Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer known for his performances in the films Coming to America (1988) and especially as Dr. Peter Benton in the NBC medical drama ER (1994–2002; 2008–2009) which earned him three NAACP Image Awards and nominations for a Golden Globe Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards.\n', '

La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, by his mother, Ada Haynes. He is an alumnus of Weaver High School and the Artists Collective, Inc. in Hartford. He attended the Juilliard School\'s Drama Division for two years as a member of Group 13 (1980–84), then attended New York University\'s Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Graduate Acting Program in 1984.\n', '

At the time of his graduation from NYU, La Salle was cast in Joseph Papp\'s Shakespeare in the Park production of Henry V. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in several daytime TV dramas including One Life to Live, where he played the reporter Mike Rivers.\n', '

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