William Jackson Harper

William Fitzgerald Harper (born February 8, 1980), known professionally as William Jackson Harper, is an American actor and playwright. He is best known for his role as Chidi Anagonye on the NBC comedy The Good Place (2016–2020), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2022, he starred in a lead role in the comedy mystery series The Resort. William Fitzgerald Harper was born on February 8, 1980, in Dallas, Texas. Harper grew up in Garland, Texas, and attended Lakeview Centennial High School. He graduated from the College of Santa Fe in 2003. Harper chose the stage name "William Jackson Harper" when registering for the Actors' Equity Association; most variations of "William Harper" were already in use, and he thought that "Fitzgerald" was too long. He then decided to honor his mother by using her maiden name, "Jackson", as his stage middle name. Harper made his NY stage debut in the 2006 Vital Theatre Company production of Full Bloom, a play about teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality. In 2008 he performed in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Lynn Nottage's play, Ruined, which won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. From 2009 to 2011, he played Danny Rebus in the PBS series The Electric Company. In 2010 he appeared in the Public Theater's mobile unit production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, and in 2011 returned for Titus Andronicus, this time at the Anspacher Theater. He starred as Marty Boy in debut of The Total Bent, a musical composed by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, that premiered at The Public Theater in 2012. The show was later reworked around Ato Blankson-Wood. Harper made his Broadway debut in 2014, cast as James Harrison and Stokely Carmichael in All the Way. He and Carrie Coon co-starred in the 2015 Melissa James Gibson play, Placebo at Playwrights Horizon Theater.