Award-winning actor, writer McKinley Belcher III will deliver the keynote address at the USC School of Dramatic Arts’ 2025 commencement ceremony on Friday, May 16.
Belcher, an alumnus of the School’s MFA in Acting Program, is perhaps most known as Detective Michael Ledroit in Netflix’s Eric, for which he was just nominated for a BAFTA and a Royal Television Society Award.
“We are thrilled to welcome McKinley Belcher III back to the USC School of Dramatic Arts (SDA) as our 2025 commencement speaker,” said Dean Emily Roxworthy. “His journey from our MFA program to acclaimed performances on stages and screens exemplifies the artistic excellence we strive to instill in our students. In McKinley, our graduating class will hear from someone who once sat where they sit now. McKinley’s return to campus represents a full-circle moment that will undoubtedly inspire our students as they embark on their own creative paths.”
In addition to his recent work on Eric, Belcher starred opposite Robert De Niro in Netflix’s Zero Day, appeared in Netflix’s Ozark, One Piece and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. He’s collaborated with David Simon twice in HBO’s We Own This City and Show Me a Hero. He also starred in Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird opposite Ethan Hawke, and PBS’s Mercy Street opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Josh Radnor.
On stage, McKinley made his Broadway debut in Kenny Leon’s acclaimed production of A Soldier’s Play opposite Blair Underwood and David Alan Grier, and last appeared in a Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman opposite Wendell Pierce, Sharon D. Clarke and André De Shields. Off-Broadway, he starred in MCC’s The Light, for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. He also won a Drama Desk Award for his performance in Lincoln Center’s The Royale.
In addition to his work as an actor, McKinley is also a writer. He won the inaugural Slamdance Mentorship Award for his screenplay Kinda Blue Burning Bright, and has written a series of columns for Backstage. He’ll next be seen starring in Alan Brown’s upcoming indie project Other People’s Bodies.
The USC School of Dramatic Arts will honor its candidates for bachelor of arts, bachelor of fine arts, and master of fine arts degrees at the SDA commencement ceremony, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Founder’s Park on the USC Campus.