Lucas Black (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He played Sean Boswell in the films for Fast & Furious, including The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Furious 7 (2015), and F9 (2021). He also starred in the television series aired on CBS, including American Gothic (1995–1996) and NCIS: New Orleans (2014–2019). His other notable films include Sling Blade (1996), Flash (1997), Our Friend, Martin, Crazy in Alabama (both 1999), All the Pretty Horses (2000), Cold Mountain (2003), Friday Night Lights (2004), Jarhead (2005), Get Low (2009), Legion (2010), Seven Days in Utopia (2011), and 42 (2013).

Early life

Black was born November 29, 1982, in Decatur, Alabama, to Jan Gillespie, an office worker, and Larry Black, a museum employee. He has two older siblings and was raised a Southern Baptist. He grew up in Speake, Alabama, played football for the Speake Bobcats, and graduated from high school in May 2001.

Career

At age 11, Black made his film debut in Kevin Costner's film The War. He subsequently was cast as Caleb Temple in CBS's television series American Gothic, which ran from 1995 to 1996, and in the films Sling Blade, Ghosts of Mississippi, and The X-Files. Later Black starred as Conner Strong in the TV film Flash (1997), which aired on The Wonderful World of Disney; in the movie his character visits a horse every day in the hope of buying it. Black played a supporting role as Oakley in the historical drama Cold Mountain (2003). In 2004, he starred as Vernon, an autistic piano prodigy, in the indie musical drama Killer Diller (2004), and as Mike Winchell in the football-themed drama Friday Night Lights (2004), directed by Peter Berg. Black starred as Nat Banyon in the indie thriller film Deepwater (2005), directed by David S. Marfield; as Chris Kruger in the Gulf War-themed drama film Jarhead (2005), directed by Sam Mendes; and as Sean Boswell in the third The Fast and the Furious film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), directed by Justin Lin. He described Tokyo Drift as the one in which he "had the most fun." Black starred as Buddy in the indie drama Get Low (2009), directed by Aaron Schneider; as Jeep Hanson in the Bible-themed fantasy thriller Legion (2010); and as Luke Chisholm, a talented young golfer set on making the pro tour, in the indie golfing film Seven Days in Utopia (2010). He portrayed the Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese in the drama film 42 (2013). Black, having done previous sports films and played sports early in his life, found the filming experience "a lot more enjoyable because you get to reminisce about the days when I used to play, and then you get the experience of being on a team again with the actors and have that camaraderie with the players". In 2014, Lucas was cast in NCIS: New Orleans as NCIS Special Agent LaSalle, a no-nonsense agent with a "work hard, play hard" motto. In 2015, Black returned to play Sean Boswell in a cameo appearance in Furious 7. Sean did not appear in the eighth installment, The Fate of the Furious, and in July 2016, Black explained on The Chris Mannix Show that he could not return due to his schedule with NCIS: New Orleans. In November 2019, Black left the series NCIS: New Orleans to devote more time to his family. He also returned to the Fast & Furious franchise, reprising his role as Sean in F9 in 2021.

Personal life

Black married Maggie O'Brien, a lawyer, in 2010. They have three children. He is a Christian and registered Republican. After he left NCIS: New Orleans in 2019, he began uploading videos to his YouTube channel in January 2020 called "Real Life Lucas Black" with a focus on fishing and hunting. In these videos, Black often discusses themes related to traditional masculinity and his Christian faith. He has expressed concerns about the perceived decline of traditional masculine values in society, using hashtags like #bringmasculinityback in his posts.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations