Joe Morton is a highly-respected actor, director, and producer across film, television, and theatre. Morton won an Emmy® Award and multiple National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards for his role as Rowan/Eli Pope in Shonda Rhimes’ critically acclaimed series Scandal. Morton recently expanded his TV presence as executive co-producer and co-host on Inside the Black Box, an interactive interview show, which explores the experiences of Black artists within the world of entertainment.

In film, Morton is best known for his roles in The Brother from Another Planet, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Morton debuted on Broadway in Hair, and received a Tony nomination and Theatre World Award for his portrayal of Walter Lee Younger in Raisin. He also received a Lucile Lortel Award (among other awards) for his Off-Broadway portrayal of comedian/civil-rights activist, Dick Gregory, in Turn Me Loose. Recently, Morton received the NAACP theatre award as Outstanding Lead Actor for his performance as King Lear at the Wallis Annenberg Center in LA. Mr Morton is also the recipient of an Audie, the Audible Award, for his reading of Ta-Nehisi Coats’  Water Dancer.

Morton has a long history of social activism, using his platform to raise awareness and advocate for change. In 2025, Morton participated in a fundraising event for the Innocence Project, reuniting with Sally Murphy and Cornelius Eady for a one-night only reading of Eady’s  Brutal Imagination — a play about Susan Smith, the woman who drowned her children and accused a non-existent black man of kidnapping them. He also served as moderator for a special event held in Martha’s Vineyard featuring a conversation between Innocence Project’s Executive Director Christina Swarms and New York City Councilperson Dr. Yosef Salaam (also of the Exonerated Five).