Bio
Ving Rhames is an American actor best known for his role as gangster and fight fixer Marsellus Wallace in the 1994 feature film Pulp Fiction.
He has had numerous other roles in blockbuster films, including Mission: Impossible (1996), Con Air (1997), Entrapment (1999), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Mission: Impossible II (2000), Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Mission: Impossible III (2006).
He is also known for his portrayal of legendary boxing promoter Don King in the 1997 made-for-TV movie Don King: Only in America, for which he won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television in 1998.
At the ceremony Rhames gave his award to Jack Lemmon, saying "I feel that being an artist is about giving, and I'd like to give this to you."
Lemmon was clearly touched by the gesture, as was the celebrity audience, who gave Lemmon a standing ovation. Lemmon, who tried unsuccessfully to give the award back to Rhames, said it was "one of the sweetest moments I've ever known in my life."
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced later that they would have a duplicate award prepared for Rhames.
In serial television, Rhames is best known for playing the title role in the short-lived 2005 remake of Kojak, and as Walt Robbins, a recurring character on the first three seasons of the medical drama series ER.
He also starred as trauma chief Dr. Jorge "El Gato" Villanueva in the medical drama series Monday Mornings, in 2013.
Other television shows he has appeared in include Miami Vice, Spenser: For Hire, New York Undercover, The District and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
He also voiced the role of Tobias Jones in the computer game DRIV3R.
Rhames was born in New York City, New York to African-American parents Reatha and Ernest Rhames. He was named after retired NBC journalist Irving R. Levine, and grew up in Harlem, Manhattan.
A good student, Rhames entered New York's High School of Performing Arts, where he discovered his love of acting. After high school he studied drama at SUNY Purchase where he met fellow actor Stanley Tucci, who gave him his nickname "Ving".
He later transferred to Juilliard, where he began his career in New York theatre.