visiting student program in which he completed two semesters of intensive study at the Howard University College of Fine Arts in his home city of Washington DC.

Career

Grosse appeared in the HBO series Westworld based on the 1973 film of the same name. He also appeared in Michael Bay's feature film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Grosse is known for taking on many characters from various backgrounds and from all different genres. He made his acting debut in Numbers and is well known for his roles in Straight Outta Compton, Saving Mr. Banks, This Is Martin Bonner, and Banshee. His other television credits include Justified, Criminal Minds, ER, NCIS, Heroes, Bones, Dexter, CSI: Miami, and Frontier. Grosse also made appearances in The Inheritance and Hollywood. Grosse has credits for producing Last Cry for Katrina, Moonshiners, and A Quiet Fire.

''Banshee''

On Banshee, Grosse portrayed series regular character Deputy Emmett Yawners for the first two seasons. Grosse's character was the Deputy for the Banshee County Sheriff's Department in the town of Banshee, Pennsylvania. Known as a family man and the moral compass of the show, Deputy Yawners fought until the end protecting his pregnant wife in the season 2 finale episode "Bullets & Tears".

''Justified''

On Justified, Grosse portrayed recurring character Errol Butler who is Ellstin Limehouse's right-hand man in Noble's Holler. Errol's hand is also shown to be badly burned from lye, possibly by Limehouse for disobeying him at some point. In Season 3, Errol is shown to resemble Boyd's own former right-hand Johnny Crowder, as he is willing to turn on his leader any chance he gets and attempts to make several power plays to increase Limehouse's wealth and power, all without his boss's permission. These plays eventually get Errol kicked out of Noble's Holler in the finale "Slaughterhouse", but he returns to defend Limehouse when he sees Robert Quarles returning with Raylan Givens and another hostage. Errol takes a bullet for Limehouse and his fate is left ambiguous as the season ends. In the Season 6 episode "Sounding", Errol is revealed to be alive and on better terms with Limehouse and is ordered by him to accompany Ava into gathering supplies at a hardware store in order to excavate Boyd's money from a bank robbery to pay off Limehouse for a car. Bob Sweeney and Raylan approach the hardware store, Bob having tracked down Errol from Noble's. Bob and Errol have a stand-off as Bob attempts to lure Errol out of the store on a bogus charge so that Raylan can get Ava back into his custody. Bob then tases Errol when he refuses to cooperate and leaves with him out of the store.

''Heroes''

On Heroes, Grosse portrayed recurring character Baron Samedi. "Baron Samedi" was the alias used by a warlord in Haiti who escaped from Level 5. Baron Samedi has impenetrable skin, which grants him a greater resistance to physical injury than an average human. His skin is a virtually indestructible armor, impenetrable by bullets, blades, or any other known weapon. When flown into a car by Nathan, Samedi is able to stand up unscathed. According to his assignment tracker profile, Samedi's control index is 82%. His data analysis show his biological level at 80, cerebral at 45, elemental at 15 and temporal/spatial at 25.

''The Rookie''

Grosse portrayed Detective Kevin Wolfe, a recurring guest character on the ABC police procedural drama The Rookie. Wolfe, whose badge number is stated as 9871 in the episode "Plain Clothes Day," is introduced as a competent and assertive detective working with the Mid-Wilshire Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. His character is portrayed as resilient and committed, reflecting the dangers and complexities of police work in the series.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

YearTitleAwardNomination
2009A Quiet FireWinner of the Sirrocco Award at the AOF Film Festival. AOF nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film.Nominated for the Sirrocco Award at the AOF Film Festival. AOF nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film.
2013This Is Martin Bonner2013 Sundance Awards: Audience Award Winner for Best of NEXT for This Is Martin Bonner.2013 Sundance Awards: The Audience Award: Best of NEXT.
2014CounterIdyllwild IIFC 2015Awards for Acting - Best Actor In A Short Film & Cinematography -Best Cinematography – Short.
2014The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry24TH Annual NAACP Theatre Awards: “The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry.”Best Lead Male
2015Samaria2015 Student Academy Awards Samaria Best Narrative
2024The Sound of HopeSeptimius AwardsWinner, Best American Actor
2024The Sound of HopeRed Letter AwardsBest Actor
2025The Sound of HopeGolden Crowd AwardWinner, Best Actor in a Leading Role

Producing