Darius McCrary is an American-born actor, rapper, producer, and former child star, who is possibly best known for his performance in the ABC/CBS sitcom “Family Matters.”
Age, Early Life, and Education Background
Darius Creston McCrary hails from Walnut, California, and was born under the Taurus zodiac sign on 1 May 1976, which makes him 47 years old as of 2023. His father is the famed Grammy Award-nominated musician and actor, Howard McCrary; his brother, Donovan McCrary, is also an actor. Darius’ father sparked his interest in music and acting when he was a child, and often encouraged him to try his hand at both. McCrary went for his first movie auditions when he was nine years old; he has not disclosed anything regarding his educational background.
Career
Film and TV Appearances
Darius was 11 years old when he landed the starring role of Jeremy in the 1987 Robert Mandel-directed comedy film “Big Shots”, then appeared in single episodes of the sitcom “Amen” and the comedy-drama “Hooperman” in the same year. In 1988, McCrary appeared in the seven-time Oscar-nominated crime thriller movie “Mississippi Burning”, and the following year saw him cast in the main role of Edward Winslow in the ABC sitcom, “Family Matters”, starring alongside Jaleel White, Kellie Shanygne and Jo Marie Payton until the show ended in 1998.
In 2001, McCrary appeared in the thriller movie “15 Minutes” and the hit comedy film “Kingdom Come.” In 2007, he was seen alongside Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel in the acclaimed Michael Bay-directed action sci-fi movie “Transformers.” The three-time Oscar Award-nominated film was a critical and commercial success, and grossed over $700 million against a budget of $150 million. From 2009 through 2011, McCrary played Malcolm Winters in the multiple Primetime Emmy Award-winning American soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” and concurrently iIn 2009, the Walnut native portrayed Dave in the horror movie “Saw VI.”
#ThrowbackThursday to #AngerManagement … @charliesheen #angermanagement #tbt #charliesheen
Posted by Darius McCrary on Thursday, July 26, 2018
2012 saw Darius cast for the recurring role of Donovan in Bruce Helford’s FX sitcom “Anger Management.” Three years later, he was cast in the second season of the HBO supernatural drama “The Leftovers.” Darius is also credited with voicing Principle Cransberry in the animated kid’s musical series “Da Jammies.” His other notable TV appearances have been in the musical drama “Star” (2016-2018) and the drama “Monogamy” (2018-present), while Darius also starred recently as Anthony Demme in the film “Wayward” in 2022.
Music Career
McCrary released the album “Something to Sing About” in 2000, and has released several singles including “It’s Real” in 2009, “Fresh Game Ova” in 2017, and “Scars and Stripes” in 2020, among others. McCrary collaborated with the hip-hop artist, Emcee N.I.C.E. to release the song “All About U” in 2016. In 2017, he appeared in the music video for Ledisi’s song “Add to Me.”
Other Works
McCrary is the founder of the non-profit organization, FathersCare, which aims at empowering fathers by providing legal networks, practical assistance, and education to strengthen their relationships with their children. FathersCare was established under the McCrary Foundation, whose founders were Darius’ father, aunts and uncles, known as The McCrarys.
Award Nominations
McCrary is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee. He was nominated for his performance in the films “Big Shots” and “Mississippi Burning,” and the TV series “Family Matters” (thrice).
Social Media Presence
Darius goes by the username @dariusmccrary on Instagram and is followed by over a million fans. He joined Twitter in October 2008 (@DariusMccrary) and has attracted almost 50,000 followers as of 2023. Moreover, McCrary is active on Facebook with around 65,000 fans.
Personal Life
McCrary has married thrice. His first marriage was with Juliette Vann – he began dating the former Las Vegas showgirl in 2005 and they exchanged vows a few months later, but their marriage was short-lived, and they parted ways in 2006. In 2008, McCrary began seeing the American author, Karrine Steffans, who is famous for her novel series “Vixen.” Steffans is also an actress and video vixen, who’s appeared in over 20 music videos. She has a son named Naim Wilson from her previous relationship with the American rapper, Kool G Rap. The duo tied the knot in 2009, but their marriage fell apart in 2011, when McCrary allegedly began being physically abusive towards Steffans.
Darius’ next marriage was with the American basketball player and actress Tammy Brawner in 2014. Brawner is famous for her roles in the films “Slamma Jamma” and “She Ball”, in 2017 and 2020 respectively. The duo has welcomed a daughter named Zoey McCrary. Their marriage hit rock bottom shortly after the birth of their daughter, when Brawner accused McCrary of domestic violence, and filed for divorce mentioning that the actor was ‘destructive, violent, and emotionally unstable.’ She also accused him of being addicted to alcohol and drugs and mistreating their daughter. On the other hand, McCrary’s lawyer refuted her claims, describing her as a ‘predator’ who was motivated by the desire to extort money from McCrary, while trying to take advantage of an impending divorce and child custody battle. The duo finalized their divorce in 2019 and Tammy was given full custody of Zoey. Darius is allowed supervised weekly visits.
Darius has dated Tanya Hijazi, who is the ex-wife of the late American singer-songwriter Rick James, but it’s reported that their relationship was toxic and short-lived – Darius has accused her of being abusive and even filed a restraining order against her in 2022 because she was ‘terrorizing’ him. The actor told the Los Angeles Superior Court that his ex-girlfriend had turned his home into a ‘drug den,’ which had forced him to move out. He added that he was concerned because Hijazi kept calling him with threats, and feared that he would end up like the American comedian, Phil Hartman, who was shot dead by his wife in May 1998 if a restraining order wasn’t granted. The court eventually granted Darius a 48-month restraining order against Hijazi.
Height, Weight, and Physical Appearance
Darius is of Afro-American ethnicity, and has a pair of dark brown eyes and black hair. He’s 6ft 3ins (1.90m) tall and weighs approximately 180lbs (82kgs). The multi-talented entertainer sports a goatee, and takes care of his body through regular exercise and healthy eating – he once joked that he sees in orange because of drinking too much carrot juice.
Net Worth
Darius is reportedly worth approximately $100,000 as of 2023, having accumulated this sum from his successful music and acting careers.
