Casseus was born in New York City, and is of Haitian descent.
Early life
As Gabriel Casseus tells the story, he could have been a Cosby kid. In 1983 the son of Haitian immigrants, whose only acting experience was in small local theater, had a callback for the role of Theo Huxtable. But, he says, he jumped a subway turnstile in Manhattan on his way to the audition and got arrested. When he was only 14 at the time he hung out with "ER's" Eriq LaSalle was 24 and Ving Rhames was 27. As a teenager, he spent the next 12 years doing odd jobs, selling shoes and removing asbestos and managing the shark bar. At 22, he landed a part as a teenage carjacker in 1995's New Jersey Drive. His career jump-started, Casseus, at 24, took a groundbreaking part this year as a murderous gang member turned Muslim in Spike Lee's Get on the Bus. “If he were a stock trading on the market, I’d invest in him,” says Reuben Cannon, casting director and coproducer of Bus. Next, Casseus will play Denzel Washington's brother in 1997's Fallen. As his steady rise continues, he is patient. “I’m just ‘that guy in the movie,’ ” he says. “Hopefully next year I’ll be Gabriel Casseus, but it feels good being ‘that guy’
Career and accolades
He was nominated for Best Debut Performance in the film New Jersey Drive in the Independent Spirit Awards in 1995, and has appeared in the films Get on the Bus, where he played Jamal, a Muslim en route to the Million Man March; in the film thriller Fallen, in which he played Denzel Washington's brother Art Hobbes and as the 28-year-old lead opposite Damon Wayans in the film, Harlem Aria, who possesses a powerful operatic voice. He had a small role as pool playing Freddie in the 50 Cent movie Before I Self Destruct ; as Elliot's cellmate in Bedazzled; as Kurth, one of the protagonist's squad mates in Black Hawk Down; In Lockdown, he played Cashmere, a drug dealer who was sent to prison wrongfully on a murder charge; and also played a small role in the 1998 movieBlack Dog. He also has appeared in some popular television shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, ', ', The Practice, Law & Order and 24. He is also a co-writer of the 2010 filmTakers.
