Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's hit series Desperate Housewives (2005–2006), Jerome in The Game, and his leading role as Terrance "TK" King in the USA series Necessary Roughness from 2011 until the series' cancellation in 2013.
Early Life
Brooks was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School. After graduating from high school in 1999, he attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. Brooks mentioned on a September 2010 episode of The Wendy Williams Show that he turned down basketball scholarships and offers from Ivy League schools in favor of going to USC. He then left to pursue an acting career.
Career
Brooks' early work includes being a Calvin Klein underwear model.
From 2005 to 2006, Brooks played the role of Matthew Applewhite on the ABC TV drama Desperate Housewives. He appeared in Glory Road, portraying Harry Flournoy, an athlete at Texas Western University when the five starting black players beat Kentucky for the national championship. He acted in the 2007 film In the Valley of Elah. He guest starred opposite Tia Mowry as her boyfriend, Jerome, on the TV series The Game in 2008. In 2009 he appeared on FOX's TV series Dollhouse. Brooks played Benedict "Eggs" Talley in the second season of HBO's True Blood. Beginning January 2010, he appeared as attorney Malcolm Bennet in the now-canceled ABC series The Deep End. He plays the "new boyfriend" in a recent State Farm Insurance television commercial alongside former The Game co-star Gabrielle Dennis.
Brooks appeared in the ABC documentary-style dramedy television series My Generation, which premiered in Fall 2010. The show was canceled after only two episodes. He was among the cast on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness which debuted on June 29, 2011. Brooks guest starred in the episode "Personal Fouls" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Prince Miller, a basketball superstar who was once one of his coach's (Dan Lauria) prodigies, the coach under suspicion of being a sexual predator in 2012 and a guest role on JJ Abrams new show 'Alcatraz' episode 6 as a bomb disposal expert. In 2013, Brooks was featured in a public service announcement for the Center for Reproductive Rights.