Why Adam From Dangerous Lies Looks So Familiar
The twisty new Netflix thriller Dangerous Lies has sucked in audiences with its sordid tale of murder and deceit, and the flick's buzz is thanks in no small part to its stellar cast. The movie centers on a young woman named Katie (Camila Mendes) who works as a caretaker for a kindly old man named Leonard (veteran actor Elliott Gould), with whom she shares a tender friendship. Although she's only worked for Leonard for a few months, Katie is thought of highly enough to be able to bring on her husband, Adam, as a groundskeeper. The couple appears to be living an idyllic life until their employer passes away, leaving them jobless.
In a shocking development, though, Leonard leaves his entire estate to Katie, including a secret stash of cash — a gift which soon proves to be a double-edged sword. It becomes clear that there are plenty of parties who are interested in the estate, including an investigator (Sasha Alexander, NCIS), an attorney for the deceased (Jamie Chung, The Gifted), and a mysterious real estate agent (Cam Gigandet, Ice) who may not be who he says he is. With his newfound security under threat of being yanked away, Adam begins to behave in unpredictable ways.
The entire cast brings their A-game to Dangerous Lies, but perhaps none more so than the actor who portrays Adam, who is called upon to go from sympathetic to greed-driven to outright dangerous. You're probably wondering why his face looks so familiar, and there's a good reason: The young thespian's name is Jessie T. Usher, and he's been all over screens large and small over the last decade or so. Here's why Adam from Dangerous Lies looks so familiar.
Jessie T. Usher got his start on television as a young actor
Usher got his start in television as a youngster with a part in an Oscar Meyer commercial, and his family subsequently moved to Los Angeles, hoping to kick-start his burgeoning career. The move paid off, and Usher made his first appearance on a TV series at the tender age of 13, with a small guest role as Malcolm on the CBS crime drama Without a Trace.
That gig led to a string of one-off guest parts throughout the rest of the decade, starting with a spot as Guy on the Disney Channel's Hannah Montana in 2007. Despite his boyish good looks, though, Usher proved to be more interested in thrilling and dramatic fare than kid stuff, and he next appeared as Baby G in the Freeform family drama Lincoln Heights in 2008, and as an unnamed robber in an episode of the CBS thriller Numb3rs that same year. In 2009, he landed guest spots on two more CBS crime dramas, popping up as Daniel Brown in The Mentalist, and as Daniel in an episode of the procedural Criminal Minds.
Although the young actor was proving adept at flexing his dramatic chops, he couldn't resist when Cartoon Network came calling with a featured role in a live-action TV movie. The flick was called Level Up, and it centered on a group of four teenage friends who must translate their love of role-playing video games to real-world action when they accidentally open a portal from the fictional game Maldark: Conqueror of All Worlds into everyday existence. The movie's contagious sense of nerdy fun made it popular enough that it spun off a series — and handed Usher his first recurring featured role.
Jessie T. Usher landed starring roles in two TV series
Level Up ran for two seasons and 35 episodes, and the series' goofy pedigree was no joke; it fielded episodes directed by Peter DeLuise (son of legendary funnyman Dom Deluise), "Savage" Steve Holland (the man behind such bonkers '80s flicks as Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer), and Alex Winter (who is best known for his searing portrayal of Bill S. Preston, Esq., in the Bill and Ted movies).Usher portrayed Lyle, a studly jock who had to hide his love of fantasy and video games from his sportier peers, and it could be because the actor sold himself so well as an athlete that his next series gig was lined up almost immediately after Level Up ended.
That gig was the lead role in the Starz dramedy Survivor's Remorse, which was produced by basketball great LeBron James. Usher played Cam Calloway, a hotshot young basketball player who moves his family to Atlanta upon signing his first pro contract. The series was widely acclaimed for its deft balance of comedic and dramatic elements, and Usher was supported by an outstanding cast that included veteran character actor RonReaco Lee, MadTV's Erica Ash, If Beale Street Could Talk's Teyonah Parris, The Main Event's Tichina Arnold, and The Last Black Man in San Francisco's Mike Epps.
The series ran for four seasons and, near the middle of its run, the feature film world began to come calling for Usher. After Survivor's Remorse concluded in 2017, the actor found himself with no shortage of work.
Jessie T. Usher has appeared in some major features in recent years
Usher was no stranger to feature work before his big-screen breakthrough, taking on small roles in 2010's Beautiful Boy as an unnamed teen, in 2013's InAPPropriate Comedy as Jamal, and in 2014's When the Game Stands Tall as Tayshon. In 2016, however, he was handed a major role in a flick that was about as high profile as they come, portraying Dylan Hiller, a Captain in the Earth Space Defense force and the stepson of Will Smith's iconic airman Stephen Hiller, in Independence Day: Resurgence. Unfortunately, the belated sequel didn't match the box office performance of its storied predecessor, but Usher proved that he was more than capable of leading a tentpole picture, and casting agents took notice.
The actor next appeared on the big screen as Lil Maniac in the 2017 indie feature Stronghold, followed by a starring role opposite The Babysitter's Bella Thorne in the low-budget action thriller Ride the following year. 2019 brought with it the opportunity for Usher to share the screen with a couple of bonafide screen legends when he appeared as J.J. Shaft, the son of Samuel L. Jackson's John Shaft and grandson of Richard Roundtree's John Shaft, Sr., in (wait for it) Shaft.
That flick was also a critical and box office disappointment, but this was no fault of Usher's, and, in 2020, he once again appeared alongside Jackson in a movie that was a bit more well-received. Usher portrayed Tony Jackson in The Banker, based on the true story of a pair of '60s African-American businessmen who hire a white guy as a figurehead for their business empire. The movie also starred the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Anthony Mackie, Mad Max: Fury Road's Nicholas Hoult, and NCIS: Los Angeles' Nia Long.
Jessie T. Usher stars on the hit series The Boys
If we still haven't touched on why Usher looks so familiar to you, then we feel safe in stating that you must be a fan of the insanely violent, hilarious Amazon superhero deconstruction, The Boys. The series focuses on a team of severely flawed, often dangerously self-centered "heroes" whose sole common personality trait appears to be blinding arrogance, and Usher portrays A-Train, a speedster whose limited control of his formidable power has been known to cause a gory, fatal accident or two. The series begins, in fact, with a new member of the team, "Hughie" Campbell, joining up after his girlfriend is accidentally killed by A-Train.
Usher is perfectly hilarious in the role, and since the second season of The Boys has wrapped filming, we expect to see him back on the small screen very soon, probably covered in the vaporized remains of whatever poor soul is unfortunate enough to cross his path. In the meantime, you can also look forward to hearing the talented actor's voice work in the animated flick Seal Team, which will also feature the distinctive voice talents of Patrick Warburton, J.K. Simmons, Kristen Schaal, and — you guessed it — the iconic British musician, Seal. With such a widely varied résumé to his name, we can't wait to see what Usher takes on next.