G.K. Umeh
- Actor
- Writer
Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, GK Umeh first discovered his love of acting seeing a production of "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Goodman Theatre.
After a brief stint playing Football and studying Film History at Dartmouth College, he left school to embark on a multifaceted career. He first grabbed the mic and took the stage as an MC in Chitown's underground Hip Hop scene, culminating in an appearance in the Blaze MC Battle. He went on to NYC's live music circuit as frontman for the bands Organizm & Natural Selection.
Somewhere along the way, his lifelong passion for boxing led him to the NYC Golden Gloves tournament, where he fought his way to the semifinals as a light heavyweight.
In 2007, GK went back to school at NYU, where he earned a History BA while also studying drama at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Meanwhile, he garnered experience taking any role he could, from MFA thesis films to off-off-off-Broadway (way off) productions. It was at one of the latter that he was first spotted by a casting director from All My Children.
His breakthrough came in 2011 when he played Javier "el Diablo" Morales in FX's "Lights Out." The role gave him the chance to showcase his acting chops, boxing skills and Spanish fluency all at once. Since then, GK has graced screens in feature films with the likes of Katherine Heigl, John Leguizamo and Liam Neeson, in addition to recurring roles on acclaimed series like "Hostages," "Gossip Girl," and "Law & Order: SVU."
In 2022 he got the chance to once again channel his musical roots, playing the homicidal (but lovable) bassist Eskie in the Rian Johnson streamer Poker Face, opposite Natasha Lyonne and Chlöe Sevigny.
After a brief stint playing Football and studying Film History at Dartmouth College, he left school to embark on a multifaceted career. He first grabbed the mic and took the stage as an MC in Chitown's underground Hip Hop scene, culminating in an appearance in the Blaze MC Battle. He went on to NYC's live music circuit as frontman for the bands Organizm & Natural Selection.
Somewhere along the way, his lifelong passion for boxing led him to the NYC Golden Gloves tournament, where he fought his way to the semifinals as a light heavyweight.
In 2007, GK went back to school at NYU, where he earned a History BA while also studying drama at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Meanwhile, he garnered experience taking any role he could, from MFA thesis films to off-off-off-Broadway (way off) productions. It was at one of the latter that he was first spotted by a casting director from All My Children.
His breakthrough came in 2011 when he played Javier "el Diablo" Morales in FX's "Lights Out." The role gave him the chance to showcase his acting chops, boxing skills and Spanish fluency all at once. Since then, GK has graced screens in feature films with the likes of Katherine Heigl, John Leguizamo and Liam Neeson, in addition to recurring roles on acclaimed series like "Hostages," "Gossip Girl," and "Law & Order: SVU."
In 2022 he got the chance to once again channel his musical roots, playing the homicidal (but lovable) bassist Eskie in the Rian Johnson streamer Poker Face, opposite Natasha Lyonne and Chlöe Sevigny.