André Braugher, Emmy-winning 'Homicide' and 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' actor, dies at 61

André Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor who starred in NBC's "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and the '90s police drama "Homicide: Life on the Street," has died. He was 61.

Braugher's longtime publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed the news to USA TODAY on Tuesday. According to an obituary shared by Allen, the actor died Monday after a brief illness.

Born in Chicago in 1962, the Stanford- and Juilliard-educated Braugher found his breakthrough movie role in the 1989 film "Glory," in which he starred opposite Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.

But he would establish himself with the role of Det. Frank Pembleton, which he would play for seven seasons in "Homicide," a gritty police drama on NBC based on a book by David Simon, who would go on to create "The Wire." The 11-time Emmy-nominated actor won his first Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 1998 for his portrayal of Pembleton in "Homicide."

His second win came in 2006, when he earned an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a miniseries or movie category for playing Nick Atwater in the FX miniseries "Thief."

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Years later he would play a very different kind of cop on a very different kind of show, shifting to comedy as Capt. Raymond Holt on the Andy Samberg-starring "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." It would run for eight seasons from 2013 to 2021 on Fox and NBC.

Though he'd dipped his toe into comedy in the TNT dramedy "Men of a Certain Age," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" still represented a major shift for Braugher, who was known for acting in dark and heavy dramas.

"I just felt as though it was an opportunity to do something strikingly different from the rest of my career," Braugher said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I like it because it just simply opens up my mind and forces me to think in a different way. So I think I’ve become much more sort of supple as an actor, and more open to the incredible number of possibilities of how to play a scene."

He earned four Emmy nominations for playing the deadpan Capt. Holt on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." The beloved series also featured Samberg, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Stephanie Beatriz, Joe Lo Truglio, Dirk Blocker and Joel McKinnon Miller.

"Comedy is such a joy to work on. And telling the kind of stories that make people laugh," Braugher said upon receiving his first Emmy nomination for "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" in 2014. "It's always the kind of thing I hoped for but never thought would happen to me."

Braugher went on to work with Angelina Jolie in the 2010 film "Salt," and Anne Hathaway in 2008's "Passengers."

His most recent credits include the 2022 drama "She Said," in which he portrayed New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet, who oversaw the work of reporters Megan Twohey (Carey Mulligan) and Jodi Kantor (Zoe Kazan), who exposed Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual harassment in Hollywood in 2017. He was also a voice actor in the 2021 animated film, "Spirit Untamed."

Working on "Homicide" was in many ways life-changing for Braugher. The actor met Ami Brabson on the NBC show, who played his onscreen wife. The two married in 1991 and share three sons, Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Classical Theatre of Harlem, in which he served on the board.

Contributing: The Associated Press