Michael Ealy (born Michael Brown on August 3, 1973 in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an African American actor.

Ealy grew up in the suburban Maryland neighborhood of Stonegate. He attended Springbrook High School and the University of Maryland, College Park. Ealy started his acting career in the late-1990s, appearing in a number of off-Broadway stage productions. Among his first film roles were Fast Company and Kissing Jessica Stein. His breakout role came in 2002's Barbershop, in which he plays reformed street thug Ricky Nash. He reprised the role in the 2004 sequel, Barbershop 2: Back in Business. Later in 2004, Ealy appeared in Never Die Alone with