1985–1999: Broadway debut and early roles

In 1985, Vance started his acting career on the stage as Cory in the Yale Repertory Theatre production of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award for Best Play-winning play Fences. From 1987 to 1988, Vance continued the role on Broadway opposite James Earl Jones where he won a Clarence Derwent Award and the Theatre World Award for his performance. He was also nominated for his first Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role. Vance's film debut was in 1987 American war film, Hamburger Hill about the 1969 assault during the Vietnam War. During this time he had small roles in the CBS television film First Affair (1983), and the ABC drama Thirtysomething (1989), and Law & Order (1990). Vance played Thami Mbikwarna in the Athol Fugard play My Children! My Africa! at the New York Theatre Workshop from 1989 to 1990. In 1991, Vance returned to Broadway playing Paul in John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation. Vance played Paul, replacing James McDaniel who originated the role in the 1990 Off-Broadway production. Vance acted alongside John Cunningham and Stockard Channing. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance at the 45th Tony Awards.

Throughout the 1990s, Vance continued acting in a variety of feature films such as The Hunt for Red October (1990), and The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993). In 1995, Vance played Black Panther Bobby Seale in the Melvin and Mario Van Peebles docudrama Panther. That same year, he also appeared in The Last Supper and Dangerous Minds. He also worked with acclaimed directors such as Robert Altman in Cookie's Fortune, Penny Marshall in The Preacher's Wife, and Clint Eastwood in Space Cowboys. During the 1990s, Vance guest-starred in numerous television shows including Law & Order, Picket Fences, and Thirtysomething. In 1998 he acted in the Showtime television film Blind Faith he played John Williams. Vance earned critical acclaim with Janet Maslin of The New York Times describing his performance as "first rate".^[5] He went on to receive a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also starred in made-for-television films such as William Friedkin's 12 Angry Men (1997), in which he played the Foreman and acted alongside Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, Jack Lemmon, Hume Cronyn, and James Gandolfini. In 1999, Vance also starred in and co-produced the romantic comedy Love and Action in Chicago.

2000–2015: Television roles and return to Broadway

From 2001 to 2006, Vance starred in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, in which he played A.D.A. Ron Carver. He was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. In 2008 and 2009, he guest-starred in the final season of ER alongside his wife Angela Bassett. He was also in Hurricane Season. On December 2, 2008, TV Guide reported that Vance had been cast as the Los Angeles bureau chief of the FBI in the ABC pilot FlashForward, based on a Robert J. Sawyer novel and slated to be a possible "companion show" to Lost.^[6] In 2011, he starred in the American horror film Final Destination 5. Vance was tapped for the lead in the German-American apocalypse thriller The Divide. He appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine, where he played the pastor Jacob Debarge, the main character's father, and co-starred with Tyler James Williams, Trevor Jackson, Coco Jones, Brandon Mychal Smith, and Dawnn Lewis. It was the third time Vance portrayed a pastor in a motion picture, after The Preacher's Wife and Joyful Noise). Vance has provided the voiceover for the National Football League's "You Want the NFL, Go to the NFL" television spots.^[7]

He appeared as Chief Tommy Delk on the TNT series, The Closer, from 2010 to 2011 (Season 6–7). Vance also played the role of Attorney Benjamin Brooks on four episodes of ABC's Revenge. Vance returned to Broadway playing Hap Hairston in the Nora Ephron play Lucky Guy (2013) acting alongside Tom Hanks. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Vance writing, "[He] is terrific as the whip-smart black editor who, even with the sharpest of professional skills, has had to stay on his toes to keep ahead in a white man’s game."^[8] He won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as at the 67th Tony Awards.^[9] In 2015, he portrayed Miles Dyson in Terminator Genisys opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emilia Clarke.^[10]

2016–present: Career expansion

In 2016, he took on the role of famed civil rights lawyer Johnnie Cochran in FX's American Crime Story, which tells the story of the O. J. Simpson murder case.^[11] The series premiered on February 2, 2016, and his performance was critically acclaimed, winning Vance numerous accolades including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries. He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.^[12][13][14] In 2017, he starred in the HBO television film The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, where he played Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield opposite Oprah Winfrey's Deborah Lacks. In 2018, Vance narrated Wes Anderson's stop motion animated comedy Isle of Dogs. The same year, he appeared as Neil Beeby in the Peter Hedges film Ben Is Back, opposite Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges.

In 2019, Vance was appointed President of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.^[15] In 2020, Vance was seen in HBO's drama series Lovecraft Country for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He was cast opposite Niecy Nash in Prentice Penny's feature film directorial debut, the Netflix original movie Uncorked, released in 2020.^[16] In 2021, he appeared in National Geographic's Genius: Aretha as C. L. Franklin. In 2023, Vance was cast in Disney's live-action reimagining of Lilo & Stitch as Cobra Bubbles.

Theatre

Film

Television

Marriage and family

Vance first met Angela Bassett in 1980, and the pair has been married since 1997. Together, they have twins, a son and a daughter, born in 2006. He and Bassett have authored a book, Friends: A Love Story, with Hilary Beard.^[17] The two also participate in the annual Christmas celebration, Candlelight Processional, at Epcot. The family lives in Los Angeles.^[18] On the PBS program Finding Your Roots,^[19] Vance discovered that his father was born out of wedlock to 17-year-old Victoria Ardella Vance.

Interests

Vance is on the Board of Directors for The Actors Center in New York City, and is an active supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is an alumnus of the Detroit Boys & Girls Club, and was recently inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.^[20]