Method Man

American rapper (born 1971)
Thumbnail for Method Man

Clifford Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman. He took his stage name from the 1979 film Method Man. In 1996, Method Man won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By", featuring R&B singer Mary J. Blige, with whom he currently stars in Power Book II: Ghost, a spin-off of Power.

Born on March 2, 1971, in Hempstead, Long Island, Smith divided his childhood between his father's Long Island residence and his mother's home in the Park Hill section of Clifton, Staten Island, locally known as Killa Hill. Growing up in Hempstead, Smith began playing lacrosse at a young age and continues to be a passionate supporter of the sport. He attended New Dorp High School, where he became friends with Remedy. He has two sisters.In the late 1990s, Method Man began a career in acting. He has had recurring roles in critically acclaimed television shows such as HBO's Oz as Tug Daniels, HBO's The Wire as Prop Joe's nephew Cheese, The Twilight Zone, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which Method Man portrays Drops, a wealthy Las Vegas party promoter who clashes with the CSI team (specifically investigator Nick Stokes) in their investigations involving Drops' clubs or entourage, in the episodes "Poppin' Tags" (2006), "Big Shots" (2007), and "Drops Out" (2008).

Method Man and Redman hosted a pilot on MTV called Stung. Additionally, Method Man has made numerous appearances as himself on TV shows such as Mind of Mencia and Chappelle's Show.

His first prominent role came in with the film Belly (1998), along with fellow rappers Nas and DMX. Method Man has since added many credits to his name, including roles in the films Garden State, One Eight Seven, and many others, with starring roles in feature films such as How High and Soul Plane. Method Man had a cameo in the horror movie Venom (2005), where he played a deputy who is killed shortly into the movie. On March 27, 2007, Redman confirmed on BET's show Rap City that the sequel to How High was being written; the script for How High 2 is being written by Dustin Lee Abraham of CSI, who also wrote the first movie. Method Man also appeared in the 2008 movies The Wackness (2008) and Meet the Spartans (2008).

Method Man starred in the Law & Order SVU episode "Snitch" as the main antagonist. The episode was first broadcast December 4, 2007.

Method Man appeared in the Def Jam series of video games. In Fight for NY he voiced Blaze, one of the main characters. In Icon, he voiced Gooch, a major character in the storyline. In Underground, he voiced Meth, one of the major characters.

He made a guest appearance in the music video for "If I Ain't Got You" (2003) by Alicia Keys, where he played the role of her boyfriend. He also appeared in Beanie Sigel's music video "Feel It in the Air", where Method Man played an undercover cop leading an operation against Sigel.

Method Man played the main antagonist, an arsonist wealthy executive, in an episode of the FOX TV show The Good Guys.

Method Man appears as Valentine, a hip hop business mogul, in the episode Bad Blood in season 2 of Burn Notice.

Method Man had a cameo appearance in the film Cop Land (1997), as a violent criminal who, while fleeing, throws Peter Berg's character off of a New York rooftop. Method Man has also appeared in the TV drama Wonderland, as a patient in a mental hospital.

Method Man has a small role in the film The Sitter (2011), starring Jonah Hill. He also played crewman "Sticks" in the George Lucas movie Red Tails (2012), about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Method Man played the leads in the films The Mortician (2011) and #Lucky Number (2015).

In 2014, he voiced Phantasm, the primary antagonist on the FX animated comedy Chozen.

In 2016, he played himself in Difficult People, Luke Cage, and Paterson. Also that year, he portrayed "Cheddar" in the film Keanu.

In 2017, he became the host of the TBS series Drop the Mic, based on the popular recurring segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Method Man played a recurring character in the HBO show The Deuce.

In 2019, Method Man voiced Ben Urich in the scripted podcast Marvels. He also appeared in Shaft as Freddie P, an acquaintance of John Shaft (Samuel L. Jackson).

In 2020, Method Man appeared as a recurring character in the Netflix original series Teenage Bounty Hunters as Terrance Coin, Bowser's rival bounty hunter.

He also starred in the 2020 film Concrete Cowboy, an adaptation of the book Ghetto Cowboy.

In 2020, Method Man also starred as Father Jackson in Netflix film Vampires vs. the Bronx.

In 2021, he made appearances as Samuel Christian in Season 2 of the MGM+ series, Godfather of Harlem.

He starred in the 50 Cent-produced series Power Book II: Ghost as Davis MacLean, Tasha's Lawyer.

Date of Birth2nd March 1971
Age53 Years
Zodiac SignPisces
CountryUnited States of America
Current CityHempstead
Birth PlaceHempstead
NationalityUnited States of America
CitizenshipUnited States of America
LanguageEnglish
ReferenceIMDB
AliasesMethodMan / Johnny Blaze / Mr. Meth / Meth-Tical
Education
New Dorp High School
Instrumentsvoice
Occupationrapper, songwriter, record producer, actor
Career Start1992 (32 years ago)

Producers from United States of America born in 1971