Childhood & Early Life
Victor L. Williams was born on September 19, 1970, in Brooklyn, New York, into an all-black neighborhood. He grew up in a middle class family with no connections in the entertainment industry. He grew up like most black kids in his neighborhood.
He was quite tall since his younger days. He was well above 6 feet during his high-school years. Without any interest in working in the entertainment industry, he played basketball instead. He was a power forward for his team while studying at the ‘Midwood High School.’
However, he developed an interest in acting by accident. He was asked to attend English classes by one of his closest friends. As part of the English classes, he had to act in a few scenes of literary classics. Soon, Victor became addicted to it. He loved acting, but he wished to build a professional career in basketball.
Following his high-school graduation, he enrolled at ‘Binghamton University’ to play college basketball. He opted for political science in college. However, he soon realized that better players than him were waiting in line and that he was not too talented. He then wanted to pursue law and become a lawyer. He studied hard for that.
Eventually, he ended up reviving his hobby of acting and attended a few acting classes, developing an interest in the field. With this, he decided to pursue acting seriously and enrolled at ‘New York University’s ‘Tisch School of the Arts’ to earn an MFA in acting. Following his college graduation, he began auditioning for TV and film roles.
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Career
At the age of 15, Victor had already made his film debut as the little creature in the horror film ‘Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues.’ However, despite its prequel being a success, the film was received poorly by critics and audiences.
Victor was 15 years old when he appeared in the film, and he focused on his studies after that. He was trained in acting and made a comeback in 1996, with a guest role in an episode of the crime-drama series ‘Homicide: Life on the Street,’ titled ‘Scene of the Crime.’
The same year, he also made his film debut with the supporting role of ‘Robbie’ in the drama film titled ‘The Preacher’s Wife.’ The film, which starred Denzel Washington in the lead role, was a big commercial and critical success.
With a successful beginning to his film career, Victor moved forward with the supporting role of ‘Officer Russell Ames’ in the film titled ‘Cop Land.’ The film turned out to be a huge critical and commercial success, with him receiving accolades for his acting. In 1997, he appeared in a small role of an unnamed black man in the crime drama film ‘A Brooklyn State of Mind.’
He had a smooth TV career in the late 1990s, with guest appearances in series such as ‘New York Undercover,’ ‘Profiler,’ and ‘Law & Order.’ He also played an extended role in four episodes of the medical-drama series ‘ER.’
The year 1998 arrived with a career-transforming opportunity for Victor. He appeared as ‘Deacon John Palmer,’ a classic family man and the best friend of the main character, in the sitcom titled ‘The King of Queens.’ The series received mixed reviews initially, but as it progressed, the reviews got a lot better.
Victor received huge appreciation for his performance in the series and became a household name in the country. The successful series ran for nine seasons, covering 207 episodes, and attained cult status over time.
However, despite the massive international success of the series, Victor did not benefit much from it. During the runtime of the sitcom, he appeared playing guest roles in series such as ‘The Practice,’ ‘Justice League,’ and ‘Love, Inc.’
During that period, he also appeared in key and supporting roles in films such as ‘With or Without You’ and ‘The Animatrix.’ Once the sitcom stopped airing, his career came to a halt for a while.
He only appeared in a handful of films after the late 2000s, such as ‘Lenox Avenue,’ ‘Hungry Hearts,’ and ‘Single Hills.’
In 2014, he was seen playing the supporting role of ‘Detective Jeffries’ in 14 episodes of the series ‘The Affair.’ In the more recent years, he has appeared in supporting roles in series such as ‘The Sinner’ and ‘Sneaky Pete.’ He also played the recurring role of ‘Gerald’ in the series titled ‘Happy Together.’
He served as an associate producer for the 2011 short ‘Kissed by the Devil.’
Family & Personal Life
Victor is a private man and has not revealed the name of his wife to the media yet. He has, however, mentioned on his ‘Twitter’ account that he got married in 2016. He has mentioned that he has a son from his marriage.
In August 2012, Victor was accused of refusing to pay for the expenses of the daughter he had fathered with his former girlfriend, Karen Pittman.
