Michael Ealy strengthens local connections in STARZ series

Actor Michael Ealy recently made waves with his recurring role in Power Book II: Ghost, the second series in STARZ’s Power Universe. Michael Ealy, then known as Michael Brown, was born in DC and raised in Montgomery County, where he grew up in Silver Spring and graduated from Springbrook High School (later attending the University of Maryland).

Power is a crime drama that aired for six seasons – from 2014 to February 2020. It was created and produced in part by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and has spawned several related series, including Power Book II: Ghost, where Michael Ealy currently plays the role of Detective Don Carter in season four.

A few years ago, reader Mekhi Leftwich sent us some photos of Ealy from his time at White Oak Intermediate School (now White Oak Middle School) at 12201 New Hampshire Avenue in 1986, which he attended before transferring to Springbrook (photos below).

White Oak opened as a junior high school in 1962, but in 1984 it was converted to an intermediate school with only seven and eight grades before becoming a middle school in 1990 with the addition of sixth grade. When Ealy attended in 1986, the school colors were brown and gold, not the blue and white the school has today. While living in Montgomery County, Ealy’s mother worked at IBM, which at the time had corporate offices in Gaithersburg and Bethesda.

The former Springbrook Blue Devil and White Oak Wildcat broke out in Barbershop and went on to star in 2 Fast 2 Furious, About Last Night, Think Like a Man 1 and 2, The Perfect Guy and many others. Ealy joins several other actors who appeared in the original series and are also from Montgomery County:

Darrell Britt-Gibson (Rolla)

Britt-Gibson played the role of Rolla – one of the many drug dealers who worked with Tommy and Ghost/James St. Patrick. Ghost was his mentor during his early years growing up in the drug business. His character was wrongfully killed by Ghost after he was accused of hiring a hitman to kill Ghost. He was born and raised in Silver Spring and graduated from Blake High School in 2003.

Brandon Victor Dixon (Terry Silver)

Dixon is a Tony-nominated actor who recently appeared as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar. He played James St. Patrick’s defense attorney and Tasha St. Patrick’s lover Terry Silver. He is killed by Ghost/James St. Patrick after his affair with Tasha St. Patrick is discovered. He is from Gaithersburg but attended St. Albans School in Washington DC.

Cynthia Addai-RobinsonRamona Garrity

Addai-Robinson played the role of Ramona Garrity – a political strategist for the DNC (Democrat National Committee). In the final season of the series, she also becomes the love interest of James St. Patrick/Ghost. Addai-Robinson was born in London on January 12, 1980; her mother is from Ghana and her father was a US citizen. She moved to the US at the age of 4 and grew up with her mother in Silver Spring, where she graduated from Blair High School in 1998.