Vance was born in Detroit, Michigan and later graduated from Harvard with a bachelor of arts degree and the Yale School of Drama with a master of fine arts degree. While attending Harvard, Vance was already working as an actor at the Boston Shakespeare Company. He went on to earn two Tony Award nominations, each in Tony-winning productions. He was first nominated for his role in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Fences,” and later for his lead role in John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation.”

Vance’s feature-film roles have won him steady praise. His early credits include “Hamburger Hill” and “The Hunt for Red October.” More recently, he appeared in Robert Altman’s “Cookie’s Fortune,” Penny Marshall’s “Preacher’s Wife” and in Clint Eastwood’s “Space Cowboys.” He also starred in the independent film “Love and Action in Chicago,” a romantic comedy which he also co-produced. Next, Vance stars opposite Sylvester Stallone in the thriller “Eye See You.”

Vance’s television credits include such cable movies as “Blind Faith” (opposite Charles S. Dutton, for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor), the William Friedkin-directed “12 Angry Men” (with Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott and Ossie Davis), the Hallmark presentation “The Boys Next Door” (alongside Nathan Lane, Tony Goldwyn and Michael Jeter), “The Tuskegee Airmen” (with Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher) and the television production of August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson.”

Away from the set, Vance enjoys spending time with his wife, actress Angela Bassett. His birthday is March 12.