Michael Brown (born August 3, 1973), professionally known as Michael Ealy, was born on August 3, 1973, in Silver Spring, Maryland. He attended Springbrook High School and the University of Maryland, College Park. Ealy began his acting career in the late 1990s, appearing in a number of off-Broadway theater productions. Among his early film roles were Bad Company and Kissing Jessica Stein. His breakthrough role came in 2002 in the film Barbershop, in which he played the reformed street thug Ricky Nash, a role he reprised in the 2004 sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business. In 2003, he played the role of Slap Jack in the second installment of the Fast & Furious film series, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Later, in 2004, Ealy appeared in the film Never Die Alone with DMX. In 2005, Ealy starred in the television film Their Eyes Were Watching God, produced by Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones, with Academy Award winner Halle Berry in the lead role.

That same year, he starred in the independent film Jellysmoke, directed by Mark Banning. He appeared in the Showtime television series Sleeper Cell and Sleeper Cell: American Terror. On December 14, 2006, Ealy was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in Sleeper Cell: American Terror in the category Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film. In December 2008, he starred in the film Seven Pounds alongside Will Smith as Ben Thomas. He also played CIA field officer Marshall Vogel in the ABC television series FlashForward. In 2010, Ealy starred in the action thriller Takers and in the drama For Colored Girls. Also in 2010, Ealy signed on to play lawyer Derrick Bond in the television series The Good Wife.