Karim Dulé Hill, who professionally uses his middle name Dulé instead of his first, is an American actor best known for his roles as Burton "Gus" Guster on Psych and Charlie Young on The West Wing.
Biography[]
Hill was born in East Brunswick, New Jersey on May 3, 1975, to mother Jennifer and father Bertholomu Hillshire (which was shortened to Hill upon marriage). He was raised in Sayreville, New Jersey with his parents and older brother Bert. From a young age, Hill studied ballet and was an understudy for the play The Tap Dance Kid on Broadway.
His first main cast film role came in 1993 in the film Sugar Hill. His big break came in 1999 when he was cast as Charlie Young, personal aide to President Josiah Bartlet, on The West Wing. Hill also had supporting roles in such films as She's All That, 10.5, and Holes. In 2006 Hill signed onto Psych as Burton "Gus" Guster, going on to appear in every episode of the show. Afterwards he became a frequent face on the Dwayne Johnson vehicle Ballers.
Hill married actress Nicole Lyn (who appears as Jessica in Psych S1E10 "From the Earth to Starbucks") in 2004, the same year their daughter Kennedy Irie would be born. Hill filed for separation in November 2012. He married Ballers co-star Jazmyn Simon, who would later also co-star with Hill as Gus's love interest Selene Gilmore in the Psych movies, in early 2018 and would go on to adopt her daughter. Their son Levi Dulé Hill was born on May 10, 2019.
Trivia[]
- According to USA Network's "Psych All-Night" event, Hill's favorite Psych episode is S4E7 "High Top Fade-Out".
- Selene's claim that she's really called Karim (Psych 3: This Is Gus) is a reference to Hill's actual name.
- Several of Hill's other acting roles are referenced throughout the show. He played Sam the Onion Man in Holes, a film mentioned in S2E2 "65 Million Years Off". It is referenced again in S7E1 "Santabarbaratown 2" when Gus eats a can of peaches and a third time in S7E10 "Santa Barbarian Candidate" when Gus says "I can fix that," a phrase Sam uses a lot. Also in "Santa Barbarian Candidate", Shawn and Gus talk about working at the White House in a reference to Hill's prominent role on The West Wing. Hill was also a series regular for the last two seasons of Suits, explaining the joke behind Shawn asking Gus "You think Meghan Markle invited the entire cast of Suits to the royal wedding?" and Gus replying "Nope, she did not" in Psych 3: This Is Gus. The show was mentioned earlier in the film as well and was also referenced by Shawn indirectly while arguing with Henry at the TV station in S8E3 "Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement". The 2006 action film The Guardian is mentioned in S4E10 "You Can't Handle This Episode".
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