Brad William Henke, who turned NFL player, has died at the age of 56

Brad William Henke, the former NFL player who later turned to acting and rose to fame as a prison guard on “Orange Is the New Black,” died Tuesday. He was 56 years old.

His death was confirmed by his manager, Matt DelPiano, who said Mr. Henke died in his sleep but did not specify the location. He did not mention the cause either, but in May 2021 Mr. Henke Posted on Instagram that he had a 90 percent blockage in an artery, and the following month he said he received two stents in his heart

Mr. Henke played many roles in film and television during his 25-year career, but was probably best known for appearing in more than two dozen episodes of the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” from 2016 to 2018. His character , Desi Piscatella, a gay corrections officer at the prison where the show is set, was a part of the drama in its fourth and fifth seasons, and joined the cast in 2017. Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

While “Orange” may be Mr. Henke’s role, it was far from his first. His acting career began in 1996 with “Mr. Wrong”, which starred Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman and Joan Cusack. Among the dozens of TV shows they watched were “ER,” “Judging Amy,” “Dexter,” “October Road” and “Lost.” His films included the original “Space Jam.”

Mr. Henke was born April 10, 1966, in Columbus, Neb., and grew up in Littleton, Colo. He played football at the University of Arizona in the late 1980s. A 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive lineman, the New York Giants drafted him in 1989, but they cut him, he said. Citizen of Tucson In 1998, he played for the Denver Broncos and was on the team when they lost the 1990 Super Bowl to the San Francisco 49ers.

His football career ended in the early 1990s after a series of injuries, and he held various jobs, including assistant football coach at a California community college. A chance encounter with former Oakland Raiders quarterback Rod Martin set him on a new path.

“Rod mentioned there was a need for actors to play football players for commercials, so I tried out and got one for Pizza Hut,” Mr Henke told The Citizen. “While I was there, a guy invited me to attend an acting class. I went and thought that’s what I wanted to do.’

The depth and variety of roles Mr. Henke landed progressed with each credit. In an interview in 2021 with CGMagazine, Mr. Henke said that early in his career he was learning the business and taking jobs to make money, but things changed. “Lately, I’ve been trying to do it for love,” he said. “Because I love creating characters, figuring out how they talk, how they look, all the physical and emotional stuff.”

Sir. Henke he told the Tell-Tale TV website In 2020, his role as Tom Cullen in the miniseries “The Stand,” the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Alexander Skarsgard, was challenging but rewarding.

“It’s been the best experience I’ve had in my entire acting career so far,” she said. “I haven’t had many opportunities in my career. I was offered this job three months before I started. So many times, it’s before it even begins. So I had a lot more time to work and prepare and think, dream.”

Complete information on the survivors was not immediately available.

jesus jimenez made a report.