Sean Patrick Thomas

Sean Patrick Thomas is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Derek Reynolds in the 2001 film Save the Last Dance and as Jimmy James in Barbershop (2002), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016), as well as his television role as Detective Temple Page in The District and as Professor Macalester in Vixen (2015–2016). Thomas was born in Washington, D.C., the son of emigrants from Guyana. He was raised in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Cheryl, a financial analyst for DuPont, and Carlton Thomas, an engineer who also worked for DuPont. Thomas, who has two younger siblings, graduated from Brandywine High School in Delaware and attended the University of Virginia. He originally intended to study law, but upon successfully auditioning for a role in the play A Raisin in the Sun, Thomas changed directions and decided to attend New York University's prestigious Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1995.