Algee Smith

Algee Smith
Algee Smith
	Smith in 2016
Born	November 7, 1994 (age 30); Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.
Occupations	Actor; Singer;
Years active	2012–present

Algee Smith IV (born November 7, 1994)^[1] is an American actor and singer. After appearing in several small television roles, Smith first rose to fame portraying Ralph Tresvant in BET's The New Edition Story miniseries. The same year, he garnered critical acclaim as Larry Reed in Kathryn Bigelow's film Detroit.^[2]^[3] He is also known for his role as football player Christopher "Chris" McKay in the HBO drama series Euphoria.

Early life

Smith was born in Saginaw, Michigan.^[1] At the age of eight, he and his family moved from Michigan to Atlanta where he started his acting career.^[2] Having an occultist for a father and a fashion designer for a mother, Smith was well immersed in the arts and also completed his first rap recording at the age of 9. During this time, he attained several minor television roles; those of which he credits for "perfecting his craft."^[2] Smith was home schooled for high school.^[4] He left Atlanta, GA and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 20.^[2]

Career

After appearances in projects such as Disney Channel's Let It Shine and Earth to Echo, Smith landed his first major acting role playing real-life singer Ralph Tresvant in The New Edition Story, which also showcased his singing and dancing abilities. Smith also starred in Kathryn Bigelow's film Detroit, which tells the story of the Algiers Motel incident. His performance was praised by critics and he received a nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the 2018 NAACP Image Awards.^[5] He also performed a song for the Detroit film soundtrack, called "Grow."^[2] On June 22, 2017, Smith released his first EP entitled Listen, featuring a blend of R&B and Hip hop tracks. In 2018, he co-starred with Amandla Stenberg in The Hate U Give, a film adaptation of the young adult novel of the same name.^[6] Smith also reprised his role as Ralph Tresvant in BET's The Bobby Brown Story. In 2019, he earned a starring role as Chris McKay in the highly acclaimed TV series Euphoria. Smith returned to film in 2021, portraying Jake Winters in the film Judas and the Black Messiah, which details the work and ultimate assassination of Black Panther Party activist Fred Hampton. He also appeared and portrayed one of the main roles, Sam, in the film Mother/Android.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2014	Earth to Echo	Marcus Simms
2017	Detroit	Larry Reed
2018	The Hate U Give	Khalil Harris
2021	Judas and the Black Messiah	Jake Winters
2021	Mother/Android	Sam
2023	Young. Wild. Free.	Brandon Huffman
2023	Shooting Stars	Illya McGee

Television


Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	How To Rock	Spencer	1 episode
2012	Army Wives	Sam	1 episode
2012	Let It Shine	Da Boss	Television film
2015	Complications	Theo	2 episodes
2016	The Infamous	Dante	Television film
2016	Here We Go Again	Warren	1 episode
2016	Saints & Sinners	E.J.	1 episode
2017	The New Edition Story	Ralph Tresvant	Miniseries; main role
2018	Electric Dreams	Kaveh	1 episode
2018	The Bobby Brown Story	Ralph Tresvant	Miniseries; 2 episodes
2019–2022	Euphoria	Chris McKay	Main role (season 1), Guest role (season 2)

Discography

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title	Details
Listen^[7]	Released: June 23, 2017 Label: Access Records Format: Digital download
24^[8]	Released: November 8, 2018 Format: Digital download
ATL^[9]	Released: 2019 Format: digital download