---
name: "Rockmond Dunbar"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/rockmond-dunbar"
fi1m_id: "rockmond-dunbar"
imdb_id: "nm0241870"
tmdb_id: 17345
wikidata_id: "Q314508"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "11 January 1973"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-09-23T14:05:09.776628+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."
---

# Rockmond Dunbar

## Identity

Rockmond Dunbar

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/rockmond-dunbar
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** rockmond-dunbar
- **IMDb ID:** nm0241870
- **TMDB ID:** 17345
- **Wikidata ID:** Q314508
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockmond_Dunbar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q314508, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241870/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/17345

Actor. Born 11 January 1973 in Oakland, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 11 January 1973, Oakland, California, USA
- **Active:** 2005–2010
- **Also known as:** רוקמונד דאנבר
- **Frequently works with:** [Guy Ferland](https://film.one/person/guy-ferland.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 68 (4), 2010s 82 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 73 to 66 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Crime 5, Drama 4, Mystery 3, Comedy 2, Action & Adventure 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 2 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $16m across 1 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockmond_Dunbar, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q314508, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0241870/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/17345

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Kiss Kiss Bang Bang*](https://film.one/film/kiss-kiss-bang-bang.md) (79)
- **Disney+:** [*The Mentalist*](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md) (71)

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

## Fi1m on Rockmond Dunbar

> Rockmond Dunbar has spent two decades playing sheriffs, detectives, husbands and fathers, and he plays them all with the same level, appraising stillness. The parts are narrow. In *Terriers* he shows how much a good writer can get from one.

In *Terriers* (2010), Detective Mark Gustafson spends most of his scenes looking at Hank, the skint friend with a drink problem, and deciding whether to help him this time. Rockmond Dunbar plays that look as a man who has already given up on Hank twice and knows he is about to do it a third time. He does not raise his voice. He does not need to; the disappointment is in how long he waits before he answers.

That patience is what Dunbar has been hired for, over and over, since the mid-1990s. He began with a recurring part on *Earth 2* (1994–95), was first properly noticed as Kenny Chadway on *Soul Food* (2000–04), and became known to a much wider audience as Benjamin "C-Note" Franklin on *Prison Break* (2005–09), a part he came back to in 2017. After that the badges arrived: Gustafson in *Terriers*, Sheriff Eli Roosevelt in *Sons of Anarchy* (2011–13), Dennis Abbott in *The Mentalist* (2013–15), and then Michael Grant on *9-1-1* (2018–21), the husband and father in a series about other people's emergencies. He noticed the pattern before we did, remarking in 2010 that "for the longest time I would always play the husband or the Dad, and I'm not married and I don't have any kids". Casting directors saw a man you would trust, and kept casting him as one.

The question is whether the writing trusts him back. In *Terriers*, Ted Griffin and Shawn Ryan wrote the supporting cast with more care than the format usually allows, and Gustafson got a proper interior to go with the badge. We found, in the second half of that single season, that we were often looking at Dunbar rather than at Hank in their scenes together, because his silence told us how much trouble Hank was in before Hank did. In *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* (2005), by contrast, he is Mr. Fire, a heavy in Shane Black's crime comedy, and our review did not stop to mention him, which is a fair measure of what the film asked of him.

He has said he prefers characters who are conflicted rather than merely presented, and the Roosevelt part in *Sons of Anarchy* is the one usually held up as giving him that. On the evidence we have reviewed, the steadiness is real and the parts rarely test it. The badge is a good fit and a small room. Someone should hand him a role with no uniform and no family in it, and see what he does when there is nobody to be steady for.

## Biography

Rockmond Dunbar is an American actor. He was born on 11 January 1973 in Oakland, California, and studied at Oakland Technical High School, Morehouse College, the College of Santa Fe and the University of New Mexico.

Dunbar first gained recognition for his leading role as Kenny Chadway in the Showtime series *Soul Food* (2000–2004). He is also known for playing Benjamin Miles 'C-Note' Franklin in *Prison Break* (2005–2017), Sheriff Eli Roosevelt in *Sons of Anarchy* (2011–2013), FBI Agent Dennis Abbott in *The Mentalist* (2013–2015) and Michael Grant in *9-1-1* (2018–2021). His film credits include *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* (2005), in which he played Mr. Fire.

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

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Terriers* (2010), Fi1m 82, as Detective Mark Gustafson — [page](https://film.one/tv/terriers.md)
- *The Mentalist* (2008), Fi1m 71, as Dennis Abbott — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *Shark* (2006), Fi1m 55, as Teddy Banks — [page](https://film.one/tv/shark.md)
- *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* (2005), Fi1m 79, as Mr. Fire — [page](https://film.one/film/kiss-kiss-bang-bang.md)
- *Prison Break* (2005), Fi1m 68, as Benjamin Miles 'C-Note' Franklin — [page](https://film.one/tv/prison-break.md)

## Complete filmography (50)

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

- *Funny Thing About Love* (2026), as Charles
- *One Spoon of Chocolate* (2026), as Mr. Lindsey
- *STRAW* (2025), as Chief Wilson
- *The Accused* (2025), as Marcus Wainwright
- *The Waterboyz* (2024), as Mayor Thomas
- *Red Winter* (2022), as Harold
- *City of Lies* (2018), as Dreadlocks
- *Edge of Fear* (2018), as Mike Dwyer
- *9-1-1* (2018), series, as Michael Grant
- *The Path* (2016), series, as Detective Abe Gaines
- *Curveball* (2015), as James
- *The Cheaters Club* (2014), as Eric
- *Scorpion* (2014), series, as Scotty
- *Highland Park* (2013), as Shaun
- *More to Love* (2013), Actor
- *Doubt* (2013), as Steve Adams
- *Raising Izzie* (2012), as Greg
- *For Richer or Poorer* (2012), as Aubrey
- *A Taste of Romance* (2012), as Danny Marsh
- *The Defenders* (2010), series, as Bounce
- *Terriers* (2010), series, as Detective Mark Gustafson — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/terriers.md)
- *Love Chronicles: Secrets Revealed* (2010), as Darren
- *Pastor Brown* (2009), as Amir · Director, Producer
- *Jada* (2008), as Simon
- *The Mentalist* (2008), series, as Dennis Abbott — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md)
- *Alien Raiders* (2008), as Kane
- *Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys* (2008), as Chris
- *Sons of Anarchy* (2008), series, as Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/tv/sons-of-anarchy.md)
- *Private Practice* (2007), series, as Jacob Deever
- *Heartland* (2007), series, as Dr. Tom Jonas
- *The Game* (2006), series, as Pookie
- *Shark* (2006), series, as Teddy Banks — Fi1m 55, [page](https://film.one/tv/shark.md)
- *Dirty Laundry* (2006), as Patrick / Sheldon
- *Kiss Kiss Bang Bang* (2005), as Mr. Fire — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/kiss-kiss-bang-bang.md)
- *Head Cases* (2005), series, as Dr. Robinson
- *Prison Break* (2005), series, as Benjamin 'C-Note' Franklin, Benjamin Miles 'C-Note' Franklin — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/prison-break.md)
- *The Closer* (2005), series, as Antwone Decker
- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), series, as Sean Brotherton — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/greys-anatomy.md)
- *CSI: Miami* (2002), series, as James Reilly
- *All About You* (2001), as Tim Minor
- *Girlfriends* (2000), series, as Jalen
- *Soul Food* (2000), series, as Kenny Chadway
- *Punks* (2000), as Darby Cannon
- *Felicity* (1998), series, as Man on Train
- *The Practice* (1997), series, as Byron Little
- *The Pretender* (1996), series, as Joe Taylor
- *Pacific Blue* (1996), series, as Tiger Bates
- *Earth 2* (1994), series, as Baines
- *Misery Loves Company* (1993), Actor
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Principal — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)

## Gallery

- ![Rockmond Dunbar and Errol Sadler on Set of CurveBall (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/99081/gallery-8589e1c25d42.jpg) Rockmond Dunbar and Errol Sadler on Set of CurveBall (2014) — Firmbiz918, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Rockmond_Dunbar_and_Errol_Sadler_on_Set_of_CurveBall_%282014%29.JPG/1280px-Rockmond_Dunbar_and_Errol_Sadler_on_Set_of_CurveBall_%282014%29.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Rockmond Dunbar](https://film.one/media/person/99081/gallery-911fd11a1487.jpg) Rockmond Dunbar — CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Rockmond_Dunbar_crop.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Rockmond Dunbar](https://film.one/media/person/99081/gallery-7dd707ad4ded.jpg) Rockmond Dunbar — 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/rockmond-dunbar