Eddie Steeples

as Darnell

As Earl’s (Jason Lee) friend, and Joy's (Jaime Pressly) husband, Steeples plays Crab Shack employee Darnell, who joins in on Earl’s pursuit to reconcile many of the bad choices he has made over the years in hopes of changing his life for the better.

Steeples began studying acting at the St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre. By the mid-1990s Steeples had moved to New York City where he joined an avant-garde hip-hop group named No Surrender, as well as an experimental movie outfit called Mo-Freek (helmed by director Kevin Ford). He has played leading roles in several of Ford's independent features such as “Caravan Summer,” “People Are Dead” (co-starring Angela Bettis, Mia Tyler and Cinque Lee). While in New York, Steeples got behind the camera shooting for various Mo-Freek productions, as well as becoming a cameraman for the Sony Music Choices show “Street Team TV,” where he filmed various artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Nas and the Ataris. Steeples also appeared in the political documentary “Amadou,” inspired by the Amadou Diallo police protest that swept Manhattan in 1999.

Steeples’ versatility as an actor has allowed him to play a number of interesting leading roles. He flexed his comedic skills as the Rubberband Man in the Emmy-nominated Office Max commercials, for which he landed a spot as one of People Magazine's Sexiest Men of the Year, and on the groundbreaking “Chris Rock Show.” He played a dramatic lead in the award-winning short film “Whoa,” which premiered at Sundance, and received considerable attention for his role of Rasan in the Warner Bros. action movie “Torque” with Ice Cube, Faison Love and Jaime Pressly (his “Earl” co-star).

This past year Steeples starred in Lion's Gate's critically acclaimed film, "Akeelah and the Bee" (with Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett) and another Ford film, “Lost in the Bush.” He can also add producer of the award-winning short film “In Time,” which competed at Sundance in 2005, to his growing “behind-the-camera” credits.

Steeples continues to be a member of the group No Surrender, which is working on their 3rd CD, mixing influences from rock, hip-hop, and soul.