About Lamar Curtis
A native of Flint, Michigan he started acting at the age of 7, doing community theater and taking theater classes through high school and several Master Classes at the Interlochen Arts Academy. He has attended Master Classes and lectures through the Juilliard School (NYC) with actors Patrick Stewart, Viola Davis, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Fiona Shaw. He rekindled his acting career in the fall of 2013 under acting coach Amy Sunshine. His most recent roles have been on 'Chicago Fire' (NBC), 'Empire' (FOX) and 'The Exorcist' (FOX). He is also a principal actor in 'Lower Wacker Drive' and 'Peterson' (both are currently in pre-production).
More on-camera experience has been gained through a great deal of commercial work for print, television and online media including; McDonald's, American Airlines, Raymond James Financial, Walgreen's, Chase Bank, Crate and Barrel, Goose Island Brewery, Food Network: Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Victorinox Swiss Watch, Wal-Mart, US Bank, Whirlpool, Black&Mild Cigars, Aramark and Navistar.
In addition to the acting work he is also a Bassoonist. Mr. Curtis is the first African-American to represent Leitzinger Bassoons out of Frankfurt, Germany. He received his Music Diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy and studied Bassoon Performance at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor under the tutelage of the late L. Hugh Cooper. He is the leader and Bassoonist of the Chicago-based quintet, Edgewater Ensemble. He has performed with Opera Columbus, Chicago Sinfonietta, West Virginia Symphony, Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Civic Orchestra, New Jersey Verismo Opera, Imani Winds (substitute), Boulder Philharmonic, Colorado Mahlerfest, Longmont Symphony, Mannheim Steamroller and currently serves as principal bassoonist with Candid Concert Opera, Chicago Summer Opera, South Florida Symphony (Miami, Fl)-section, Nebraska Theatre Caravan National Tour of 'A Christmas Carol' and work as an active freelancer having performed with several members of New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Sinfonietta, Renovo Strings and Apollo Chorus.
