Written by Noelle James
Photography by Cameron Krone | Styling by Joseph Episcopo
Daniel Sunjata is more than just a gorgeous grill. With gleaming eyes, full lips, and a subtle scar etched onto his cheek, the actor has a playful, almost bashful energy about him. His conversation, like his ethnicity, is fluid, darting between the 9/11 “truth movement” and Kanye West, to the Mayan calendar and pinot noirs from Oregon. As the poised Chicago native sits patiently perched on the edge of fame, we all eagerly anticipate what the new year will bring.
“Over the course of my career I’ve been on a couple ‘Ones to Watch’ lists, and then that year will pass and I’ll be like, What was I supposed to watch?” Sunjata says, chuckling. “But I think in this business, when you have two or three things that are released at the same time, a little bit of heat is built and that begets more work. I hope that’s what the universe is sending my way.”
In fact, Sunjata has three high-profile films on the horizon. First up is the comedy One for the Money, with Katherine Heigl, slated for a January 27 release. Then, there’s the psychological thriller Gone, with Amanda Seyfried, coming out in February. “We shot in Portland, Oregon, and I loved it,” he says. “I didn’t know it was wine country. I’ve lived in New York for about 13 years, and it’s hard to find cities that have as much to offer, but Portland comes very close.”
Perhaps the biggest, however, is the next installation of the Batman series, The Dark Knight Rises, about which he could tell us nothing due to a confidentiality agreement. What has been made public, though, is that Sunjata plays a special-forces operative helping Batman defeat his archenemy, Bane. It’s due out in July.
Most were introduced to Sunjata when he played the sexy sailor who flirted with Carrie on the “Fleet Week” episode of Sex and the City or maybe in his seven seasons on the FX series Rescue Me, about post-9/11 firefighters. He also turned in a memorable performance as Langston Hughes in the critically acclaimed 2004 film Brother to Brother.