Alumni of the Governor's School's Drama Program move on to prestigious programs at The Juilliard School, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Guthrie Theatre Actor Training Program, Carnegie Mellon, Southern Methodist University, and the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art, among others. Graduates perform in major motion pictures, on television and Broadway stages, and in regional theatres throughout America.
Drama Alumni
Drama Alumni
Patina Miller, Class of 2002
Patina Miller graduated with a degree in Musical Theatre from Carnegie Mellon University. In 2010, Miller won a Tony Award for her lead turn in Pippin. On screen, Miller portrayed Commander Paylor in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, and press coordinator Daisy Grant in the second season of CBS’s Madam Secretary. Additionally, Miller starred in the PBS Drama, Mercy Street. In 2021 she will appear in the television series Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
Liza Bennett, Class of 2006
Liza Bennett has been a recurring character on CBS’s Elementary and NBC’s Chicago Fire. She also appeared in 12 Years a Slave and The Free State of Jones, starring Matthew McConaughey.
Brandon Michael Hall, Class of 2011
2019 President's Alumni Award recipient Brandon Michael Hall graduated from The Juilliard School in 2015 and quickly established himself as a highly sought-after young actor. He most recently starred in CBS’ series, God Friended Me, for which TV Guide named Hall a breakout star of 2018. In 2017, Hall was named one of Variety’s "Top Ten Television Stars to Watch" for his performance as the lead in the ABC comedy The Mayor. He also earned ‘one to watch’ raves from Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, People and IndieWire. Hall can currently be seen on TBS’ critically acclaimed series Search Party, which recently wrapped filming on its fifth season. Hall has appeared in other tv series such as Unforgettable, Broad City, Rookie, and The Characters, and in feature films Monster Party and Lez Bomb. He made his Broadway debut in 2021 portraying John Nevins in Trouble in Mind.
Nicole Beharie, Class of 2003
Nicole Beharie, from Orangeburg, is a graduate of the prestigious Julliard School. She starred in the feature films American Violet, Shame, Monsters and Men, Jacob's Ladder, 42 and Miss Juneteenth. Beharie also co-starred in the Fox television series Sleepy Hollow, and appeared in Black Mirror and Little Fires Everywhere. She has received the African-American Film Critics Association Award and a Gotham Independent Film Award and has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, Teen Choice Award, TV Guide award and Fangoria Chainsaw Award. In 2021, Beharie was invited to join the esteemed Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.
Andrew Pastides, Class of 2002
Andrew Pastides earned his BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He moved to NYC where, in 2013 he was nominated for IRNE for his work in the theatre. Andrew has acted in over twenty short films, three of which have screened at SXSW, fifteen of which he also had a hand in writing and producing. His television credits include Law and Order, Suits, and Blue Bloods among others. Andrew starred in the feature film Hank and Asha, which won
the Audience Award at Slamdance. He was given the Best Actor Award from the Napa Valley Film Festival for his performance.
Danielle Brooks, Class of 2007
Danielle Brooks graduated from the Julliard School. Brooks received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Sofie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. She has also appeared as the beloved character Taystee in the Netflix original series Orange Is The New Black and in Aziz Azari’s Master of None. In 2019 she played the role of Beatrice in the Public Theater's production of Much Ado About Nothing, and in 2020, she lent her voice talents to the animated series, Close Enough.
Susan Heyward, Class of 2001
Susan Heyward graduated from Carnegie Mellon University. She played a recurring character in the HBO series Vinyl and a lead in Sony Playstation’s first original series, Powers. She appeared in The Purple Lights of Joppa, Illinois, a new drama written and directed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Rapp. Heyward performed in the Broadway smash hit, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and was featured in season six of Orange is the New Black.
Wonza Johnson, Class of 2012
Wonza Johnson graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Musical Theatre. Johnson performed in a regional production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" and an international tour of "Dreamgirls" before being cast in the national tour of Broadway’s Hamilton, where he serves as understudy for the title role.
Jacob Perkins, Class of 2007
Jacob Perkins graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BFA in Acting. His plays include the Home Church Play triptych, The Interview, The Gold Room, Restaurant in D Major, and The Third Rail. He’s presented and developed his work at Ars Nova, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Page 73 @ Yale, and Soho Rep., among others. He won the inaugural DVRF/O’HenryProductions Emerging Playwright Award, was shortlisted for multiple O'Neill Theater Center NPCs, received an Honorable Mention for the 2017 Relentless Award, and is an alumnus of Ars Nova Play Group, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and Project Y Playwrights Group. As an actor, he most recently appeared in David Moragas' feature film A Stormy Night, Agnes Borinsky's Brief Chronicle: Books 6-8 and and Ding Dong It's the Ocean, Boo Killebrew's Miller, Mississippi, and Dan Giles’ Breeders.
Teyonah Parris, Class of 2005
Teyonah Parris graduated from the Julliard School. Among her film credits, Parris played Coco Conners in the independent film Dear White People, co-starred in If Beale Street Could Talk, and took the lead in the Amazon film, Chi Raq, directed by Spike Lee. She spent fours seasons in a regular role on the Starz series Survivor’s Remorse. She also appeared in the television series Empire. In 2020 she starred in the film, Charm City Kings, and currently appears as the first Black female Avengers' character, Monica Rambeau, in Disney+'s production of WandaVision.
Wrenn Schmidt, Class of 2001
Wrenn Schmidt earned a BFA in Theatre Studies and History from Southern Methodist University. Schmidt has appeared in such films as 13 Hours, and I Saw The Light, alongside Tom Hiddleston, as well as in the FX series The Americans, and is a series regular in Outcast. Schmidt performed alongside Jeff Daniels as a regular on Hulu’s The Looming Tower, and currently appears in the alternate-history series For All Mankind.