''True Identity'' is a 1991 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Charles Lane and starring

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British Jamaicans, British-Jamaican comedian, actor and writer. He gained success as a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in ' ...

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

and

Anne-Marie Johnson Anne-Marie Johnson (born July 18, 1960) is an American actress and impressionist. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Nadine Hudson–Thomas in ''What's Happening Now!!'' (1985–1988), Althea Tibbs in '' In the Heat of the Night'' (1988� ...

. The plot revolves around a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

man (Henry), who disguises himself as a white man to escape the mob.

Plot

A struggling black actor named Miles Pope is on a plane ride home from a failed acting audition. Miles meets a producer named Leland Carver who accidentally reveals his mafia ties when he believes that their plane is about to crash. However, the plane does not crash and Miles is the only man who knows Leland's past. To escape, Miles persuades his makeup artist friend Duane to transform him into a Caucasian male. As Miles is packing his bags to get out of town, a hitman walks in and a struggle ensues. Miles kills the hitman, but through a comedy of errors he is mistaken for the hitman. Miles must assume a parade of identities to stay one step ahead of the mafia on his trail.

Cast

as Miles Pope *

as Leland Carver *

as Kristi *

James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...

as himself * Charles Lane as Duane *

Peggy Lipton Margaret Ann Lipton (August 30, 1946 – May 11, 2019) was an American model, actress, and singer. She made appearances in many of the most popular television shows of the 1960s before she landed her defining role as flower child Julie Barnes i ...

as Rita *

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the early 2020s. His feature film debut, ''The Story of a Three-Day Pa ...

as Taxi Driver *

J. T. Walsh James Thomas Patrick Walsh (September 28, 1943 – February 27, 1998) was an American character actor. His many films include: '' Tin Men'' (1987), '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987), ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), '' Hoffa'' (1992), '' Nixon'' (199 ...

as Houston * Andreas Katsulas as Anthony *

Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. Pendleton is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen, whose six-decade career has included roles in films i ...

as Othello's Director *

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician. Over his career he has received a Grammy Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...

as Harvey Cooper *

Bill Raymond William Joseph Raymond (born September 9, 1938) is an American actor who has appeared in film, television, theater and radio drama since the 1960s. Career He is featured in the second and fifth seasons of the HBO drama ''The Wire'' as "The Gre ...

as Grunfield *

Darnell Williams Darnell Williams (born 3 March 1955) is a British television actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Jesse Hubbard on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' from 1981 to 1988, and from 2008 to 2011, a role which has earned him two Daytime ...

as Tyler *

Christopher Collins Christopher Charles Collins (born Christopher Lawrence Latta; August 30, 1949 – June 12, 1994) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known as the voice of Cobra Commander in the '' G.I. Joe'' animated series and Starscrea ...

as Frank LaMotta *

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a popular music, pop music ...

as Martha * Fantasia Owens as Ruth

Reception

The film received mediocre reviews. Caryn James of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that Lane's direction was "tame and conventional" and that although Henry had "obvious" talent, ''True Identity'' does not take enough advantage of it".

commented on the film retrospectively in 2010: "When I went to America to do ''True Identity'' in 1991, I realised they had their own

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

, they didn’t need me pretending to be Richard Pryor, so I had a massive career rethink." The film was not a box office success.

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, true_identity, True Identity 1991 films 1991 comedy films Touchstone Pictures films Films with screenplays by Andy Breckman African-American comedy films Films directed by Charles Lane (filmmaker) 1990s English-language films 1990s American films Films about race and ethnicity English-language comedy films