Brandon Hammond

Hammond was born as Brandon La Ron Hammond^[1] on February 6, 1984^[2] in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,^[3] the son of Alfreda Williams,^[4] who managed her son's acting career.^[5]

He made his acting debut at the age of 6, appearing in commercials for Chevrolet and public service announcements.^[3][4] Hammond's first film role was in Menace II Society (1993) where he played the younger version of the main character Caine.^[6] He followed this up with roles in Strange Days^[7] and Waiting to Exhale, both released in 1995. Hammond appeared in the horror anthology Tales from the Hood (1995) as Walter,^[8] a young boy who is scared of his abusive stepfather.^[9] Hammond performed as Marcus Jr. in 1996 television film The Road to Galveston.^[10]

In 1996, Hammond appeared in three feature films. Hammond portrayed Sean Rayburn in The Fan,^[11] the son of Wesley Snipes' character who is kidnapped by Gil (Robert De Niro).^[12] He played Neville Williams in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!^[13] and was a young Michael Jordan in Space Jam.^[14]

Hammond portrayed the character of Ahmad in Soul Food (1997).^[15] His performance in this film was well received, with critics describing Hammond as the film's standout actor,^[16] a natural^[17] and having talent that "far surpasses his age."^[18] He was awarded the NAACP Image Award in 1998 for Outstanding Youth Actor as Ahmad.^[19]

He had a recurring role on the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman during its final two seasons, playing the character of Anthony, an adopted son of Grace and Robert E.^[20] Hammond continued playing the role until Anthony was killed off.^[21] Hammond played the role of Gregory Hines' son, Matty Stevenson, in the short-lived sitcom The Gregory Hines Show (1997−98).^[22] A reviewer for The New York Times opined Hines and Hammond had good chemistry.^[23] In 1998, Hammond received two nominations for an Young Artist Award and YoungStar Award in recognition of his acting on Gregory Hines.

Hammond guest starred on various series during the 1990s and early 2000s, including Coach, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Dave's World, Early Edition^[24] and The West Wing. He appeared in crime drama Blue Hill Avenue (2001).^[25] Hammond's last role to date was Lloyd Newman in the 2002 Showtime film Our America.^[26] He received his third Young Artist Award nomination for acting in Our America.

When Hammond was 13 years old, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Castleman disease.^[27]

Following the end of his acting career, Hammond attended Saddleback College, where he submitted a student film titled Summer Blame (2006). His film was nominated at the Newport Beach Film Festival.^[28] Hammond wrote the short film Amaru, which received the award for best screenwriting at the John Singleton Short Film Competition in 2020.^[29][30]