Eriq La Salle is an American actor and director, known for his portrayals of Darryl in the 1988 comedy film Coming to America and Dr. Peter Benton on the NBC drama series ER. La Salle, one of four children, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut by his mother, Ada Haynes. He attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division as a member of Group 13 for two years, then moved to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1984. At the time of his graduation from NYU, La Salle was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's... Shakespeare in the Park theater company. Soon after, he found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live as reporter Mike Rivers. In 1988, La Salle starred in Eddie Murphy's breakthrough movie Coming to America. He played Lisa's 'slick' and obnoxious boyfriend Darryl with an even slicker 'Soul Glo' haircut. In 1994 the medical drama ER premiered on NBC with La Salle starring as Dr. Peter Benton. He held the role until leaving during the eighth season.
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