Richard L. Brooks (born December 9, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and director. He played the eccentric bounty hunter

Jubal Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his ...

in the space-western ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'' and assistant district attorney

Paul Robinette Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

in the NBC drama series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' from 1990 to 1993, later appearing as a defense attorney on that same show. In 2013, he began starring as Patrick Patterson in the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

drama series, ''

Being Mary Jane ''Being Mary Jane'' is an American drama television series created by Mara Brock Akil and starring Gabrielle Union. The pilot aired on July 2, 2013, as an hour-long television film across a 90-minute timeslot, before resuming as a weekly series ...

''.

Early life

Born and raised in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Brooks studied

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...

work at Interlochen Academy of Arts in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Later, he moved to New York City and was a student of the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School.

Career

While in New York, Brooks performed in the

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

Theater Conference production of

August Wilson August Wilson (né Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called '' ...

's ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'', which gained him a positive reputation. A subsequent move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

found the actor landing television roles in ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the Metropolitan Police Department staff ...

'' and ''The Russians Are Coming'', along with made-for-TV features such as ''Badge of the Assassin'' (1985) and ''Resting Place'' (1986). With ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...

'' (1985), '' The Hidden'' (1987), '' Off Limits'' (1988), ''

Shakedown Shakedown or Shake Down may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational ...

'' (1988), and '' Shocker'' (1989), Brooks began his work in the world of feature films. Brooks appeared as OD in the award-winning film ''

84C MoPic ''84C MoPic'' (also known as ''84 Charlie MoPic''; released in the Philippines as ''Platoon 2'') is a 1989 American independent found footage war drama film written and directed by Patrick Sheane Duncan. It is set during the Vietnam War as a ...

'' (1989), directed by

Patrick Sheane Duncan Patrick Sheane Duncan (born 1947) is an American writer, film producer and director. A graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale Charter Township, Michigan, Duncan's career has been influenced by his Vietnam War experiences, which ...

. Throughout the 1990s, most of his popularity came from his widespread exposure in his role as

on ''

''. His roles alternated between feature films, television, and the stage. After appearing in ''

The Substitute ''The Substitute'' is a 1996 American action thriller film directed by Robert Mandel and starring Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson, Marc Anthony, William Forsythe, Raymond Cruz and Luis Guzmán. It was filmed at Miami Senior High School. Pl ...

'' and playing the villain in '' The Crow: City of Angels'' (both 1996), Brooks opted to try his hand at directing, and the result was ''Johnny B Good'' (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

). It is about a young, urban black man who makes a positive change after suffering

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

. Brooks returned to television for the short-lived series '' G vs E'' in 1999. In 2001, he made a guest appearance in ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

''. Brooks' performance on

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

's ''

'' as

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for a bail bondsman who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as a bail enforcement agent or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated ...

in the existentialist series finale " Objects in Space" gained him many fans. He also appeared as Hasdrabul Skaras in "Slayer", the fifth episode of the series '' Brimstone'' and as Detective Ehrle in the short-lived Fox series ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

'', alongside

Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...

, with whom Brooks had worked on ''Firefly''. Brooks founded his own production company, Flat Top Entertainment LLC. At the dawn of the millennium, Brooks released his first solo R&B album, ''Smooth Love'', on Flat Top Records. In March 2011, Brooks played the role of Harmond Wilkes in '' Radio Golf'', written by

, at

Geva Theatre Center Geva Theatre Center is a regional, not-for-profit, professional theatre company based in Rochester, New York. It is housed in an 1868 building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in Rochester at 75 Woodbury Boulevard near ...

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He played

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

in the 2013 PBS series ''The Abolitionists''. Brooks starred as Patrick in the

original series ''

''. It premiered July 2, 2013. He starred as Lead Marshal Pollack in ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'', season 3, "The Devil's Share". He played Warden Gregory Wolfe in season 4 of ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'', and Dwight Wise in Seasons 5 and 6 of the show '' Bosch''. Brooks played Augustus Barringer on the UMC network comedy '' The Rich and the Ruthless'' (2017–2021).

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Richard American male stage actors American male film actors American male singers American male television actors African-American film directors American rhythm and blues singers Singers from Ohio Male actors from Cleveland Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Film directors from Michigan Film directors from Ohio 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 1962 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century African-American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors