Aaron Meeks
Born
Aaron Joseph Weeks

(1986-04-26) April 26, 1986 (age 37)
Watts, Los Angeles, California, United States
OccupationActor
Years active1999−2007

Aaron Joseph Meeks (born April 26, 1986) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Ahmad Chadway on the Showtime family drama series Soul Food (2000−04). During his career, Meeks was awarded two NAACP Image Awards and received three Young Artist Award nominations.

Career

Meeks started acting in childhood as a member of the Cornerstone Theater Company troupe.[1] His brother, Andrew, was also a child actor.[2] Aaron made his screen debut in 1999 on the medical drama Diagnosis: Murder, playing an abused young boy.[3] In 2000, Meeks appeared as Herman D. Washington[4] in the Showtime movie A Storm in Summer, starring opposite Peter Falk.[5] Their characters form an unlikely friendship.[6] One reviewer found Meeks' performance "impressive."[7] He earned a Young Artist Award nomination in 2001 for his work in this film.[8] Meeks portrayed a young Cassius Clay in Ali: An American Hero (2000) and acted in the Gregory Hines television film Bojangles (2001).[9]

Meeks portrayed the role of Ahmad Chadway, a teenager who attends prep school,[10] on drama series Soul Food.[11] He also narrated the series as Ahmad.[12] Meeks played the role from 2000 to 2004.[13][14] For playing Ahmad, he won two consecutive NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Youth Actor in 2001 and 2002.[15][16] In 2003, he received an NAACP Image Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[9] Additionally, Meeks was given two Young Artist Award nominations in 2003 and 2004 for his performance on Soul Food.[17][18]

Following his work on Soul Food, he appeared in the television film Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) and had a guest role on crime drama Crossing Jordan (2007). Meeks has not acted since 2007.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
2000 A Storm in Summer Herman D. Washington TV film
Ali: An American Hero Young Cassius Clay TV film
2001 Bojangles William (Young Percy) TV film
2004 Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story Banger #1 TV film
2007 Foster Babies Willie Jr. Direct-to-Video
Frankie D Tyrone

Television

Year Series Role Notes
1999 Diagnosis: Murder Dion 3 episodes
2000 The Pretender Kevin Episode: "School Daze"
2000−2004 Soul Food Ahmad Chadway Series regular, 74 episodes
2007 Crossing Jordan Young Man Episode: "33 Bullets"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2001 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress Soul Food Won
Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Movie (Drama): Leading Young Actor A Storm in Summer Nominated
2002 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress Soul Food Won
2003 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actor Soul Food Nominated
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Soul Food Nominated
2004 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actor Soul Food Nominated

References

  1. ^ Kuftinec, Sonja (2003). Staging America. SIU Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780809388530.
  2. ^ "Aaron Meeks as ahmad". Paramount Television. Archived from the original on June 4, 2002. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  3. ^ "Tonight's Highlights". Beaver County Times. November 4, 1999. p. C7.
  4. ^ McDonough, Kevin (February 5, 2000). "'Storm' brewing on Showtime". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 5D.
  5. ^ Elber, Lynn (February 3, 2000). "TV honors Black History Month". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 5B.
  6. ^ Bobbin, Jay (February 5, 2000). "Peter Falk must weather 'A Storm in Summer' in Showtime remake". The Tuscaloosa News.
  7. ^ Thomas, Bob (January 23, 2000). "Peter Falk Drops 'Columbo' Guise For Dramatic Role in TV Film". The Mount Airy News. p. 5.
  8. ^ "Twenty-Second Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Bennett Kinno, Joy (April 2004). "teens At The top". Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. p. 119.
  10. ^ "'Soul Food,' the series, comes to TV June 28". The Muncie Times. June 15, 2000. pp. 1, 16.
  11. ^ "'Soul Food' Keeps TV Viewers Hungry For Drama And Intrigue". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. January 22, 2001. p. 59.
  12. ^ Owen, Rob (June 26, 2000). "Showtime series about families show more or less promise". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C6.
  13. ^ Scott, Tracy L. (June 24, 2000). "'Soul Food' comes to TV". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 5D.
  14. ^ Weintraub, Joanne (February 24, 2004). "'Soul Food' family ready to clear table for last time". The Day. p. C4.
  15. ^ "First set of awards announced". The Daily News. March 2, 2001. p. 2B.
  16. ^ "'Brown Sugar' leads Image Award nominees". Beaver County Times. December 8, 2002. p. C10.
  17. ^ "Twenty-Fourth Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  18. ^ "25th Annual Winners and Nominees!". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on August 2, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2022.

External links

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