{{short description|American actor}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{BLP sources|date=December 2012}} {{Infobox person | name = Erik Todd Dellums | image = | birth_name = Erik Todd Dellums | birth_date = | birth_place = San Francisco, California, U.S. | education = Brown University (BS) | occupation = Actor, narrator | father = Ron Dellums | relatives = {{ubl|Piper Dellums (sister)|C. L. Dellums (great-uncle)}} }}
'''Erik Todd Dellums''' is an American actor and narrator. He is known for playing the drug kingpin Luther Mahoney for two seasons on ''Homicide: Life on the Street''. He also voiced the roles as the radio DJ Three Dog in the 2008 video game ''Fallout 3''; Prince Arcann, Thexan, and Oggo in ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'', the 2015 expansion to ''Star Wars: The Old Republic''; and Aaravos in the animated Netflix series ''The Dragon Prince'', for which he received an Emmy Award nomination.
==Early life and education == Erik Dellums was born in the San Francisco Bay Area in California and later moved to Washington, D.C.<ref name="sun" />{{Failed verification |reason=No place of birth given |date=November 2024}} He is the son of Leola "Roscoe” Higgs Dellums, a lawyer, and Ron Dellums, the former U.S. representative from California and mayor of Oakland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/89/Erik-Todd-Dellums.html |title=Erik Todd Dellums Biography (1964-) |website=Film Reference |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McFadden |first=Robert D. |date=July 30, 2018 |title=Ron Dellums, 82, Dies; Unrelenting in Congress, He Upheld Left's Ideals |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/obituaries/ron-dellums-forceful-liberal-in-congress-for-27-years-dies-at-82.html |access-date=March 4, 2026 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His sister Piper Dellums is an author.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Morgan |title=Ron Dellums, Antiwar Activist-Turned-Armed Services Chairman, Dead at 82 |url=https://rollcall.com/2018/07/30/ron-dellums-antiwar-activist-turned-armed-services-chairman-dead-at-82/ |access-date=October 30, 2022 |work=Roll Call |date=July 30, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Brown University in 1986.<ref name="sun">{{Cite news |first=Rob |last=Hiaasen |author-link=Rob Hiaasen |title=Drug lord role: a tough act to follow Actor: Perhaps dogged by a lasting image as Luther Mahoney, Erik Dellums waits for another good part. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-05-07-1998127001-story.html |access-date=September 11, 2022 |date=September 29, 2021 |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124100339/https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/05/07/drug-lord-role-a-tough-act-to-follow-actor-perhaps-dogged-by-a-lasting-image-as-luther-mahoney-erik-dellums-waits-for-another-good-part/ |archive-date=November 24, 2024 |id={{ProQuest|406373515}} |quote=Brown University (he was a political science major)}}</ref>{{Failed verification |reason=Year not given |date=November 2024}}
==Career== Dellums had minor appearances in several Spike Lee films early in his career, such as ''She's Gotta Have It'' (1986) and ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989). He was portrayed (as a child) by Travis Kyle Davis in a Disney Channel Original Movie entitled ''The Color of Friendship'' (2000), which was based on what happened when his family hosted a foreign exchange student from South Africa during the Apartheid era; Dellums had a cameo role as himself. He provided the voice of the character Koh the Face Stealer in the animated Nickelodeon series ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', as well as the narration for ''Key Constitutional Concepts'', a documentary produced in 2006 by the Annenberg Foundation.
Dellums has had parts in television police dramas such as ''New York Undercover'', ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' (in which he played drug kingpin Luther Mahoney), and ''The Wire'' (in which he played a medical examiner). He also played a doctor in one episode of ''Homeland''. Dellums provided voice acting for the 2008 video game ''Fallout 3'' as Three Dog. He provided the voice of Nazir, a character in the video game ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim''. Dellums narrates the Travel Channel series ''Mysterious Journeys'', as well as the documentary television series ''How the Universe Works'' and ''NASA's Unexplained Files'' on the Science Channel. Dellums narrates the Science series ''The Planets'' – hosted by former astronaut Mike Massimino – which premiered in 2017 and was retitled ''The Planets and Beyond'' for its second season in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Planets and Beyond - Full Cast & Crew |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-planets-and-beyond/cast/1000644959/ |website=TVGuide.com |access-date=November 8, 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
Dellums also reprised the role of Three Dog in the YouTube lore series by ShoddyCast, and he also performs the voice for Prince/Emperor Arcann in the game ''Star Wars: The Old Republic'' expansion ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'' and its sequel expansions ''Knights of the Eternal Throne'' and ''Onslaught''. He's also the voice provider of the character Aaravos in the Netflix series ''The Dragon Prince''.
Dellums' political and social writings on his personal blog gained notice in 2011, and his criticisms of the presidency of Barack Obama earned him guest appearances on Fox News.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Vanessa |title=Actor Erik Todd Dellums stirs the black political pot with musings on President Obama |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/actor-erik-todd-dellums-stirs-the-black-political-pot-with-musings-on-president-obama/2011/10/11/gIQAjjp5kL_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 14, 2011 |id={{ProQuest|898376425}} |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510012220/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/actor-erik-todd-dellums-stirs-the-black-political-pot-with-musings-on-president-obama/2011/10/11/gIQAjjp5kL_story.html |archive-date=May 10, 2015}}</ref>
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1986 |''She's Gotta Have It'' |Dog #3 | |- |1986 |''Good to Go'' |Bam-Bam | |- |1988 |''School Daze'' |Gammite Slim Daddy | |- |1989 |''Do the Right Thing'' |Customer in Pizzeria |Uncredited |- |1991 |''The Doors'' |Hairdresser at the Sullivan Show | |- |1997 |''Joe Joe Angel & the Dead Guy'' |The Man | |- |1998 |''Dr. Dolittle'' |Jeremy | |- |2000 |''BlackMale'' |Victor | |- |2003 |''Brother Outsider'' |Voice of Bayard Rustin | |- |2005 |''Bellclair Times'' |Devin | |- |2005 |''Camp D.O.A.'' |Watcher | |- |2008 |''Patsy'' |Harry | |- |2022 |''Almost Human: Rise of the Apes'' |Narrator | |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1996–1998 |''Homicide: Life on the Street'' |Luther Mahoney |6 episodes |- |1998 |''New York Undercover'' |Mohammad |Episode: "Change, Change, Change" |- |1998 |''Walker, Texas Ranger'' |David 'Lucifer' Thompson |Episode: "The Children of Halloween" |- |1999 |''JAG'' |Charlie Lynch |Episode: "Goodbyes" |- |2000 |''NYPD Blue'' |Inez / Harold Carmichael |Episode: "A Hole in Juan" |- |2000 |''The Color of Friendship'' |Oliver | rowspan="2" |Television film |- |2001 |''Boycott'' |Bayard Rustin |- |2002–2004 |''The Wire'' |Dr. Randall Frazier |6 episodes |- |2005 |''Jonny Zero'' |Antoine Negasi |Episode: "Diamonds & Guns" |- |2005 |''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' |Koh |2 episodes |- |2012 |''Narrow Escapes of WWII'' | rowspan="2" |Narrator |4 episodes |- |2012–2021 |''How the Universe Works'' |14 episodes |- |2013 |''Golden Boy'' |Pablo Vega |Episode: "Next Question" |- |2013 |''Homeland'' |Doctor Graham |Episode: "Tower of David" |- |2014–2017 |''NASA's Unexplained Files'' |Narrator |39 episodes |- |2015 |''Amnesia'' |Sargent Johnson |Episode: "Awakening" |- |2017 |''Great American Eclipse'' | rowspan="3" |Narrator |Television film |- |2017–2018 |''The Planet'' |9 episodes |- |2017–2018 |''The Planets and Beyond'' |17 episodes |- |2018–2024 |''The Dragon Prince'' |Aaravos |26 episodes |}
=== Video games === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role |- |2008 |''Fallout 3'' |Three Dog |- |2009 |''League of Legends'' |Nasus |- |2011 |''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' |Nazir |- |2015 |''Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire'' | rowspan="2" |Various voices |- |2015 |''Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne'' |- |2017 |''The Elder Scrolls: Legends'' |Tyr |- |2017 |''Star Wars: The Old Republic: Onslaught'' |Various voices |- |2022 |''Star Wars: The Old Republic: Legacy of the Sith'' | |}
== Awards and nominations == {| class="wikitable" ! Year || Organisation || Category || Project || Result || Ref. |- | 2025 | Children's and Family Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single Voice Role Performer | ''The Dragon Prince'' | {{pending}} |<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2025/11/childrens-and-family-emmy-nominations-2025-list-1236621079/ |title=Children's & Family Emmy Nominations Revealed – Full List |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=November 18, 2025 |access-date=November 19, 2025}}</ref> |}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0217529}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dellums, Erik}} Category:Male actors from Washington, D.C. Category:Brown University alumni Category:Living people Category:American male voice actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors Category:Dellums family Category:20th-century African-American male actors Category:21st-century African-American male actors Category:1964 births