J. August Richards
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J. August Richards was born Jaime Augusto Richards III on August 28, 1973 in Washington, D.C. He played the street-wise Charles Gunn on the TV series Angel and was seen on NBC's short-lived courtroom drama, Conviction. Richards played Billy Desmond, a cocky ADA who had not lost a single case during his three years at the District Attorney's office.
Richards' acting career began when spotted by a casting director. This resulted in getting a guest star role in The Cosby Show. Other guest appearances would come later in the form of The Practice, Chicago Hope, Any Day Now and Nash Bridges. He has said in interviews that he uses "J" as his stage name because his first name has double accents, so that it is actually pronounced "Hai-mai" instead of "Hai-me".
Academically confident and determined to move out to Los Angeles to pursue his acting aspirations, Richards applied to only one college. Not only was he accepted into the University of Southern California, he also won numerous scholarships and grants to study theater.
Upon graduation, Richards began working steadily in film, television and theater. Playing a rapping bike messenger who believes he is an alien abductee, it was the role of Taj Mahal in the Mark Taper Forum production of Tina Landau's play Space that first brought recognition and rave reviews to the young actor.
On the big screen, Richards has appeared in the feature films Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Good Burger. He starred in the television movies Critical Assembly, The Temptations and Mutiny. Richards has also guest-starred on The West Wing and The 4400.
Richards crashed onto the LA scene in the first season of Angel as Gunn, the street-wise vampire hunter. He quickly became one of the most popular characters to date in Jossverse as he overcame his own reservations of fighting alongside the vampire Angel, the one thing he detested. Upon seeing the heart of the operation, Gunn became a key player in the fight against evil. The character was believable even when sometimes the dialogue written for the part was not.
But Richards acting came to the fore in the final season of Angel, when Gunn who had evolved from a street fighter against evil to a lawyer in a office had to come to terms with a part he played in the death of a friend. Richard’s portrayal was so outstanding that it earned him a special mention by various TV critics.
In his free time, Richards enjoys painting and has developed an interest in astronomy since working on Space. He travelled throughout the United States while on tour with the production and enjoys visiting his parents' native country of Panama as well as other regions of Central America. Richards also supports the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Richards currently lives in Los Angeles, California
