Chico Benymon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chico Benymon, born Theron Benymon in Amityville, New York, is an American actor, singer, musician, and fashion designer best known for his role as Andre "Spencer" Williams on the Upn/CW comedy Half & Half.
[edit] Professional Life
Chico Benymon has been singing since he was 2 years old. Born and raised in Amityville, New York, Chico has been singing in church and started playing the piano at the age of five. He went on to win awards for playing the piano in school and played organ for his home church "St. John's Baptist church in Copiague, New York. At the age of 16, he went on to perform at the famous Apollo Theatre where he went on to win 1st place three times in a row. Once Chico felt he wanted to try other avenues, he moved to Los Angeles where within a week there he got his start in Hollywood landing a TV show, all this while he was with the R&B group Tra-knox who was signed to Will Smith at the time. He sang on the movie soundtrack "Wild Wild West", Millinium and Will Smith's "Born To Reign" album. He has appeared in music videos as well. While doing the album, Chico broadened out and jumped into acting in 2001 guest starring on two episodes of the hit comedy Moesha as "Lamont". Also in 2001 he had a small role in Will Smith's movie Ali as the Hampton House announcer. Chico got his big break in 2002 when he landed a starring role on UPN hit sitcom Half & Half. Half & Half aired from 2002-2006 and put Chico on the acting map. After the series ended, Chico was featured in the TV movie Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story, as Rodney Birk. His acting career really kicked into high gear when he was featured in the sold out 2007 musical/stage play Men, Money and Goldiggers which also stars actress Robin Givens, Miguel A. Núñez Jr., and R&B singer, songwriter, and producer Tank (singer). The play centers on Caleb Peterson (Nunez) and his fiancée Paisley Terrell (Givens) and what happens when he asks her to sign a prenup before they get married. In the play Chico plays Caleb's brother and a record executive with an alter ego (Sway) who can only perform when wearing sunglasses.
[edit] Upcoming Projects
According to IMDB.com Chico will be starring in five upcoming movie projects; Where is love waiting, Nite Tales: The Movie, Burning Sands, Cuttin' da Mustard, and Steppin': The Movie. He is currently filming the drama, Where is love waiting, and the horror flick Night Tales. The drama Burning Sands is in pre-production whereas the comedies Cuttin' da Mustard and Steppin are currently in production.
In the Men, Money,& Golddiggers play, Chico can be seen wearing his clothing line of t-shirts and hoodies "Tee EL Meeks", which according to his myspace page is coming soon. He is also working on his debut album which features the single "Want It" featuring hip hop superstar Fabolous, and is currently featured on his myspace page.
