Biography
Deon Cole is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended Thornridge High School and earned an acting degree from Philander Smith College.
Cole began performing stand-up comedy in Chicago. He joined the writing staff of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) and Conan (2010–2012), receiving Primetime Emmy nominations for his work. He is known for playing Charlie Telphy in the sitcom black-ish (2014–2022), for which he won multiple NAACP Image Awards, and for film roles including Dante in the Barbershop series, Wiley Escoe in The Harder They Fall (2021) and Alfonso in The Color Purple (2023).
