Coby Bell

Coby Bell

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coby_Bell

Coby Scott Bell (born May 11, 1975) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his roles as NYPD officer Tyrone Davis, Jr. on the NBC drama Third Watch, and professional football player Jason Pitts on the CW/BET comedy-drama The Game. He currently co-stars as Jesse Porter on the USA Network original series Burn Notice.

Bell is married to Aviss Pinkney-Bell and has four children; two sets of twins: girls (Serrae and Jaena) and girl/boy (Quinn and Eli). In addition to acting, Bell is also a musician and songwriter in a reggae band. He also serves as a mentor to underprivileged youths in the Big Brothers of America. Bell supported Barack Obama for president in 2008.

photos

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“The Game” actor Coby Bell (L) and his family

http://blogs.centrictv.com/lifestyle/culturelist/?attachment_id=24681

SANTA MONICA, CA – OCTOBER 06: Actor Coby Bell (L) and his family arrive at “Family Day” hosted by Nick Cannon at Santa Monica Pier on October 6, 2012 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

Interview: Coby Bell Dishes On 'Burn Notice' And 'The Game'

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Brittany_Frederick/2010/12/14/interview_coby_bell_dishes_on_burn_not

I got an early Christmas present on Monday: the chance for a follow-up chat with one of my favorite actors, Burn Notice and The Game star Coby Bell. Picking up where our August conversation left off, Coby sat down with me to discuss that scene from Burn Notice, his second job on The Game, and a particular guest spot of his that you may have missed. Warning: this interview does contain some spoilers for both series.

You warned us in August that fans were going to be upset with Jesse - now we know why! What was your reaction when you realized Jesse was going to have to shoot Michael to save his life in the Burn Notice summer finale?

I wasn't crazy about shooting the star of the show. But it was my first season, I'm not going to rock the boat or anything. He was basically shooting him to save him. The Burn Notice writers really research that stuff, and I guess one of them came across a story where someone shot somebody strategically to save them.

A lot of people, myself included, were expecting a much bigger confrontation between Michael and Jesse once Jesse uncovered the truth about his burn notice. Were you happy with the way it played out or would you have liked more conflict between them?

Earlier in the season, I was thinking "This was going to come to Michael and Jesse duking it out." I think they really wanted to fast-track Jesse onto the team. They kind of did the "Jesse's pissed off at everyone" and wanted to wrap it up.

What was it like filming the scene in "Blind Spot" where Jesse finally confronts Fiona about his burning? It was certainly tough to watch. Quite a few people speculated that he intended on shooting Michael, had it been Michael who walked through that door.

I had to really pull out all my drama chops on that one. I've done a lot of drama in my career, but I'm actually more comfortable doing comedy. Scenes like that I really have to focus. He wouldn't have shot [Michael] because then the show would be over.

Jesse seems to be the character who's most visibly changed from the events of the summer finale. He seems like he's got a bit more anger, a bit more of a chip on his shoulder. Is this a permanent change for him?

I think now, I'm learning and the writers are learning who Jesse really is and where he's coming from. Blowing up the house [in "Eyes Open"] shocked me when I read it, but it kind of makes sense. They put him behind a desk because he was going after all the bad guys, not just the ones he was assigned to get. He's like, "Let's just take care of it."

There are rumors that a major character dies by the end of the season, and a lot of people think it's you by virtue of your being "the new guy." Put me at ease and tell me that you'll be back for season five.

Unless they did some fancy editing, it's not me. I was mad about [Marv dying]. I love working with Richard. They've told me when to report back to Miami.

Speaking of coming back, The Game comes back in a little less than a month. How has it been for you settling back into the character of Jason Pitts?

It was a trip. Within like a week and a half, I was jumping from blowing stuff up to making people laugh. I love playing Jason. The writers are really underrated. They do an amazing job. I feel really lucky across the board right now, to be on two shows with great writing and great fans.

Jason may have changed a lot since we left him. Some of the casting sides I've seen say he's out of football and working in sportscasting. How do you tackle what seems like a big change for your character?

I kind of expected it. He's a thirty-five-year-old football player. He was holding out to be re-signed, they didn't re-sign him, and so he goes and does the sportscasting thing. He's on like a Best Damn Sports Show kind of show with Chris Webber. Jason's the most hard-headed he's ever been. He has no censor.

I know you weren't sure about Jason's future with Kelly, and Brittany Daniel said she thought they'd be spending most of the season apart. Now that you're back in production, do you know any more about where they might be headed?

All I can say is when we pick back up, we pick up two, two and a half years later. They're not together when we pick back up. I think that's part of the reason why Jason's hard-headedness has increased. I think Kelly was the only person that could keep him in check.

I've had a chance to watch a little more of your work since we spoke last, and I have to ask you about Archer. (Coby played new ISIS agent Conway Stern in the episode "Diversity Hire." If you missed the episode, this clip will show you how wrong but hilarious it was.) That certainly had to be a completely different experience for you.

That was awesome. That was like the coolest thing I've ever done. I'd like to do more episodes; I think that show's hilarious. The creator of the show was saying that [Conway] might be back.

Since it's the holiday season, I want to end with a Christmas-themed question. What do you think would be on your characters' wish lists this year?

Jesse needs a new gun and a place to live. I think he moved out of the garage; I don't know where he is. Jason needs some new knees.

My thanks to Coby Bell for another wonderful interview. Catch him in the Burn Notice season finale this Thursday at 9 PM ET/PT on USA, and on The Game when it returns to BET on January 11.

Here’s Coby talking about his DBR character on The Game:

http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/the-game-actor-coby-bell-plays-dbr-on-bet-but/  

People Who Are Awesome: Coby Bell

http://www.starpulse.com/news/Brittany_Frederick/2011/01/31/people_who_are_awesome_coby_bell

Coby Bell tops my list of People Who Are Awesome because not only does he exemplify what this column is about, but he went from unknown to awesome in eight months.

There's so much attention given to those celebs who make headlines for all the wrong reasons, and not enough given to those who are honestly good people. I decided I wanted to devote some column space each month to recognizing those awesome individuals you might not know, and the moment I made that choice, I knew I had to start with Coby. It still blows my mind that eight months ago I had no idea who he was. In June of 2010, I was convinced that the addition of a new regular character on USA's Burn Notice was a ridiculous idea, and it didn't matter to me who was cast. It couldn't possibly work.

Then Coby had to turn up and be amazing, forcing me to eat every single cynical word I'd said.

As Jesse Porter, the counterintelligence agent whose life Michael Westen deep-sixed, he was the face of the show's daring fourth-season overhaul, for better and for worse. Jesse was a great character on paper, uniquely set in a position to force the audience to challenge everything we knew about Michael and about how the show was put together. Yet what made him - and therefore the whole plot surrounding him - work was the impressive skill set that Coby brought to the role. His immense likeability and charisma helped when he was confronting the characters we knew and loved already. His ability to deliver subtle humor with just a particular line reading or a certain look fit right into Burn Notice's more comedic moments. And I certainly won't be forgetting the scene in "Blind Spot" where Jesse confronts Fiona after discovering that Michael was responsible for his burn notice; I actually found myself crying because Coby did such an excellent job of portraying Jesse on his last nerve. The character went on a real journey over the season, and by the time it ended, I was cheering when he survived. Coby's performance had disabused me of every single misconception I had about Jesse Porter, and I couldn't have been happier.

He was far from done impressing me, however. In what can only be described as either incredibly dedicated or insane (or maybe both), Coby was also rejoining his previous series, The Game, for BET. As he was blowing things up on Burn Notice, he was also stepping back into the role of pro football player Jason Pitts. Putting aside how much hard work and effort must go into being a part of two series at the same time, playing Jason shows just how much range Coby has. The character couldn't be more removed from Jesse; Jason is a rich, sometimes arrogant, sometimes insecure guy with a daughter to raise and a marriage that's fallen apart. The Game gives Coby plenty of opportunity to show off his comedic talents, yet also to play poignant moments that tug at the heartstrings as Jason faces real issues like his divorce and the end of his football career. (Oh, yeah, and he even got to rap once.) Jason reminds me of my best friend: a lot of the time he does things that drive me crazy, but I can't stop loving him, because I know that when it matters, he's a stand-up guy. I appreciate Coby's work on The Game just as much as the work he does on Burn Notice, but for entirely different reasons. I sometimes wonder if there's anything he can't do.

After all, Coby's created four characters that I have truly enjoyed, all of them vastly different from each other. Aside from Jesse Porter and Jason Pitts, he's best known for having played Officer Tyrone "Ty" Davis, Jr. on NBC's Third Watch. Once I caught up with The Game, I went out and bought Third Watch on DVD, and I could not believe that it was his first major acting role. He might have been playing a rookie cop, but Coby was acting like he'd been around the block a few times. He was playing the kind of guy I'd take home to my mother; when Ty finally did something reprehensible in the second season, I actually couldn't comprehend it, because I was just used to him being the saint. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Coby also voiced the double agent Conway Stern in an episode of FX's hit series Archer, leading fans to ask for his return and creator Adam Reed to call him one of his favorite people to have worked with.

When he told me that recently, I completely understood where Adam Reed was coming from. You see, here's the most important part of being on my People Who Are Awesome list: that someone isn't just a talented performer, but they're also an equally great human being. In this day and age, there are lots of great actors who aren't very good people. I started this column with Coby because not only has he become one of my favorite actors, but I'd also call him one of the best people I've ever met. I'd call him a friend, and that's because he reached out to me. Over the last seven months, I had the pleasure of doing two interviews with him; not only was he happy to answer anything I asked, but he wanted to know about me. Our interactions became conversations. Earlier this month at the premiere event for The Game, we finally met in person, and it's an experience that is going to stick with me the rest of my life. Not only did he take time out on the red carpet to talk to me, he pulled me aside that night and asked me what I thought of the fourth-season premiere. In that moment, my brain imploded. How did this happen? I thought. Why does someone this cool care what I think? How did we go from people who'd never heard of each other to this in eight months? That's really something special.

I've never admitted this before, but when I got home that night, I cried a little bit as the entire thing sunk in, starting with the sense that I actually matter to someone I look up to. There aren't words for me to express what that means to me. I can count the number of real friends I have on one hand. Yet one of them is someone whom I have come to admire and deeply respect. When times get rough, and they have, I can remind myself that I've got at least one person in my corner, and he's pretty fantastic. I'm enjoying The Game, and I can't wait until Burn Notice comes back, so I can see what he does next - whatever it is, I'm sure that it's going to be awesome.

Third Watch

http://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroji_iz_strasti