Delroy Lindo

Delroy Lindo
Lindo in 2008
Born	Delroy George Lindo (1952-11-18) 18 November 1952 (age 71) Lewisham, London, England
Education	San Francisco State University (BFA) American Conservatory Theater (MFA) New York University (MFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Nashormeh Lindo ​ (m. 1990)​
Children	1

Delroy George Lindo (born 18 November 1952) is an English-American actor. ^[1] He is the recipient of such accolades as a NAACP Image Award, a Satellite Award, and nominations for a Drama Desk Award, a Helen Hayes Award, a Tony Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

He moved with his mother to San Francisco in the United States 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 four Spike Lee films: West Indian Archie in Malcolm X (1992), Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994), Rodney Little in Clockers (1995), and Paul in Da 5 Bloods (2020). He received universal acclaim for his performance in Da 5 Bloods as a Vietnam War veteran, winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.

Lindo also played Bo Catlett in Get Shorty (1995), Arthur Rose in The Cider House Rules (1999), and Detective Castlebeck in Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). Lindo starred as Alderman Ronin Gibbons in the TV series The Chicago Code (2011), as Winter on the series Believe (2014), and as Adrian Boseman in The Good Fight (2017–2021).

Early life

Delroy Lindo was born in 1952 in Lewisham, south-east London, ^[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 nearby Eltham and attended Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys. He became interested in acting as a child when he appeared in a nativity play at school.

When he was a teenager, Lindo moved with his mother to Toronto, Ontario. When he was 16, they moved to San Francisco. ^[5] At the age of 24, Lindo began his studies in acting at the American Conservatory Theater, graduating in 1979. ^[6]

Career

Lindo made his film debut in 1976 with the Canadian John Candy comedy Find the Lady . He played an army sergeant in More 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 author Athol Fugard. By 1988, Lindo had earned a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Herald Loomis in August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone . ^{[8] [9]}

Lindo returned to film in the science fiction film Salute of the Jugger (1990), which has become a cult classic. Although he had turned down Spike Lee for a role in Do the Right Thing , Lee cast him as Woody Carmichael in the drama Crooklyn (1994), which brought Lindo notice. His other roles with Lee include West Indian Archie, a psychotic gangster, in Malcolm X , and a starring role as a neighborhood drug dealer in Clockers .

Other films in which he has starring roles are Barry Sonnenfeld's Get Shorty (1995), Ron Howard's Ransom (1996), and Soul of the Game (1996), as the baseball player Satchel Paige.

In 1998 Lindo co-starred as African-American explorer Matthew Henson, in the TV film Glory & Honor , directed by Kevin Hooks. It portrayed Henson's nearly 20-year partnership with Commander Robert Peary in Arctic exploration, and their effort to find the Geographic 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 drama Kidnapped . ^[10]

Lindo had a small role in the 1995 film Congo , playing the corrupt Captain Wanta. ^[11] Lindo was not credited for the role. He played an angel in the comedy film A Life Less Ordinary (1997).

He guest-starred on The Simpsons in the episode "Brawl in the Family", playing a character named Gabriel.

In the British film Wondrous Oblivion (2003), directed by Paul 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 with Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, when he directed Tanya Barfield's play The Blue Door. In the autumn of 2008, Lindo revisited August Wilson's play Joe Turner's Come and Gone, directing a production at the Berkeley Rep. ^[12] In 2010, he played the role of elderly seer Bynum in David Lan's production of Joe Turner at the Young Vic Theatre in London. ^[13]

Lindo was in the main cast of the Fox crime drama The Chicago Code (2011), the NBC fantasy series Believe , and the ABC soap Blood & Oil (2015). In 2017, Lindo began playing Adrian Boseman in the CBS legal drama The 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 an ABC drama pilot Harlem's Kitchen in March 2020. ^[16]

In 2015, Lindo was expected to play Marcus Garvey in a biopic of the black nationalist historical figure that had been in pre-production for several years. ^{[17] [18] [19]} Lindo appeared in the action film Point Break (2015), the horror film Malicious (2018), the drama Battlecreek , Da 5 Bloods (2020), another collaboration with Spike Lee, and The Harder They Fall (2021) as Bass Reeves.

For his role in Da 5 Bloods, Lindo received critical acclaim and a number of accolades. ^{[20] [21]}

Entertainment Weekly said of Hulu's comedy series Unprisoned (2023), "Delroy Lindo is so good it should be illegal." ^[22]

Upcoming

It was announced in July 2021 that Lindo would star as Mr Nancy in the British Amazon Prime miniseries adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys alongside Malachi Kirby. ^[23] In November, Lindo officially joined the cast of the upcoming Marvel Studios film Blade in an undisclosed role. ^[24]

As of 2020, Lindo was developing a screenplay for his directorial debut about the Windrush generation. ^[25]

Personal life

Lindo married his wife Nashormeh in 1990. They settled in Oakland, California, in 1996, having moved from New York City and preferring the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles. Their son Damiri was born in 2001. ^{[26] [27]}

Lindo is a football fan and supports Manchester United. ^[28]

Upon learning more about the Windrush generation, both through his mother's account and his own role as a Jamaican immigrant in Wondrous Oblivion , Lindo became inspired to study the subject and history further. In 2014, he completed a master's thesis from New York University's Gallatin School. ^[25]

He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Arts and Humanities from Virginia Union University. ^[29]

Filmography

Film

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	Untitled Ryan Coogler film	TBA	Filming

Television

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
2002	The Simpsons	Gabriel	Voice; episode: "Brawl in the Family"
2003	Profoundly Normal	Ricardo Thornton	Television film
2005	Lackawanna Blues	Mr. Lucious	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	Unprisoned	Edwin Alexander	Also executive producer
TBA	Anansi Boys	Mr Nancy	Upcoming

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Theatre
1975–76	Of Mice and Men		Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre
1979	Spell Number 7	Performer	Negro Ensemble Company
1981–82	Macbeth	Performer	Cincinnati Playhouse
1982–83	"Master Harold"...and the Boys	Willie	Lyceum Theatre
1983–84	Home	Cephus Miles	Hartford Stage Company
	A Lesson from Aloes	Performer	Virginia Stage Company
1983–86	A Raisin in the Sun	Walter Lee Younger	Yale Repertory Theatre [30] Roundabout Theatre Company [31]
1984–85	The Black Branch	Eli Crooner	Actors Theatre of Louisville
	Advice to the Players	Robert Obosa
1985	Much Ado About Nothing	Friar Francis	Shakespeare & Company
1985–86	Union Boys	Performer	Yale Repertory Theatre
1986–88	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Herald Loomis	Huntington Theatre Company Old Globe Theatre Ethel Barrymore Theatre
1988–89	Cobb	Oscar Charleston	Yale Repertory Theatre
1989–90	Miss Evers' Boys	Caleb Humphries	Center Stage
1990–91	Julius Caesar	Caius Cassius	Center Theatre Group
1992–93	Othello	Othello	Great Lakes Theater
1993	The Heliotrope Bouqet by Scott Joplin & Louis Chauvin	Scott Joplin	Playwrights Horizons' Theatre
1998	Othello	Othello	Actors Theatre of Louisville
2008	Agamemnon	Agamemnon	Getty Villa
2009	Things of Dry Hours	Tice Hogan	New York Theatre Workshop
2012	The Exonerated	Delbert Tibbs	Bleecker Street Theater

Video games

Year	Title	Role
2009	Up	Beta (voice)

Awards and nominations

Award	Year [lower-alpha 1]	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
African-American Film Critics Association	2022	Best Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Won	[32]
Austin Film Critics Association	2022	Best Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[33]
Black Reel Awards	2000	Outstanding Supporting Actor	The Cider House Rules	Nominated
		Outstanding Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series	Strange Justice	Nominated
	2006		The Exonerated	Nominated
	2010	Best Voice Performance	Up	Nominated
	2021	Outstanding Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated
Detroit Film Critics Society	2021	Best Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[34]
Drama Desk Award	1988	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Nominated
Celebration of Black Cinema and Television	2021	Ensemble Award	The Harder They Fall	Won	[35]
Chicago Film Critics Association	1995	Best Supporting Actor	Clockers	Nominated
	2020	Best Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated
Critics' Choice Super Awards	2020	Best Actor in an Action Movie	Da 5 Bloods	Won
Critics' Choice Award	2018	Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	The Good Fight	Nominated
	2020			Nominated
	2021	Best Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated
Gotham Awards	2021	Ensemble Tribute Award	The Harder They Fall	Won	[36]
Hollywood Critics Association Awards	2022	Best Cast Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[37]
Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Award	2020	Best Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society	1999	Best Supporting Actor	The Cider House Rules	Nominated
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	2020	Best Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Won
NAACP Image Award	1992	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Malcolm X	Nominated
	1996	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Ransom	Nominated
		Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie	Soul of the Game	Nominated
	2009	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Law and Order: SVU	Won
	2022	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[38]
		Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture		Won
National Board of Review Awards	2021	Best Cast	The Harder They Fall	Won
National Society of Film Critics	1992	Best Supporting Actor	Malcolm X	Nominated
	1995	Best Supporting Actor	Clockers	Nominated
			Get Shorty	Nominated
	2020	Best Actor	Da 5 Bloods	Won
San Diego Film Critics Society	2022	Best Performance by an Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[39]
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	2021	American Riviera Award	Himself	Won
Satellite Award	1999	Best Actor - Miniseries of Television Movie	Glory & Honor	Won
	2000		Strange Justice	Nominated
	2020	Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award	1995	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	Get Shorty	Nominated
	1999	Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture	The Cider House Rules	Nominated
	2020	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Da 5 Bloods	Nominated
Tony Award	1988	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Joe Turner's Come and Gone	Nominated
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	2021	Best Ensemble	The Harder They Fall	Nominated	[40]

Notes

1. The listed year refers to the date of the ceremony, not necessarily the year in which the corresponding season or episode aired.

References

1. Rose, Steve (3 June 2020). "Delroy Lindo: 'British racism is as violent and virulent as America's'". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 March 2021.
2. "Aaliyah 'Best Video' Acceptance Speech 2002 – MOBO". Mobo Awards, Channel 4, YouTube. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021.
3. Chideya, Farai (10 July 2014). "A Child of the Windrush". The World.
4. Zondra Hughes (August 2002), "Are these the 5 best actors in America? - under rated - Entertainment - Don Cheadle, Delroy Lindo, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Ving Rhames And Jeffrey Wright", Ebony .
5. Bunbury, Stephanie (30 May 2004). "It's not just cricket". The Age. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
6. "Delroy Lindo Biography", TV Guide.
7. Daniels, Robert (10 March 2021). "The Essentials: Delroy Lindo Breaks Down His Freshest And Defining Roles". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
8. Rich, Frank (28 March 1988). "Review/Theater; Panoramic History Of Blacks in America In Wilson's 'Joe Turner'". The New York Times .
9. "Delroy Lindo". Playbill . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
10. Bobbin, Jay (18 September 2006). "NBC's 'Kidnapped' Sought By Many". Chicago Tribune .
11. Nemiroff, Perri (2 March 2021). "'Stop Eating My Sesame Cake!': Delroy Lindo Revisits His Unforgettable Scene in 'Congo'". Collider . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
12. Otas, Belinda (23 June 2010). "The Root Interview: Delroy Lindo". The Root . Retrieved 25 February 2022.
13. Lewis, Jessica (16 April 2010). "Lindo Leads Young Vic Revival of JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE; Opens May 27". Broadway World . Retrieved 24 February 2022.
14. Morris, Tony (25 July 2017). "A salute to 'The Good Fight's boss, Delroy Lindo". SBS. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
15. Petski, Denise (5 April 2021). "'The Good Fight': Cush Jumbo & Delroy Lindo Return To Close Out Their Storylines In Season 5". Deadline. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
16. Porter, Rick (5 March 2020). "Delroy Lindo to Lead ABC Drama 'Harlem's Kitchen'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
17. Rao, Sameer (7 December 2015). "Delroy Lindo to Star as Marcus Garvey in Upcoming Biopic". Colorlines. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
18. "MARCUS GARVEY BIOPIC SET TO BE RELEASED IN 2017", The Source, 7 March 2016.
19. "Popular US actor Delroy Lindo to star as Marcus Garvey in a new biopic", The Jamaica Star, 4 December 2015.
20. Hart, Hugh (10 February 2021). "Delroy Lindo: Broken ex-soldier in 'Da 5 Bloods' is 'Shakespearean tragic character'". Los Angeles Times .
21. Davis, Clayton (17 September 2020). "Netflix to Oscar Campaign Delroy Lindo for Best Actor for 'Da 5 Bloods' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 24 February 2022.
22. Baldwin, Kristen. "Delroy Lindo is so good in 'UnPrisoned,' it should be illegal". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
23. White, Peter (28 July 2021). "Delroy Lindo To Star In Amazon's 'Anansi Boys'". Deadline Hollywood .
24. Kit, Borys (19 November 2021). "'Blade': Delroy Lindo Joins Mahershala Ali in Marvel Studios' Vampire Adventure (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
25. Secret, Mosi (20 April 2021). "The Long, Occasionally Dark, and Ultimately Triumphant Career of Delroy Lindo". GQ. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
26. Zack, Jessica (17 June 2020). "Oakland's Delroy Lindo dons MAGA hat for complex role in Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods'". Datebook. San Francisco. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
27. Guthmann, Edward (7 October 2001). "Versatile East Bay actor Delroy Lindo yearns to play more than thugs, heavies". SF Gate . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
28. Tomko, Jeff (27 June 2017). "Interview with Hollywood Veteran Delroy Lindo". Muscle & Fitness. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
29. "In Conversation with Delroy Lindo". SCAD Savannah Film Festival. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.
30. Gussow, Mel (9 November 1983). "Stage—"A Raisin In the Sun" at Yale". The New York Times . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
31. Richards, David (17 November 1986). "Shining 'Raisin' In the Sun'". The Washington Post . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
32. Inman, DeMicia (2022-01-18). "'The Harder They Fall' Wins Big At African American Film Critics Association Awards". VIBE.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
33. Anderson, Erik (January 4, 2022). "Austin Film Critics nominations: 'The Power of the Dog,' 'Dune,' 'Licorice Pizza' lead". AwardsWatch. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
34. Jamieson, Doug (December 6, 2021). "Cyrano Named Best Picture by Detroit Film Critics Society". filmotomy.com.
35. Hammond, Pete (10 November 2022). "Will Smith, Ava DuVernay & Antoine Fuqua Among New Honorees For CCA's Celebration Of Black Cinema & Television". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 21 November 2023.
36. Grobar, Matt (2021-10-18). "'The Harder They Fall' Cast To Receive Ensemble Tribute At Gotham Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
37. "The 5th Annual HCA Awards". Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between. 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
38. Lewis, Hilary (2022-01-18). "NAACP Image Awards: 'Harder They Fall,' 'Insecure' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2022-01-18.
39. PhiladelphiaRowHomeMagazine (2021-11-03). "KRIMES, PAPER & GLUE, and KING RICHARD Win Coveted Audience Awards at 30th Philadelphia Film Festival". Philadelphia RowHome Magazine. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
40. "2021 WAFCA Award Winners - The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA)". www.wafca.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.

External links

• Delroy Lindo at IMDb
• Delroy Lindo at the Internet Broadway Database
• Mosi Secret, "The Long, Occasionally Dark, and Ultimately Triumphant Career of Delroy Lindo", GQ , 20 April 2021