A sports injury curtailed his dreams of playing professional football, so Chicagoan Steve Harris brought his commanding presence to the entertainment arena. The hefty bald black actor honed his craft on stage, tackling roles in Shakespeare and in more contemporary fare before landing work in other media.

Initially billed as Steve J Harris, he landed a tiny part on the first episode of NBC's "Homicide: Life in the Street" followed by guest appearances, often as thugs and villains, on "Law & Order" (NBC), "New York Undercover" (Fox) and "Murder One" (ABC). His first real break occurred during