Charles Porter, Actor and Producer of Finding Faith, Dies at 47

Charles Frederick Porter II, an actor and independent film producer whose credits included Finding Faith, has died at 47. His family told The Hollywood Reporter that he died Monday at his home in Calabasas after living with Hodgkin lymphoma for 17½ years. His wife, Candice Tab Porter, his sister-in-law and his best friend and former Duke teammate, William L. Hill, were with him.

Through Black Bench Productions, which he founded, Porter developed, packaged, financed and produced independent projects. His work emphasized faith, family, resilience and redemption, alongside efforts to open opportunities for Black artists and filmmakers. At the time of his death, he was developing a slate of faith-based films.

Porter helped drive the production of Finding Faith, the 2025 film written and directed by LazRael Lison and starring Paula Patton, Loretta Devine and Keith David. Made with Summer House Pictures and Third Eye Productions, it reached theaters through Fathom Entertainment before airing on Lifetime. His other collaborations with Summer House included the BET+ films A Miracle Before Christmas in 2022 and Christmas Angel in 2023.

His producing credits also included the thrillers Nailed, released in 2006, Battered in 2014 and Grace Point in 2023. He acted in the first two as well. Porter was an early investor and executive producer on the upcoming Last Meals, a Sentient Entertainment and HanWay Films feature starring Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Tessa Thompson and Michael Shannon.

As a performer, Porter appeared in The Parkers, House, Without a Trace and Bones. He portrayed pioneering Black NASCAR driver Wendell Scott in ESPN’s 2011 film Wendell Scott: A Race Story. His film appearances included Holla and Johnny Was, both released in 2006, and Peppermint in 2018.

Born in Oxford, England, on March 13, 1979, Porter had a father serving in the Air Force and a British mother. He moved to the United States at 3 and attended Rumsey Hall in Washington Depot, Connecticut, followed by The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. At Duke University, he earned a Cultural Anthropology degree and became a four-year football letterman, ranking among the ACC’s leading defensive tackles. A back injury ended his ambition to play professionally.

Porter relocated to Los Angeles in 2002 and appeared on ESPN’s game and reality series Beg, Borrow & Deal. His modeling career included Italian Vogue, an international Adidas campaign and runway appearances for the Ebony Fashion Fair. He also published three poetry collections, Get to Know, Choose Your Path and Enjoying the Journey. He was working on B+, a book inspired by the change in his blood type following one of his three bone marrow transplants.

Outside entertainment, Porter coached youth football, worked as a personal trainer and mentored people in Malibu, Calabasas and Westlake Village. He founded Brainwashed for Greatness, an organization devoted to positivity and personal growth. Porter and his wife expressed gratitude to the City of Hope and Dr. Stephen J. Forman “for their dedication and compassionate care.”

His survivors include his wife of 18 years, an entertainment marketing executive and former Hollywood publicist; their daughters, Layla Rose, 9, and Juliette Jasmine, 6; his mother, Dorothy Fourmeax; brother Sydney Sparks-Fourmeax; and sister Natalie Zore. His sister-in-law, Renée Tab, was also his producing partner. According to his family, the principle that guided him throughout his life was “Never Quit.”