Roger Guenveur Smith
Roger Guenveur Smith | |
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Born | Berkeley, California,U.S. | July 27, 1955
Education | |
Occupation(s) | Actor, director, writer |
Years active | 1988–present |
Spouses |
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Children | 4 |
Roger Guenveur Smith(born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his collaborations withSpike Lee.[1]
Early life[edit]
Smith was born on July 27, 1955, inBerkeley, California,the son of Helen Guenveur, adentist,and Sherman Smith, ajudge.He attendedLoyola High Schoolin Los Angeles, and graduated fromOccidental College(American Studies) inLos Angeles.He then studied atYale UniversityinNew Haven, Connecticut,where he successfully auditioned for the Drama School and switched his pursuit of a graduate degree in history. Additionally, Smith studied at theKeskidee Arts CentreinLondon, England.
Career[edit]
In film, Smith has collaborated withSpike Leeon several works. He has appeared in films such asSchool Daze,[1]Do the Right Thing,[1]King of New York, Panther,Malcolm X,Poetic Justice,Get on the Bus,Eve's Bayou,He Got Game,andSummer of Sam.During the 1990s, he had a recurring role onA Different World.
In 1996, he starred in the self-written and producedA Huey P. Newton Story,a one-man theatre performance based on the life ofBlack Panther PartyfounderHuey P. Newton.Smith received anObie Award,and a performance was later filmed bySpike Leeand released in 2001.
In addition to his performances in major studio productions, Smith continues to work in and support independent film projects. In 2003, he had a starring role in theSteven Soderbergh/George ClooneyTV seriesK-StreetonHBO.Also in 2003, Smith read in theHBOdocumentary,Unchained Memories:Readings from the Slave Narratives;the film, based on interviews conducted by theWPAin the 1930s with formerly enslaved African Americans, is a compilation ofslave narrativeswith actors emulating the original conversation with the interviewer. Smith was also the voice of Bao-Dur in the video gameStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords.He portrayed a corrupt detective in the martial arts/crime filmFist of the Warrior,alongsideHo-Sung PakandSherilyn Fenn.Smith starred withLaurence FishburneandJeff Goldblumin the 1992 filmDeep Cover.He also played a villain inAll About the Benjamins(2002) withIce Cube.In 2000, he portrayed Agent Schreck in thefirst installmentof theFinal Destinationhorror films. In 2006, he played the main villain in thestraight-to-videoactionerMercenary for Justice,oppositeSteven Seagal.Smith was in the 2007 filmAmerican GangsterwithDenzel WashingtonandRussell Crowe,in which he played the role of "Nate",Frank Lucas'sarmy connection in Vietnam. Most recently he played the role of "Isaiah" in the 2016 filmThe Birth of a Nation,a film about the life of Nat Turner.
Smith also had a recurring role in the hit HBO seriesOz.
Juan and John,written and performed by Guenveur Smith, is based on baseball's most famous fight--San Francisco GiantspitcherJuan MarichalclubbingJohn Roseboroof theLos Angeles Dodgerswith his bat during a 1965 battle for the pennant atCandlestick Park—which traumatized the playwright as a child.[2]
Smith portrayed American black leaderBooker T. Washingtonin the 2020NetflixminiseriesSelf Made,based on the life ofMadame C. J. Walker.
Personal life[edit]
Smith works and resides inLos Angeles, California,and also resides inNew York City.He is divorced from Carolina Smith, the mother of his adult daughter. He and his wife, LeTania Kirkland Smith, have three children.[3]
Filmography[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | School Daze | Yoda | |
1989 | Do the Right Thing | Smiley | |
1990 | King of New York | Tanner | |
1992 | Deep Cover | Eddie | |
1992 | Malcolm X | Rudy | |
1993 | Poetic Justice | Heywood | |
1995 | Panther | Pruitt | |
1995 | Tales from the Hood | Rhodie | |
1996 | Get on the Bus | Gary | |
1997 | Eve's Bayou | Lenny Mereaux | |
1997 | Oz | Huseni Mershah | |
1998 | He Got Game | Big Time Willie | |
1999 | Summer of Sam | Detective Curt Atwater | |
1999 | Facade | Henson | |
2000 | Final Destination | Agent Schreck | |
2001 | A Huey P. Newton Story | Huey P. Newton | TV movie |
2002 | All About the Benjamins | Julian Ramose | |
2003 | Shade | Marlo | |
2004 | Justice | Carter | |
2004 | Joy Road | Charles Blocker | |
2006 | Fatwa | Samir Al-Faied | |
2006 | Mercenary for Justice | Anthony Chapel | Video |
2006 | Confessions | Father Jeffrey | |
2006 | God's Waiting List | Solomon Corbin | |
2007 | Fist of the Warrior | Det. Craig Barnes | |
2007 | I Believe in America | Cesar | |
2007 | The Take | Dr. Phineas | |
2007 | American Gangster | Nate | |
2007 | Cover | Kevin Wilson | |
2009 | Fighting | Jack Dancing | |
2009 | The Rothstein Diamond | Walter | |
2010 | Caller ID | Blake | |
2010 | Mooz-Lum | Hassan Mahdi | |
2010 | Better Mus' Come | Prime Minister | |
2011 | The Son of No One | Hanky | |
2011 | CornerStore | Earl | |
2011 | Abduction | Mr. Miles | |
2011 | Lost Revolution | Cesar | |
2012 | In the Hive | Paris | |
2013 | Water & Power | Turnvill | |
2013 | They Die by Dawn | Jourdon Anderson | |
2015 | Dope | Austin Jacoby | |
2015 | Dutch Book | Cornelius Parks | |
2015 | But Not for Me | Raymond Little | |
2015 | Supermodel | Max | |
2015 | Chi-Raq | Red, White, and Blue Insurance Salesman | |
2016 | The Birth of a Nation | Isaiah | |
2016 | Dirty | Detective Berg | |
2016 | Why Lie? Beer, Woman, Chicken Wings | Dubs Miguel | |
2017 | Bitch | Steven Sheriff | |
2017 | The Queen of Hollywood Blvd. | Duke | |
2017 | The Clapper | Dr. Rogers B. Hay | |
2017 | Rodney King | Rodney King | |
2017 | Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks | Paul Sydney | |
2017 | Marshall | Walter White | |
2018 | The Choir Director | Trustee Jonathan Smith | |
2018 | No More Mr Nice Guy | El Gato | |
2018 | The Other Side | Martin | |
2018 | Burning Shadow | Mr. Jones | |
2018 | I'll See You Around | Michael Gomez | |
2018 | Behind the Movement | Rosa Parks husband | |
2020 | Carl Weber's Influence | Bradley Hudson | |
2022–23 | All Rise | Judge Marshall Thomas | |
2022 | Till | Dr. T.R.M. Howard |
References[edit]
- ^abc"Roger Guenveur Smith".Movies & TV Dept.The New York Times.2013. Archived fromthe originalon October 26, 2013.
- ^Walat, Kathryn (December 2009)."The Personal Historical: ROGER GUENVEUR SMITH".The Brooklyn Rail.
- ^"Of Many Worlds".RetrievedJune 29,2018.
External links[edit]
- 1955 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- Occidental College alumni
- Writers from Berkeley, California
- David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni
- Male actors from Berkeley, California
- American male dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
- 21st-century American male writers