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 a Virginia lawyer and politician who became a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, Early resigned his U.S. Army commissi ...

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 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, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'' 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 drama series, '' Being Mary Jane''.

Early life

Born and raised in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, Brooks studied

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

, dance, and voice work at Interlochen Academy of Arts in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. 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 and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

Theater Conference production of August Wilson's '' Fences'', which gained him a positive reputation. A subsequent move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

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 staff of a single police station loca ...

'' 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'' (1985), '' The Hidden'' (1987), '' Off Limits'' (1988), '' Shakedown'' (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'' (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 Paul Robinette on ''

''. However, the actor would constantly find himself alternating between the feature films, television, and the stage. After appearing in '' The Substitute'' 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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

). 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 disease,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 caused temporarily by the use ...

. Brooks returned to television for the short-lived series '' G vs E'' in 1999. In 2001 he made a guest appearance in '' NYPD Blue''. Brooks is also well known by some

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

fans for his appearance on Joss Whedon's ''

'', as a

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

named

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

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-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 was starring as J ...

, with whom Brooks had worked on ''Firefly''. In addition to his film work, Brooks also 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 August Wilson, at Geva Theatre Center in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

. He played

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

in the 2013 PBS series ''The Abolitionists''. Brooks stars as Patrick in the BET original series '' Being Mary Jane''. It premiered July 2, 2013. Brooks stars 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 le ...

'', season 3, "The Devil's Share". Brooks played Warden Wolfe in season 4 of '' The Flash'', and Dwight Wise in Seasons 5 and 6 of the show '' Bosch''. Brooks plays Augustus Barringer on the UMC network comedy ''

The Rich and the Ruthless ''The Rich and the Ruthless'' is an American streaming television comedy series created, produced and directed by Victoria Rowell. The series stars Rowell and Richard Brooks. The series is loosely based on Rowell's novels ''Secrets of a Soap Opera ...

'' (2017–present).

Filmography

Film/Movie

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 male 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 21st-century African-American people