Robert Andrew Ri'chard (born January 7, 1983) is an American actor, known for his roles as Bobby Walker on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

sitcom ''

Cousin Skeeter ''Cousin Skeeter'' is an American sitcom, that originally aired on Nickelodeon from 1998 to 2002. It starred Robert Ri'chard as Bobby, a young boy whose life is changed when his strange cousin, Skeeter, comes to stay with his family. With Skeet ...

'' (1998–2002), and as Arnaz Ballard on the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...

sitcom '' One on One'' (2001–2006). He received

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming was an Emmy award given to performers in television programming .During the 1970s and 1980s, guest performers in dramatic specials and regular performers on children's serie ...

for performance in the made-for-television movie ''In His Father's Shoes'' (1998), and

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

nomination for Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress for the 1999 teen drama film, '' Light It Up''. Ri'chard starred in the sports drama film ''

Coach Carter ''Coach Carter'' is a 2005 American biographical sports drama film starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by Thomas Carter. It is based on the true story of Richmond High School basketball coach Ken Carter, who made headlines in 1999 for s ...

'' and the horror film, '' House of Wax'' in 2005. He later played the lead in the stripper drama film '' Chocolate City'' (2015) and its sequel, '' Chocolate City: Vegas Strip'' (2017), and in the erotic drama film, '' Kinky'' (2018).

Early life

Ri'chard was born in

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, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He is of

Louisiana Creole Louisiana Creole is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Also known as Kouri-Vini, it is spoken today by people who may racially identify as white, black, mixed, and Native ...

descent. He attended Palms Middle School in Los Angeles, California.

Career

In 1997, Ri'chard starred in the television special, ''In His Father's Shoes'', which earned him the 1998

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special. Ri'chard later starred in the

sitcom ''

''. He also made a few appearances as himself on the hit Nickelodeon game show, ''

Figure It Out ''Figure It Out'' is an American children's panel game show that aired on Nickelodeon. The original series, hosted by Summer Sanders, ran for four seasons from July 7, 1997, to December 12, 1999. The show was revived in 2012, with Jeff Sutph ...

''. He played Samuel on ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

'', a troubled teen whose brother is in prison for shooting a man. His breakout role was in the TV adaptation of

Anne Rice Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...

's novel, ''

The Feast of All Saints All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether they are know ...

'', where he played the young Marcel who becomes a man within society. He has been professionally acting since the age of 13. He appeared in the movie '' Light It Up'' along with R&B star Usher. Ri'chard has guest starred on many hit shows such as ''

Boston Public ''Boston Public'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high sc ...

'', ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', '' CSI: Miami'', '' CSI: NY'', ''

My Wife and Kids ''My Wife and Kids'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005, with a total of 123 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. The series, produced by Touchstone Television in association with Wayan ...

'', and ''

The Jamie Foxx Show ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Jamie Foxx and Bentley Kyle Evans for The WB. It premiered on August 28, 1996, and ended on January 14, 2001, with a total of 100 episodes over the course of five seasons. A ...

''. In 2000, he starred in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

TV movie '' Alley Cats Strike''. He became popular in 2001 when he got the role of Arnaz Ballard on the

hit sitcom '' One on One'' alongside

Flex Alexander Mark Alexander Knox (born April 15, 1970), better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer. He began his career while appearing on numerous of television sitcoms before portraying single father Flex Washington o ...

and

Kyla Pratt Kyla Alissa Pratt (born September 16, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for providing the voice of Penny Proud in the first Disney Channel animated series, ''The Proud Family'', and portraying Breanna Latrice Barnes in UPN's ''One on ...

. That role was the most significant of his television roles. He continued to play the role until the show ended in 2006. Ri'chard appeared in films ''

'' and '' House of Wax'' in 2005. From 2006 to 2007 he had a recurring role in the CW series ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'' and from 2009 to 2010 in the TBS sitcom '' Meet the Browns'' as Derek Porter, a buffoonish frat student who lived next door to Brown Meadows. He debuted in season 3 as a recurring character, and in the fourth season, was promoted to a main character. Ri'chard was set to star in a series entitled ''Eight Days a Week'', starring

Christina Milian Christina Milian ( , Flores; born September 26, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Following a number of minor television and film roles in the late nineties, Milian made her recording debut on American rapper Ja Rule's 20 ...

and

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''S ...

on the

CW Television Network The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial terrestrial television, broadcast television television network, network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. Th ...

during the fall 2007 season, but it was canceled due to the 2007 Writers Strike before airing. On November 16, 2011, it was announced that Robert Ri'chard was cast as Jamie in the CW series ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

''. In 2015, Ri’chard played stripper in the comedy-drama film, '' Chocolate City''. He later returned to its sequel, '' Chocolate City: Vegas Strip'' (2017). In 2018 he starred in the erotic film, '' Kinky''. He later appeared in films '' Bolden'' (2019), ''

Alone Alone may refer to: * Solitude, a state of seclusion or isolation * Loneliness, negative emotions arising from seclusion Film and television Film * ''Alone'' (1931 French film), by Henri Diamant-Berger * ''Alone'' (1931 Soviet film), by Leonid ...

'' (2020) and '' Sweetwater'' (2023). On television, he appeared in ''

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

'' and '' iZombie''. He had the recurring roles during the final season of Fox soap opera, ''

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

'', and the Amazon comedy series, ''

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

'' alongside ''Cousin Skeeter'' co-star,

Meagan Good Meagan Monique Good (born August 8, 1981) is an American actress and model. She first gained critical attention for her role in the film '' Eve's Bayou'' (1997) prior to landing the role of Nina in the Nickelodeon sitcom '' Cousin Skeeter'' (199 ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Robert 1983 births Living people 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male child actors Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of French descent American people of Spanish descent Louisiana Creole people of Spanish descent Male actors from Los Angeles