First time Emmy nominee Dul� Hill, who made his regular series debut as the personal aide to the President in NBC�s "The West Wing," remembers the comparisons he made upon entering the series� set of the White House Oval Office versus when he and the cast set foot in the real Oval Office, as part of a V.I.P. tour.       "The first time I arrived on our set, I was amazed," says Hill. "But weeks later when I came to the White House and the Oval Office, it was the same size and

seemed like I�d been there before. I was thinking, 'When's the next scene?' I also got to meet President Clinton�s real personal aide and he made things clearer as to just how important the job is."

      Hill (whose first name is pronounced "due-lay") was born in Orange, New Jersey, raised in nearby Sayreville, and is the youngest of two sons born to his Jamaican parents (his father is an investment banker and his mother an educator). He owes his unusual name to an aunt who discovered it during a trip to France and suggested it upon her return before his birth. He began attending dance school when he was 3 and got his first break years later when producers of Broadway�s "The Tap Dance Kid" called the school in search of child dancers who could sing and act for the production. "My first professional gig was as a kid at Broadway�s Minskoff Theatre," he muses. As the understudy to Savion Glover in "The Tap Dance Kid," he went on to perform the lead role in the musical�s national tour working with Harold Nicholas (of the famed Nicholas Brothers) for the next 16 months. He also later appeared with Gregory Hines and Jimmy Slyde.

      More roles followed in the musicals "Shenandoah," "Little Rascals" and "Black & Blue," and during Hill�s senior year of high school, he appeared in his first feature film, "Sugar Hill," as the young character later played by Wesley Snipes. Hill also was seen in national commercials (such as one for Corn Pops cereal) and was cast as one of the "City Kids," a Saturday morning series, while he was studying business finance at Seton Hall.

      Hill�s next career boost came with his starring role in the original cast of "Bring in Da' Noise, Bring In Da' Funk" on Broadway, as he re-teamed with Glover, but as a result had to abandon his college studies during his junior year. He spent two-and-one-half years in the show and earned favourable notices from casting directors, and later starred with Freddie Prinze Jr. in the hit feature film "She�s All That." His other television credits include guest-starring shots in "Cosby," "Smart Guy" and "New York Undercover," and appearances in the TV movies "The Ditch Digger�s Daughter," "Color of Justice" and "Love Songs" (opposite Louis Gossett Jr.).

      Away from the set, Hill still immensely enjoys tap-dancing as well as bowling, paintball games and marathon Monopoly sessions. He rates himself as a Los Angeles Lakers "freak." He often travels to Jamaica ("The ultimate place to relax...") to see family members. His birthday is May 3.

Bio pilfered from NBC: The West Wing.

Trivia

- One of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2001.

- Appeared on Broadway in "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" and is an avid tap-dancer

- His real name is Karim Dule Hill, but he dropped the Karim because other kids taunted him with "Kareem Abdul-Jabaar".

- Performed with Savion Glover at the 32nd Annual NAACP Image Awards.

- His nickname is Professor Boulderock.


Quotes

- "Dule Hill was such a joy to meet. He's tremendously positive and open. He's
got incredible equilibrium. He's just terrific." - Bradley Whitford