The Untold Truth of Viola Davis’s Husband – Julius Tennon

• Julius Tennon was born in Austin, Texas in 1953 and is an actor and producer, but mostly known for being the husband of actress Viola Davis.
• He has an estimated net worth of $12 million, made through work in the entertainment industry.
• During his early life, he discovered his talent towards performing and was offered a football scholarship at University of Tulsa.
• His acting career started with a support role in the 1985 film “Confessions of a Serial Killer” and he has since appeared in several notable film and TV projects.
• He has been married three times, and is currently married to Viola Davis. They are both Christians and attend Oasis Church in Los Angeles.

Known for movies

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
as General Security Chief

Small Soldiers (1998)
as Toy World Supervisor

Dazed and Confused (1993)
as Mr. Payne

Faster (2010)
as Doctor

Who is Julius Tennon?

Julius William Tennon was born on 24 December 1953, in Austin, Texas, USA, and is an actor as well as a producer, but perhaps better known for being the husband of actress Viola Davis. He’s worked on several notable film projects during his career, including “Small Soldiers” and “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice”.

The Net Worth of Julius Tennon

Julius Tennon’s net worth is estimated at close to $142, as of mid-2024 though he shares the success of his wife Viola, who has a similar net worth. The couple has earned significant income through work in the entertainment industry.

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@ViolaDavis & #JuliusTennon looked stunning at the 14th annual @RomaCinemaFest this weekend! Congrats to @ViolaDavis on receiving her much deserved Lifetime Achievement Award! ?

A post shared by JuVee Productions (@juveeproductions) on Oct 27, 2019 at 1:46pm PDT

Early Life, Education, and Acting Beginnings

Julius accidentally discovered his talent towards performing at a young age, as his English teacher noted his potential while he was reading a poetry chapter to the class. In the seventh grade, he was encouraged to try his hand at performing, leading him to a local rendition of the popular Martin Luther King Jr. speech entitled “I Have a Dream”. The project proved inspiring, and shortly afterwards he set his sights towards an acting career.

During high school, he also showed potential for a career in American Football, and after matriculating he was offered a full football scholarship at the University of Tulsa.

He accepted it, and took a course in theatre while playing for the school’s team, becoming one of the first African-Americans to do so. He became a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association team called the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes, which had already established itself in the league thanks to two national championship wins. The university is also known for its focus on the arts, managing two museums including the Gilcrease Museum, which contains one of the most significant collections of American art and indigenous artifacts.

Acting Career

Following the completion of his degree, apparently Tennondidn’t pursue a career in football, but began his acting career with a support role as an officer in the 1985 film “Confessions of a Serial Killer”. The film is based on the real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, who confessed to the murder of hundreds of women following his incarceration. A few years later, Julius was cast in the mini-series entitled “Lonesome Dove”, which was initially intended to be a film, but was later turned into a series following a falling out with the actor John Wayne.

Despite the seemingly downhill direction of the Western genre at the time, the mini-series proved successful, gaining high ratings and numerous nominations during the Emmy Awards. His work there helped him gain more projects, including the television movie “Adam: His Song Continues” which is a sequel to the movie “Adam” released during 1983 on NBC. He also appeared in “The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains” which starred Val Kilmer and aired through HBO. Before the end of the decade, he was cast in the television movie “Trapped”, which starred Katy Boyer.

Latter Career and Production

1993 saw Julius gain a role in the film “Dazed and Confused”, which starred an ensemble including Ben Affleck and Milla Jovovich – while the film didn’t initially do well at the box office, it gained increasingly positive critical reviews, and eventual commercial success as years passed. A few years later in 1998, he gained one of his most notable roles in “Small Soldiers” – the film follows the story of two factions of action figures at war, and achieved moderate success at the box office.

In 2006, he played the character Carl Buford in the series “Criminal Minds”. The show follows the lives and careers of members of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit or BAU, as they use profiling and behavioral analysis to solve crimes. The show attracted a lot of critical acclaim during its run, and is one of the biggest hits for CBS in terms of rating. Following his work with the show, alongside his wife he started a production company  called JeVee Productions, to help create more opportunities and stories related to people of color. Recent years have seen him work more of a background role – one of his latest projects is the film “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and most recently, in 2022 he appeared as Moru in “The Woman King”

Personal Life

Tennon has married three times, firstly to Sheryl Lynn Arnold in 1974, which lasted for six years and produced two children. His next marriage would occur 12 years later, to Christine Dejohnna White which lasted for six years as well, before the two divorced. In 2003, he married actress Viola Davis, and the two later adopted a child. His wife is known for being one of the most successful black actresses of all time, and is the first one to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning two Tony Awards, an Emmy Award, as well as an Academy Award during her career.

Her most well-known projects include “Suicide Squad” in which she portrayed the character Amanda Waller, and “How to Get Away with Murder”, playing lawyer Annalise Keating. The couple is known to be Christian, and regularly attends the Oasis Church in Los Angeles.