Sean James William Parris is an actor, writer, and teacher. He was born in Los Angeles and raised in Miami and Georgia. He has worked with Free Street Theatre as a vocal coach and co-directed his first show there in 2019 in collaboration with the Story Front in Back of the Yards. He has also worked with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago as a resident artist in their SPACE program at Curie High School. As an educator, he is currently teaching at DePaul University, and has previously taught at BlackBox Acting Academy.

Some of his Chicago credits include Space Age (a two-person show created with real-life intimate partner Ricardo Gamboa; Free Street Theatre); The Magic Play (Goodman Theatre); The Drunken City, Animal Farm, and Compass (Steppenwolf Garage); Curve of Departure and The Whipping Man (Northlight Theatre); Seascape (Remy Bumppo); and Pornography (Steep Theatre). Regional credits include The Magic Play (The Armory and Syracuse Stage). Film/TV credits include: Chicago P.D. (NBC); The Chi (Showtime); Brujos (Open TV) and the upcoming film Christmas Again. Sean received his MFA from DePaul University’s Theatre School and is a graduate of Black Box Acting Academy in Chicago. He is represented by Paonessa Talent.