---
name: "Arsenio Hall"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/arsenio-hall"
fi1m_id: "arsenio-hall"
imdb_id: "nm0002119"
tmdb_id: 44994
wikidata_id: "Q606599"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "12 February 1955"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-17T23:48:25.022104+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Arsenio Hall

## Identity

Arsenio Hall

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/arsenio-hall
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** arsenio-hall
- **IMDb ID:** nm0002119
- **TMDB ID:** 44994
- **Wikidata ID:** Q606599
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenio_Hall, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q606599, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002119/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/44994

Actor. Born 12 February 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 12 February 1955, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
- **Also known as:** Арсеніо Голл, Арсенио Холл
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 76 (1), 1990s 80 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenio_Hall, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q606599, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002119/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/44994

## Streaming the US now

- **AMC+:** [*Coming to America*](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md) (76)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Arsenio Hall

> Arsenio Hall gives Eddie Murphy someone lively to play against, then finds laughs of his own in characters with far too much confidence. We like him best when that supporting work keeps a comedy from becoming too sweet.

Hall’s Semmi brings welcome energy to the company of Eddie Murphy’s carefully mannered Prince Akeem in *Coming to America* (1988). The courtship is predictable, so the actors have to give us a reason to stay. Hall helps by making sure Akeem’s politeness does not set the pace for everyone around him. We rate him here for knowing how to make a quiet lead performance work without requiring Murphy to turn the prince into a fool.

The smaller roles, including Morris and Reverend Brown, give Hall room to be more excessive. He and Murphy invest these characters with a confidence that far exceeds any reason we are given to share it. We laughed at that unearned certainty, a welcome jolt after Akeem’s measured politeness. Director John Landis mostly judges how long to leave them on screen, though a few appearances run on. The interruptions slow an already predictable courtship, but cutting them all back would lose some of the pleasure.

The partnership with Murphy continued in *Harlem Nights* (1989), with Hall as Crying Man. His television work put him at the centre of *The Arsenio Hall Show* (1989–1994, revived 2013–2014), while the film roles remained largely supporting ones. Credits such as Tasty Freeze in *Black Dynamite* (2009) belong to that less prominent film career. Those credits ask us to judge Hall by how well he fits the company, not by how much attention he takes from the lead.

In *Coming 2 America* (2021), he returned to Semmi, Morris and Reverend Brown and added Baba. There is a limitation to this sort of career: Hall can be overshadowed by the leading actor, even when his support is helping the comedy work. Start with the original *Coming to America*, and give Semmi some attention before looking for Hall in the smaller parts.

## Biography

Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian and talk show host. He is known for his multiple roles as Semmi, Morris, the Extremely Ugly Girl and Reverend Brown in the 1988 film *Coming to America*, and for reprising several of these characters in the 2021 sequel *Coming 2 America*.

Hall began his career in stand-up comedy after moving to Chicago in 1979, later appearing on television series including *Soul Train* and as a sidekick on *Thicke of the Night*. He hosted *The Arsenio Hall Show* from 1989 to 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. Other film credits include *Harlem Nights* (1989) and *Black Dynamite* (2009).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these

- *Coming to America* (1988), Fi1m 76, as Semmi / Extremely Ugly Girl / Morris / Reverend Brown — [page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Ghost* (1990), Fi1m 80, as Arsenio Hall (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/ghost.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Crutch* (2025), series, as Avery
- *Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur* (2023), series, as Vernell (voice)
- *Coming 2 America* (2021), as Semmi / Morris / Reverend Brown / Baba
- *Arsenio Hall: Smart and Classy* (2019), Writer
- *The Mayor* (2017), series, as Reverend Okoye
- *Greatest Hits* (2016), series, as Host
- *Black Dynamite* (2009), as Tasty Freeze
- *Igor* (2008), as Carl Cristall (voice)
- *Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!* (2006), as Captain Crothers (voice)
- *The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie* (2005), as Arsenio Hall
- *The Proud Family Movie* (2005), as Dr. Carver / Bobby Proud (voice)
- *Before They Were Kings: Vol. 1* (2004), Writer
- *Chappelle's Show* (2003), series, Actor
- *Intimate Portrait: Josephine Baker* (1999), as Narrator
- *The Norm Show* (1999), series, Actor
- *Martial Law* (1998), series, as Terrell Parker
- *Skip Chasers* (1998), as Deacon
- *Arsenio* (1997), series, as Michael Atwood
- *The Jackie Thomas Show* (1992), series, Actor
- *Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You* (1992), Executive Producer
- *Ghost* (1990), as Arsenio Hall (uncredited) — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/ghost.md)
- *Blossom* (1990), series, as Arsenio Hall
- *Harlem Nights* (1989), as Crying Man
- *Coming to America* (1988), as Semmi / Extremely Ugly Girl / Morris / Reverend Brown — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/coming-to-america.md)
- *Day by Day* (1988), series, as Arsenio Hall
- *Amazon Women on the Moon* (1987), as Apartment Victim (segment "Mondo Condo")
- *Uptown Comedy Express* (1987), Writer
- *The Real Ghostbusters* (1986), series, as Winston Zeddemore (voice)
- *The 1/2 Hour Comedy Hour* (1983), series, as Host
- *Cheers* (1982), series, as Arsenio Hall — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/cheers.md)
- *The Party Machine with Nia Peeples*, series, Creator

## Gallery

- ![Arsenio Hall](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-2af0f9d25742.jpg) Arsenio Hall — The Arsenio Hall Show, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Arsenio_Hall_in_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Arsenio Hall at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards (1989)](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-bb923d4b9f85.jpg) Arsenio Hall at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards (1989) — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Arsenio_Hall.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![1989 Emmy Awards NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my photos, but please credit "photo by Alan Light" if you can. Thanks. Scan](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-6c1cf47dde84.jpg) 1989 Emmy Awards NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my photos, but please credit "photo by Alan Light" if you can. Thanks. Scan — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Arsenio_Hall_%282087691802%29.jpg/1280px-Arsenio_Hall_%282087691802%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Arsenio Hall (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-e0d44372ef54.jpg) Arsenio Hall (2008) — Bob n' Renee, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Arsenio_Hall_2.jpg/1280px-Arsenio_Hall_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Arsenio Hall](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-065b5bc7ff3f.jpg) Arsenio Hall — Image via TMDB
- ![Arsenio Hall](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-51c5ade91c7c.jpg) Arsenio Hall — Image via TMDB
- ![Arsenio Hall](https://film.one/media/person/119483/gallery-fa81168943a1.jpg) Arsenio Hall — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/arsenio-hall