Laz Alonso: Howard U Grad to Hollywood Leading Man
theGRIO REPORT - Laz Alonso is a film actor with a laundry list of film credits. While passionate about his craft, acting was not always in the cards for Alonso...
Name: Laz Alonso
Professions: Actor
Alma Mater: Howard University
University Twitter Account: www.twitter.com/howardu
Stat Sheet
Major: Business Administration/Concentration in Marketing
Hometown: Washington D.C.
Interesting Facts: Laz Alonso is an avid music fan and musician who studied classical piano growing up. He also goes by the stage name El Mambi and plans to drop an album featuring mambo music.
Laz Alonso is a film actor with a laundry list of film credits. While passionate about his craft, acting was not always in the cards for Alonso. Born to Afro-Cuban parents who stressed education, Alonso chose to attend Howard University. There, he majored in business administration with a minor in marketing. After graduation, he embarked on a successful career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch on Wall Street.
However, Alonso’s dream of acting never died. After leaving Wall Street to start his own marketing business, he also began to take evening acting classes. Soon after Alonso began to snag parts in commercials for Burger King and Budweiser, to name a few. This eventually led to bigger roles in TV and film. His film career spans more than a decade and includes movies such as Jarhead and Stomp the Yard. Alonso has worked with a number of film industry greats, including Spike Lee. But his breakout role came when he played the extraterrestrial warrior Tsu’Tey in James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster film Avatar.
Alonso appears in director Rod Lurie’s September release Straw Dogs. He is also writing an action drama about post-earthquake Haiti, which he plans to independently finance.
You can reach Howard University alum (www.twitter.com/howardu)
Laz Alonso on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lazalonso.
