Demetrius Grosse

Demetrius Grosse
Born	(1981-02-26) February 26, 1981 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2005–present

Demetrius Grosse (born February 26, 1981) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Rock in the film Straight Outta Compton, Emmett Yawners in the Cinemax television series Banshee, Errol in the FX television series Justified, and Baron Samedi in NBC's Heroes.

He is currently set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Eric Williams / Grim Reaper in the Disney+ series Wonder Man.

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C., Grosse began performing in stage productions as a child at the Summer Musical Theater Workshop, developing a repertoire as an actor, singer, and dancer. Early in his career, Grosse cut hair at Legends, a well-known Los Angeles barber shop. After graduating from Washington's Gonzaga College High School, Grosse attended the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, where he received the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Undergraduate Grant for artistic merit. In 2002, Grosse completed a visiting student program in which he completed two semesters of intensive study at the Howard University College of Fine Arts in his home city of Washington DC.

Career

Grosse appeared in the HBO series Westworld based on the 1973 film of the same name. He also appeared in Michael Bay's feature film 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016). Grosse is known for taking on many characters from various backgrounds and from all different genres. He made his acting debut in Numbers (2005) and is well known for his roles in Straight Outta Compton (2015), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), This Is Martin Bonner (2013), and Banshee (2013). His other television credits include Justified, Criminal Minds, ER, NCIS, Heroes, Bones, Dexter, CSI: Miami and Frontier.[5] Grosse also made appearances in The Inheritance (2011), and Hollywoo (2011). Grosse has credits for producing Last Cry for Katrina (2013), Moonshiners, and A Quiet Fire (2009).[6]

Banshee

On Banshee, Grosse portrayed series regular character Deputy Emmett Yawners for the first two seasons. Grosse's character was the Deputy for the Banshee County Sheriff's Department in the town of Banshee, Pennsylvania. Known as a family man and the moral compass of the show, Deputy Yawners fought until the end protecting his pregnant wife in the season 2 finale episode "Bullets & Tears".

Justified

On Justified, Grosse portrayed recurring character Errol Butler who is Ellstin Limehouse's right-hand man in Noble's Holler. Errol's hand is also shown to be badly burned from lye, possibly by Limehouse for disobeying him at some point. In Season 3, Errol is shown to resemble Boyd's own former right-hand Johnny Crowder, as he is willing to turn on his leader any chance he gets and attempts to make several power plays to increase Limehouse's wealth and power, all without his boss's permission. These plays eventually get Errol kicked out of Noble's Holler in the finale "Slaughterhouse", but he returns to defend Limehouse when he sees Robert Quarles returning with Raylan Givens and another hostage. Errol takes a bullet for Limehouse and his fate is left ambiguous as the season ends. In the Season 6 episode "Sounding", Errol is revealed to be alive and on better terms with Limehouse and is ordered by him to accompany Ava into gathering supplies at a hardware store in order to excavate Boyd's money from a bank robbery to pay off Limehouse for a car. Bob Sweeney and Raylan approach the hardware store, Bob having tracked down Errol from Noble's. Bob and Errol have a stand-off as Bob attempts to lure Errol out of the store on a bogus charge so that Raylan can get Ava back into his custody. Bob then tases Errol when he refuses to cooperate and leaves with him out of the store.

Heroes

On Heroes, Grosse portrayed recurring character Baron Samedi. "Baron Samedi" was the alias used by a warlord in Haiti who escaped from Level 5. Baron Samedi has impenetrable skin, which grants him a greater resistance to physical injury than an average human. His skin is a virtually indestructible armor, impenetrable by bullets, blades, or any other known weapon. When flown into a car by Nathan, Samedi is able to stand up unscathed. According to his assignment tracker profile, Samedi's control index is 82%. His data analysis show his biological level at 80, cerebral at 45, elemental at 15 and temporal/spatial at 25.[7]

Demetrius Grosse as Detective Kevin Wolfe on The Rookie

Actor Demetrius Grosse portrayed Detective Kevin Wolfe, a recurring guest character on the ABC police procedural drama The Rookie. Wolfe, whose badge number is stated as 9871 in the episode "Plain Clothes Day," is introduced as a competent and assertive detective working with the Mid-Wilshire Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. He often collaborates with uniformed officers and plays a key role in several major cases over the course of the series.

Detective Wolfe is partnered with Detective Elijah Vestri, and the pair are central to a pivotal storyline involving an undercover operation targeting the criminal Marcus Vance. The operation, featured in the episode "Time of Death," culminates in a tragic incident in which undercover officer Isabel Bradford is attacked and shot in the head by Vance. Bradford survives the shooting but sustains life-threatening injuries, setting off a chain of retaliatory and investigative efforts by the LAPD.

In the subsequent episode, "Standoff," Wolfe and Vestri respond to a location where Vance’s crew is believed to be hiding after other officers fail to respond to radio communications. Upon exiting an elevator at the scene, the detectives are ambushed and shot multiple times. Vestri dies from his injuries at the scene, while Wolfe is transported to the hospital and ultimately survives.

Wolfe continues to appear in later episodes, including "The Checklist," in which he assists Officer John Nolan in apprehending a suspect involved in a car smuggling ring. His character is portrayed as resilient and committed, reflecting the dangers and complexities of police work in the series.

Allegations and Investigation (2019)

In 2019, The Rookie became the subject of public controversy when actress Afton Williamson, a series regular during its first season, alleged that she had experienced racial discrimination and sexual harassment while working on the show. Among her claims, Williamson accused guest star Demetrius Grosse of harassment and another crew member of sexual assault during a wrap party that Grosse did not attend.

Following the public disclosure of these allegations, Entertainment One (eOne), the studio behind The Rookie, launched an independent investigation. The inquiry was conducted by the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp in conjunction with EXTTI, a third-party firm specializing in workplace investigations. Over the course of the investigation, nearly 400 hours of interviews were conducted, and various forms of documentation and video evidence were reviewed.

The results of the investigation, released on September 17, 2019, concluded that the specific allegations made by Williamson—including those against Grosse—were unsubstantiated. The investigators stated that they found no evidence to support claims of racial discrimination, sexual harassment, or assault. Grosse's attorney, Andrew Brettler, issued a public statement asserting that the actor had been “libeled all over the media” and suffered professional setbacks due to the allegations, but welcomed that the findings had ultimately cleared his client of wrongdoing.

Despite the controversy, The Rookie continued into subsequent seasons with ongoing support from its production company and network. The situation contributed to broader industry conversations about workplace conduct, accountability, and the processes through which such claims are investigated.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Sofia For Now	Postal Clerk
2007	Studio	Mr. Banks
2009	A Quiet Fire	The Stranger/David	Winner of the Sirrocco Award at the AOF Film Festival. AOF nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film
2010	Cartel War	Eric Carter
2011	The Inheritance	Ancestor Henry
	Slice	Detective Love
	Hollywoo	Gangsta
2013	This Is Martin Bonner	Locy
	Battle of the Year	Scott
	Saving Mr. Banks	Bartender
2014	Never a Neverland	Narrator
	Counter	Bayard Rustin
2015	Samaria	Bug	2015 Student Academy Award Nomination (Short Film)
	Straight Outta Compton	Rock
2016	13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi	DS Agent Dave Ubben
2018	Rampage	Colonel Blake
	Love Jacked	Mtumbie
2020	Body Cam	Gary
2022	Strong Enough	Shane	Short film
2024	Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot	Reverend W.C. Martin

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Numb3rs	US Marshal	2 episodes
2005	Close to Home	Public Defender	Episode: "The Rapist Next Door"
2006	The Unit	Guard #1	Episode: "Force Majeure"
2006	Dexter	Assassin	2 episodes
2007	Dirt	Kenny the Assistant	2 episodes
2007	CSI: Miami	Chuck Greene	Episode: "A Grizzle Murder"
2007	NCIS	Atif Nukunda	Episode: "Designated Target"
2008	Bones	Tucker Payne	Episode: "The Finger in the Nest”
2008	Heroes	Baron Samedi	Recurring role (season 3) 3 episodes
2008–2009	ER	Officer Newkirk	Recurring role (seasons 14–15) 5 episodes
2010	House M.D.	Hacinte	Episode: "A Pox on Our House"
2011	The Cape	Marty's Guard	Episode: "Endgame"
2011	Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior	Barry Vernon / Lieutenant Beasley	2 episodes
2011	How to Be a Gentleman	Officer Sims	Episode: "How to Have a One-Night Stand 2"
2011	Shameless	Eddie Murphy	Episode: "Uncle Carl"
2012, 2015	Justified	Errol	Recurring role (season 3) Guest role (season 6) 13 episodes
2013–2014	Banshee	Deputy Emmett Yawners	Main cast (season 1–2) 16 episodes
2015	Complications	Dan Brennan	Episode: "Pilot"
2016	Westworld	Deputy Foss	Recurring role (season 1) 4 episodes
2016	Game of Silence	Terry Bausch	Main cast 10 episodes
2017–2018	Frontier	Charleston	Main cast (seasons 2–3) 8 episodes
2017–2018	The Brave	CPO Ezekiel "Preach" Carter	Main cast 13 episodes
2018–2019	The Rookie	Det. Kevin Wolfe	Recurring role (season 1) 5 episodes
2020	Lovecraft Country	Marvin Baptiste	Episode: "Sundown"
2020–2022	Fear the Walking Dead	Emile LaRoux	Guest role (season 6, Episode: "The End Is the Beginning")
		Josiah LaRoux	Recurring role (season 7, 3 episodes)
2020	NCIS: Los Angeles	Raymond Lewis	Episode: "If the Fates Allow"
2021–2023	Swagger	Grant Carson	4 episodes
2022	Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities	Eddie	Episode: "Lot 36"
2023	Spring Breakthrough	Clark Randall	Television film (Hallmark)
2025	Law & Order	Darryl Moore	Episode: "A Price to Pay"
2025	Wonder Man	Eric Williams / Grim Reaper	Disney+ series Main cast

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2011	L.A. Noire	Jermaine Jones
2016	NBA 2K17	Washington Falls
2019	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	Sergeant Marcus Griggs (multiplayer only)

Awards and nominations

Year	Title	Award	Nomination
2009	A Quiet Fire	Winner of the Sirrocco Award at the AOF Film Festival. AOF nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film.	Nominated for the Sirrocco Award at the AOF Film Festival. AOF nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film. (WIN)
2013	This Is Martin Bonner	2013 Sundance Awards: Audience Award Winner for Best of NEXT for This Is Martin Bonner.	2013 Sundance Awards: The Audience Award: Best of NEXT. (WIN)
2014	Counter	Idyllwild IIFC 2015	Awards for Acting - Best Actor In A Short Film (WIN) & Cinematography -Best Cinematography – Short. (WIN)
2014	The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry	24TH Annual NAACP Theatre Awards: “The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry.”	Best Lead Male
2015	Samaria	2015 Student Academy Awards Samaria (Short Film)	Best Narrative
2024	The Sound of Hope	Septimius Awards	Winner, Best American Actor
2024	The Sound of Hope	Red Letter Awards	Best Actor
2025	The Sound of Hope	Golden Crowd Award	Winner, Best Actor in a Leading Role

Producing

Year	Title	Notes
2009	A Quiet Fire	Short Film, Producer
2010	Moonshiner	Short Film, Associate Producer
2013	Last Cry For Katrina	Documentary, Executive Producer
2015	Godfrey	Just Announced, Executive Producer, Director

External links

• Demetrius Grosse at IMDb
• Demetrius Grosse at Metacritic
• Demetrius Grosse at Rotten Tomatoes