The best Richard Roundtree movies and TV shows range from classic exploitation films from the 1970s to some great TV shows from the 2000s. Roundtree was born in New York City in 1942 and began his acting career in 1963 after dropping out of college. She worked as a model before getting her break in the 1970 hidden camera reality film, and also acted in some theater productions. What do you call a naked lady?. However, his next role made him an icon.
In 1971 Richard Roundtree took on the role of private detective John Shaft in exploitative crime thrillers mil. It spawned a new franchise and Roundtree became the face of a new strong Black Hollywood action hero, creating a new genre that future action heroes modeled after his iconic role. But he refused to settle for just that role and still worked in everything from war films and historical epics to family dramas and comedies in later years.
10 Maniac Cop (1988)
Richard Roundtree played Commissioner Pike
Richard Roundtree works well with exploitation films and DTV feature films, and that includes horror. Maniac cop. Although the film had a limited theatrical release, its B-horror aesthetic ensured that it appeared in theaters before becoming a cult classic when it appeared on home video. Maniac cop there are a number of killers who dress up as police officers and kill people, making ordinary people afraid of law enforcement. It takes a wild turn when the killer is revealed to be possibly a superhuman.
The film has a great cast, including Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) and Tom Atkins (Fog) and Richard Roundtree also have an important role. Roundtree plays Commissioner Peake, a law enforcement officer He refuses to believe that he is a policeman who has come back from the dead killing people and ends up being one of the victims. It was great to see Roundtree play one of the most senior police officers in the film, even if his lack of confidence led to his death.
9 Speed Racer (2008)
Richard Roundtree played Ben Burns
Easily one of the most underrated films of Richard Roundtree's career came in 2008 when he directed the big screen remake of the Lana and Lilly Wachowski animated film. Speed racer. The Wachowski sisters took the beloved cartoon and turned it into a bright, loud and lively live-action film that failed at the box office and was misunderstood by most critics at the time of its release. However, critics and fans re-evaluated the film in later years, and it has since become a cult classic.
Richard Roundtree plays Ben Burns, racing commentator and former racing champion.
Emile Hirsch stars as the Speed Racer, and the supporting cast includes tons of familiar faces, including Christina Ricci. John Goodman, Susan Sarandon and Matthew Fox. Richard Roundtree plays Ben Burns, racing commentator and former racing champion. Ben was a Hall of Famer who knew the biggest win of his career was predeterminedmaking it someone Speed Racer knows isn't as honorable as it sounds. He is only a minor but memorable character in the film.
8 Q (1982)
Richard Roundtree played Powell
Sometimes the strangest sounding movies become cult classics and Q: A winged serpent is a perfect example. When you hear the synopsis, it seems that this is a Godzilla rip-offs and, at times, enough original ideas that it has become a true cult classic for sci-fi monster movie fans. The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl (a winged reptilian monster) takes up residence in the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. He then sets out to eat people and the police have no idea what's going on.
Richard Roundtree plays one of the police officers, Sergeant Powellis one of the first detectives to start finding the bodies, having no idea that the winged monster actually exists. Roundtree is excellent as the nervous detective who realizes that there is a real serial killer on the streets and not just a mythical winged creature terrorizing the entire city. Film critics praised the film for its performances (especially Michael Moriarty) and the retreating monster action.
7 Heroes (2006-2007)
Richard Roundtree played Charles Deveaux
Heroes introduced a young cast who learn they've developed superhuman powers and set out to save the world, or at least save a cheerleader and make sure it doesn't end. With its first season premiering in 2006, the show was a huge success, although later seasons suffered a bit from its reputation when the stories became a little less interesting and the mythology a little too complicated. However, it wasn't just the young cast that carried the series, but some veteran actors as well.
He was someone who wanted to find a way to make the world a better place and trusted the hospice nurse and main character of the show, Peter Petrelli.
Richard Roundtree was one of these veteran actors, playing Charles Deveaux, the wealthy father of Simone Deveaux (Tovny Cypress) and one of the founding members of the Company. He was someone who wanted to find a way to make the world a better place, and at the end of his life, he trusted the hospice nurse and the main character of the show, Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia). Although he died early, he played an extremely important role in everything that happened Heroes.
6 Seize the Day (2022)
Richard Roundtree MV St. James played
Appreciate the day It was Richard Roundtree's last television series before his death in 2023. Ava DuVernay developed and created this series about a couple's relationship, with each episode taking place on a single day during their five years together. The first season followed Gently (Xosha Roquemore) and Evan (Alano Miller), and the second followed Sunday (Joy Bryant) and Ellis (Henry Simmons). Each season featured a Black legend as a guest star.
Appreciate the day
It was the last television appearance for Cicely Tyson and Richard Roundtree.
The first season featured Cicely Tyson as Miss Luma Lee Langston and The second season featured Richard Roundtree as Mandeville “MV” St James. His character in the series is a proud and loving ex-judge who is the father of Bryant's Sunday. Sunday reconnects with Ellis when he returns home to see his aging father. It's a smaller role, but his humor and charisma help make Roundtree's character stand out in a series that's largely received positive reviews and word of mouth.
5 Roots (1977)
Richard Roundtree played Sam Bennett
One of the most important mini-series of the 1970s is the historical epic of 1977 Roots. The series is based on Alex Haley's novel, which tells the story of slavery in the United States and its aftermath. It aired over eight consecutive nights and was a huge ratings success. It also earned 37 Primetime Emmy nominations, winning nine of them. It also won Peabody and Golden Globe Awards and had one of the most-watched finales in television history.
It was easily the most iconic and important television role of his career, which had many options.
The cast was excellent with LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett Jr., Ed Asner, James Earl Hones, Lorne Green, Burl Ives, Cicely Tyson, Ben Vereen and Richard Roundtree among others. Roundtree only appeared in one episode as Sam Bennett. but he was a very memorable addition to the cast. In the series, he draws on Leslie Uggams' novel Kizzy in a section set in the early 19th century. It was easily the most iconic and important television role of his career, which had many options.
4 Brick (2005)
Richard Roundtree played VP Trueman
Years before that director Star Wars: The Last JediRian Johnson proved himself with the neo-noir mystery thriller Brick. The film was unique in that it took place in a contemporary high school, but everyone was talking about it as if it were straight out of Dashiell Hammett's classic pulp mystery novel. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Brendan, a high school student whose girlfriend goes missing and he sets out to find out what happened to her. This puts him in the spotlight of the school's drug dealers and other shady characters.
Roundtree is fantastic in the role, delivering the same rapid-fire jargon as the younger actors.
Although the main cast consisted mainly of people playing high school students, Richard Roundtree also appeared in the film as VP Trueman's assistant. Of course, as the name suggests, this makes him the vice principal of the school, but as with the other characters, he plays more like a crime thriller archetype, this time someone willing to work with Brendan to get information and stuff. was done. Roundtree is fantastic in the role, delivering the same rapid-fire jargon as the younger actors.
3 Se7en (1995)
Richard Roundtree played Martin Talbot
In 1995, David Fincher directed a crime thriller Se7en. The film stars Brad Pitt as David Mills, a young police officer with a beautiful wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) but still neglecting his job as a homicide detective. He teams up with veteran officer Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman, who is disillusioned with his job as a police officer. The two are forced to work together to solve a crime case involving the Seven Deadly Sins.
The killer reveals himself late, and the ending is one of the most shocking in movie history. Richard Roundtree plays District Attorney Martin Talbot in the film More people who want to open this case and suspects are brought before their death. It's a small role, but Roundtree is in great form here as one of the officers pressing David and Somerset to find the killer, which makes things all the more devastating when Se7en's tragic ending rolls around.
2 The Shaft (1971)
Richard Roundtree played John Shaft
Richard Rondtree's second film role was the film that made him an iconic star. and it is the role for which he is best known for the next five decades of his acting career. In 1971, Roundtree played the role of John Shaft in the film mil. John is a private detective and quickly finds himself in trouble when he learns that some gangsters are looking for him. That's when he learns that the daughter of a high-ranking gangster has been kidnapped and asks Shaft for help in finding her.
mil
It was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2000.
The mil franchise continued, initially retaining the role of Roundtree, then Samuel L. Jackson took the role, and Roundtree returned in smaller roles in the new films. Popularized as part of the 1970s blaxploitation genre, the film was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2000, leading Roundtree to enjoy a long film and television career. It was also his only Golden Globe nomination (Most Promising Newcomer – Male).
1 Thelma (2024)
Richard Roundtree played Ben
Richard Roundtree's last film was released after his death. It is a 2024 release Thelma, It stars June Squibb as 93-year-old Thelma, who lives alone in Los Angeles, even though she has a granddaughter who returns often to make sure she has what she needs. However, while she loves her grandson, she remains someone who finds her help annoying and feels she doesn't need constant help because she wants to take care of herself.
The film has a high fresh score of 98% and this is mainly due to the incredible performances of Squibb and Roundtree and their incredible chemistry.
When a con artist pretends to be her grandson and claims he's been arrested, Thelma sends money to get him out, only to learn it's a scam. Frustrated, he sets off to get his money back. Richard Roundtree He plays Ben, a widower living in assisted living and the only person Thelma can find to help him. The film has a high fresh score of 98% and this is mainly due to the incredible performances of Squibb and Roundtree and their incredible chemistry.