Delroy Lindo | |
|---|---|
 Lindo in 2008 | |
| Born | Delroy George Lindo (1952-11-18)18 November 1952 (age 72) Lewisham, London, England |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is an English–American actor.[1] He is the recipient of such accolades as anNAACP Image Award, aSatellite Award, and nominations for aDrama Desk Award, aHelen Hayes Award, aTony Award, twoCritics' Choice Television Awards, and threeScreen Actors Guild Awards.
He moved with his mother toSan Francisco when he was 16, after they had left London and lived in Canada for a few years. Here he completed his education and entered acting. Lindo has played prominent roles in fourSpike Lee films: West Indian Archie inMalcolm X (1992), Woody Carmichael inCrooklyn (1994), Rodney Little inClockers (1995), and Paul inDa 5 Bloods (2020). He was praised for his performance inDa 5 Bloods as aVietnam War veteran, winning theNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and theNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.
Lindo also played Bo Catlett inGet Shorty (1995), Arthur Rose inThe Cider House Rules (1999), and Detective Castlebeck inGone in 60 Seconds (2000). Lindo starred as Alderman Ronin Gibbons in the TV seriesThe Chicago Code (2011), as Winter on the seriesBelieve (2014), and as Adrian Boseman inThe Good Fight (2017–2021).
Delroy Lindo was born in 1952 inLewisham,[2] the son of Jamaican parents. His mother had immigrated to the UK in 1951 to work as a nurse,[3] and his father worked in various jobs.[4] Lindo grew up in nearbyEltham and attended Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys. He became interested in acting as a child when he appeared in anativity play at school.
When he was a teenager, Lindo moved with his mother toToronto. When he was 16, they moved to San Francisco.[5] At the age of 24, Lindo began his studies in acting at theAmerican Conservatory Theater, graduating in 1979.[6]
Lindo made his film debut in 1976 with the CanadianJohn Candy comedyFind the Lady. He played an army sergeant inMore American Graffiti (1979).[7]
For a decade from the early 1980s, Lindo's career was more focused on theatre acting than film, although he has said this was not a conscious decision.[7] In 1982 he debuted on Broadway in"Master Harold"...and the Boys, directed by the play's South African authorAthol Fugard. By 1988, Lindo had earned aTony nomination for his portrayal of Herald Loomis inAugust Wilson'sJoe Turner's Come and Gone.[8][9]
Lindo returned to film in the science fiction filmSalute of the Jugger (1990), which has become a cult classic. Although he had turned downSpike Lee for a role inDo the Right Thing, Lee cast him as Woody Carmichael in the dramaCrooklyn (1994), which brought Lindo notice. His other roles with Lee include West Indian Archie, a psychotic gangster, inMalcolm X, and a starring role as a neighborhood drug dealer inClockers.
Other films in which he has starring roles areBarry Sonnenfeld'sGet Shorty (1995), Ron Howard'sRansom (1996), andSoul of the Game (1996), as the baseball playerSatchel Paige.
In 1998 Lindo co-starred as African-American explorerMatthew Henson, in the TV filmGlory & Honor, directed byKevin Hooks. It portrayed Henson's nearly 20-year partnership with CommanderRobert Peary in Arctic exploration, and their effort to find theGeographic North Pole in 1909. Lindo received a Satellite Award for best actor for his portrayal of Henson. Lindo has continued to work in television, and in 2006 was seen on the short-lived NBC dramaKidnapped.[10]
Lindo had a small role in the 1995 filmCongo, playing the corrupt Captain Wanta.[11] Lindo was not credited for the role. He played an angel in the comedy filmA Life Less Ordinary (1997).
He guest-starred onThe Simpsons in the episode "Brawl in the Family", playing a character named Gabriel.
In the British filmWondrous Oblivion (2003), directed byPaul Morrison, Lindo starred as Dennis Samuels, the father of a Jamaican immigrant family in London in the 1950s. Lindo said he made the film in honor of his parents, who had similarly moved to London in those years.[5]
In 2007, Lindo began an association withBerkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley,California, when he directedTanya Barfield's playThe Blue Door. In the autumn of 2008, Lindo revisitedAugust Wilson's playJoe Turner's Come and Gone, directing a production at the Berkeley Rep.[12] In 2010, he played the role of elderly seer Bynum inDavid Lan's production ofJoe Turner at theYoung Vic Theatre in London.[13]
Lindo was in the main cast of theFox crime dramaThe Chicago Code (2011), theNBC fantasy seriesBelieve, and the ABC soapBlood & Oil (2015). In 2017, Lindo began playing Adrian Boseman in theCBS legal dramaThe Good Fight, a role he would star in for the series' first four seasons and reprise as a guest star in its fifth season.[14][15] Lindo was cast as the lead in anABC drama pilotHarlem's Kitchen in March 2020.[16]
In 2015, Lindo was expected to playMarcus Garvey in a biopic of the black nationalist historical figure that had beenin pre-production for several years.[17][18][19] In recent years Lindo has appeared in the action filmPoint Break (2015), the dramaBattlecreek (2017), the horror filmMalicious (2018), andThe Harder They Fall (2021) asBass Reeves. Lindo appeared inDa 5 Bloods (2020) in another collaboration with Spike Lee. For his role inDa 5 Bloods, Lindo received critical acclaim and a number of accolades.[20][21]
Entertainment Weekly said of Hulu's comedy seriesUnprisoned (2023), "Delroy Lindo is so good it should be illegal."[22]
It was announced in July 2021 that Lindo would star as Mr Nancy in the BritishAmazon Prime miniseries adaptation ofNeil Gaiman'sAnansi Boys alongsideMalachi Kirby.[23] In November, Lindo officially joined the cast of the upcomingMarvel Studios filmBlade in an undisclosed role.[24]
As of 2020, Lindo was developing a screenplay for his directorial debut about theWindrush generation.[25]
Lindo married his wife Nashormeh in 1990. They settled inOakland, California, in 1996, having moved fromNew York City and preferring theSan Francisco Bay Area toLos Angeles. Their son Damiri was born in 2001.[26][27]
Lindo is a football fan and supportsManchester United.[28]
Upon learning more about theWindrush generation, both through his mother's account and his own role as a Jamaican immigrant inWondrous Oblivion, Lindo became inspired to study the subject and history further. In 2014, he completed a master's thesis fromNew York University'sGallatin School.[25]
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Arts and Humanities fromVirginia Union University.[29]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Find the Lady | Sam | |
| 1979 | More American Graffiti | Army Sergeant | |
| 1990 | The Blood of Heroes | Mbulu | |
| Mountains of the Moon | Mabruki | ||
| Bright Angel | Harley | ||
| 1991 | The Hard Way | Captain Brix | |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | West Indian Archie | |
| 1993 | Blood In Blood Out | "Bonafide" | |
| Mr. Jones | Howard | ||
| 1994 | L'exil du roi Behanzin | Behanzin | |
| Crooklyn | Woody Carmichael | ||
| 1995 | Clockers | Rodney Little | |
| Congo | Captain Wanta | Uncredited | |
| Get Shorty | Bo Catlett | ||
| 1996 | Ransom | FBI Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins | |
| Broken Arrow | Colonel Max Wilkins | ||
| Feeling Minnesota | "Red" | ||
| 1997 | A Life Less Ordinary | Jackson | |
| The Devil's Advocate | Phillipe Moyez | Uncredited | |
| 1999 | Pros & Cons | Kyle Pettibone | |
| The Cider House Rules | Arthur Rose | ||
| 2000 | The Book of Stars | Professor | |
| Gone in 60 Seconds | Detective Roland Castlebeck | ||
| Romeo Must Die | Isaak O'Day | ||
| 2001 | The One | Agent Harry Roedecker | |
| Heist | Bobby Blane | ||
| The Last Castle | Brigadier General Jim Wheeler | ||
| 2003 | The Core | Dr. Ed "Braz" Brazzleton | |
| Wondrous Oblivion | Dennis Samuel | ||
| 2005 | Domino | Claremont Williams | |
| Sahara | Carl | ||
| 2007 | This Christmas | Joe Black | |
| 2009 | Up | Beta (voice) | |
| 2011 | The Big Bang | Skeres | |
| 2014 | Cymbeline | Belarius | |
| 2015 | Do You Believe? | Malachi | |
| Point Break | FBI Instructor Hall | ||
| 2017 | Battlecreek | Arthur | |
| 2018 | Malicious | Dr. Clark | |
| 2020 | Da 5 Bloods | Paul | |
| 2021 | The Harder They Fall | Bass Reeves | |
| 2025 | Sinners | Delta Slim | Post-production |
| 2027 | UntitledGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire sequel | TBA | Filming |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Isaac Stubbs | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | A Man Called Hawk | Mark Slater | Episode: "Vendetta" |
| Perfect Witness | Berger | Television film | |
| 1991 | Against the Law | Ben | Episode: "Hoops" |
| 1996 | Soul of the Game | Satchel Paige | Television film |
| 1997 | First Time Felon | Calhoun | Television film |
| 1998 | Glory & Honor | Mathew Henson | Television film |
| 1999 | Strange Justice | Clarence Thomas | Television film |
| 2002 | The Simpsons | Gabriel | Voice; episode: "Brawl in the Family" |
| 2003 | Profoundly Normal | Ricardo Thornton | Television film |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Mr. Lucious | Television film |
| The Exonerated | Delbert Tibbs | Television film | |
| 2006–2007 | Kidnapped | Latimer King | Main cast; 13 episodes |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Detective Victor Moran | Episode: "Baggage" |
| Mercy | Dr. Alfred Parks | Episode: "Can We Get That Drink Now?" | |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Alderman Ronin Gibbons | Main cast; 11 episodes |
| 2013 | Robot Chicken | Dopey Smurf, Scorpion Cashier (voices) | Episode: "Papercut to Aorta" |
| 2014 | Believe | Dr. Milton Winter | Main cast; 13 episodes |
| 2015 | Blood & Oil | "Tip" Harrison | Main cast; 10 episodes |
| 2016 | Marvel's Most Wanted | Dominic Fortune | Unaired pilot |
| 2017–2021 | The Good Fight | Adrian Boseman | Main cast; 40 episodes |
| 2017 | This Is Us | Judge Ernest Bradley | Episode: "The Most Disappointed Man" |
| 2023–2024 | Unprisoned | Edwin Alexander | Main cast; also executive producer |
| TBA | Anansi Boys | Mr Nancy | Upcoming |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Up | Beta (voice) |
