Daniel Sunjata

Daniel Sunjata born Daniel Sunjata Condon on December 30 1971 in Evanston Illinois is an American actor acclaimed for his work in television film and theater Adopted by white parents of Irish and ItalianGerman descent Sunjatas name honors the Mandinka king Sundiata Keita meaning hungry lion He grew up in the Chicago area excelling in football at Mount Carmel High School before pursuing higher education at Florida AM University the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and ultimately earning a Master of Fine Arts from NYUs Tisch School of the Arts His breakthrough came with a Tonynominated performance in the Broadway play Take Me Out where he portrayed a gay Major League Baseball player Sunjata is widely recognized for his role as firefighter Franco Rivera in the FX series Rescue Me as well as appearances in films like The Devil Wears Prada and The Dark Knight Rises His television work includes roles on Greys Anatomy Graceland and the ABCHulu series High Potential