Biography

Born and raised on the south side of Chicago, GK Umeh first discovered his love of acting seeing a production of "A Raisin in the Sun" at the Goodman Theatre. After graduating high school, he went on to Dartmouth College, where he played Football and studied Film History. Within a couple years, he grew restless and left school to embark on what would evolve into a multifaceted career.

GK began his on-stage journey rocking open mics in Chitown's underground Hip Hop scene, culminating with a spot in the Blaze MC Battle just a few years later. Upon relocating to Brooklyn, he made his rounds of NYC's live music venues as frontman for the bands Organizm & Natural Selection.

Somewhere along the way, his lifelong passion for boxing led him to the NYC Golden Gloves tournament, where he fought his way to the semifinals as a light heavyweight.

In 2007, GK enrolled at NYU, where he completed his History BA and studied drama at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Meanwhile, he garnered acting experience taking any role he could: from MFA thesis films to off-off-Broadway (like, way off) productions. It was in one of these latter performances that he was first spotted by a casting director from All My Children.

His breakthrough came in 2011 when he played Javier "el Diablo" Morales in FX's boxing drama, "Lights Out." The role gave him the chance to showcase his acting chops, boxing skills and Spanish fluency all at once.

Since then, GK has graced screens in feature films with the likes of Katherine Heigl, John Leguizamo and Liam Neeson, in addition to recurring roles on acclaimed series like "Hostages," "Gossip Girl," and "Law & Order: SVU."

In 2023, GK got the chance to channel his musical roots once more, playing the homicidal (but lovable) bassist Eskie in the Rian Johnson streamer Poker Face, opposite Natasha Lyonne and Chlöe Sevigny.
- IMDb mini biography by: GK Umeh