Born Nov. 25, 1973, Steeples was born and raised in Spring, TX, the oldest of eight children. His mother was an evangelist and his stepfather a preacher. By the age of four, he knew that he wanted to be an actor. He spoke of it so often, that his mother was prepared for the blow when, at the age of 18, he confirmed his plans. After graduating from Klein Oak High School in 1992, Steeples moved to Santa Cruz, CA, where he took acting classes at a community college and sought fame and a starring role opposite Tom Cruise. When the Cruise co-starring role didn’t happen, Steeples moved eastward to NYC, before making a stop at the St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre and another pit stop at Howard University in D.C. to hone his craft, before finally landing in the Big Apple. Things began to happen after he joined the experimental film group, Mo-Freek – Steeples initial gateway into acting. He starred in several Mo-Freek productions including the lead in the short film “Whoa” (2001) which premiered at Sundance, and a starring role opposite Mia Tyler in “People Are Dead” (2002).
Not long into pursuing his dream of fame and fortune, the unpredictable occurred. A casting director/friend asked him to audition for the role of the “Rubber Band Man” in the Office Max ads, Steeples declined. He wasn’t interested in doing commercials and feared being typecast as this jive goofball. Fortunately for him, his friend was persistent. Steeples relented and auditioned, landing the part and gaining invaluable exposure.
Acting wasn’t Steeples’ only passion. He also joined the socially conscience hip hop group “No Surrender.” While he continued to collaborate with “No Surrender,” Steeples also wanted to strike out on his own and went to work on his solo album (to be released, 2007).
2004 was a pivotal year for Steeples. He landed a key role in the action flick “Torque” starring Ice Cube and his future television wife, Jaime Pressly. He also landed a coveted spot on People magazine’s “Sexiest Men” of 2004. Good fortune was with Steeples once again when he survived the deadly 2004 tsunami while vacationing in Thailand. At first believed to be missing, Steeples survived by moving to a nearby mountain area where there was little food and water available. He fell ill, but was eventually rescued by relief workers and made a full recovery. He later teamed with the Red Cross and Office Max to raise money for the tsunami victims.
After surviving the worst natural disaster in recent memory, Steeples returned as the “Rubber Band Man” and captured legions of new fans – among those, writer/producer, Greg Garcia, who in 2005 would begin casting for his new quirky, white trash sitcom “My Name Is Earl” (NBC). Garcia enjoyed Steeples’ Office Max performances so much that he requested he audition for the role of Darnell, the laid back husband of Earl’s (Jason Lee) overbearing ex-wife, Joy (Jaime Pressly). Aside from the fact that neither character talked much, Darnell was the antithesis of his high energy Office Max character. As Darnell, Steeples was completely laid back and unfazed by everything. It was easy to believe that he was the only man who could, not only tolerate, but actually be happily married to the bitter Joy.
In 2006, Steeples’ star continued to rise when he was cast as Derrick T in the critically acclaimed Lions Gate drama “Akeelah and the Bee” (2006), starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. Ever the consummate performer, Steeples kept busy writing, directing and producing “The Best of Robbers” (2006), a comedy about thieves who long to be reality TV stars.