[1][2][3] He also portrayed the young Alex Haley (ages 17–25) in the ABC television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.

Born in Baltimore, Evans attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts on a Reader's Digest Scholarship.

In the late 1980s, Evans appeared in Trevor Nunn's Glyndebourne Festival production of the George Gershwin opera, Porgy and Bess, and again in the 1993 television adaptation of that production.

In addition to Evans and other noted performers, this British production of Gershwin's 'American folk opera' featured the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic, both conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

Evans played Sportin' Life, a role originated by John W. Bubbles and originally written for famed 1920s and 1930s jazz bandleader and singer Cab Calloway.