Tony Rock Biography

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American actor and stand up comedian Tony Rock was born on June 30, 1970, in New York City. He is the youngest of seven siblings and is a younger brother of comedian Chris Rock. Since his childhood, he’s had a knack for entertaining and aspired to become a comedian. He got his big break in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where he landed a stand up stint. Upon his return to New York, things began looking up for him, especially when The Hollywood Reporter tagged him as one of the hottest young talents of the city in 2001.

Rock mostly spent his time touring in both sides of the country, performing at venues in New York and Los Angeles, sometimes in a headlining capacity. He also started writing for his brother’s eponymous comedy show, The Chris Rock Show. In 2001, Rock made his television acting debut, starring in the pilot for Me & My Needs. He hosted two other television shows, Comedy Central’s BattleBots in 2002, and Oxygen’s short-lived game show Can You Tell? in 2003.

Rock got his first starring television role through the comedy All of Us. The Will Smith created series saw him play the role of Dirk Black, the best friend and producer of television reporter Robert James played by Duane Martin. He was part of the cast throughout the show’s tumultuous four-year run. In the last season, he was given a long lost daughter, Courtney, played by Laivan Greene. The show ended its run in 2007. During that time, he also made his film debut starring in the 2006 comedy release, Homie Spumoni.

Rock has also performed his stand up routines in several television shows, including Heroes of Black Comedy, Def Comedy Jam, and Chelsea Lately. He also participated in Comic Relief 2006, a comedy fundraiser held in Las Vegas for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.