Jeffrey D Sams

Sams first attracted industry attention as Rich, the subway token clerk who leaves his job, his wife and young son to pursue his career as a rap artist, in "Fly By Night" (1993), winner of the Filmmaker's Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival. The Cincinnati, OH native then came to national notice as a result of his co-starring role as Whitney Houston's would-be suitor Lionel in "Waiting to Exhale" (1995). He further raised his profile playing Viveca A Fox's husband Kenneth in the sleeper hit "Soul Food" (1997). On the small screen, Sams has acted in such movies as "Green Dolphin Bend" (Fox, 1994), "Automatic" (HBO, 1995), "Run For the Dream: The Gail Deevers Story" (Showtime, 1996) and "Hope" (TNT, 1997), Goldie Hawn's directorial debut. He has worked as a regular on the series "Medicine Ball" (Fox), "Courthouse" (CBS, both 1995), "Sleepwalkers" (NBC, 1997) and "Cupid" (ABC, 1998-99). His additional episodic credits include "The Commish" (ABC), "Living Single" (Fox), "Law & Order" and "Boston Common" (both NBC), among others.