Delroy Lindo
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
On the stage and on the big screen, Delroy Lindo projects a powerful
presence that is almost impossible to ignore. Alhough it was not his
first film role, his portrayal of the bipolar numbers boss West Indian
Archie in Spike Lee's
Malcolm X (1992) is what first
attracted attention to Lindo's considerable talents. Since then, his
star has slowly been on the rise.
The son of Jamaican parents, Lindo was born and raised in Lewisham,
England, United Kingdom, until his teens when he and his mother, a
nurse, moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A little later, they moved to
the United States, where Lindo would graduate from the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. After graduation, Lindo landed
his first film role, that of an Army sergeant in
More American Graffiti (1979).
However, he did not appear in another film for ten years. In the
meantime, Lindo worked on stage and, in 1982, debuted on Broadway in
"Master Harold and the Boys" directed by the play's author,
Athol Fugard. In 1988, Lindo earned a Tony
nomination for his portrayal of Harald Loomis in Joe Turner's Come and
Gone.
Though he was obviously a talented actor with a bright future, Lindo's
career stalled. Wanting someone more aggressive and appreciative of his
talents, Lindo changed agents (he'd had the same one through most of
his early career). It was a smart move, but it was director
Spike Lee who provided the boost Lindo's
career needed. The director was impressed enough with Lindo to cast him
as patriarch Woody Carmichael in Lee's semi-autobiographical comedy
Crooklyn (1994).
For Lindo, 1996 was a big year. He landed major supporting roles in six
features, including a heavy in
Barry Sonnenfeld's
Get Shorty (1995), another villainous
supporting role in Lee's
Clockers (1995), and still another bad
guy in
Feeling Minnesota (1996). Lest
one believe that Lindo is typecast into forever playing drug lords and
gangsters, that year he also played baseball player Leroy "Satchel"
Paige in the upbeat
Soul of the Game (1996)
(a.k.a. Baseball in Black and White), for which he won a NAACP Image
Award nomination. Since then, the versatile Lindo has shown himself
equally adept at playing characters on both sides of the law. In 1997,
he played an angel opposite Holly Hunter in
Danny Boyle's offbeat romantic fantasy
A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
and, in 2009, a vengeful cop in an episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
Lindo graduated from San Francisco State University in 2004 with a
degree in Cinema.
presence that is almost impossible to ignore. Alhough it was not his
first film role, his portrayal of the bipolar numbers boss West Indian
Archie in Spike Lee's
Malcolm X (1992) is what first
attracted attention to Lindo's considerable talents. Since then, his
star has slowly been on the rise.
The son of Jamaican parents, Lindo was born and raised in Lewisham,
England, United Kingdom, until his teens when he and his mother, a
nurse, moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A little later, they moved to
the United States, where Lindo would graduate from the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. After graduation, Lindo landed
his first film role, that of an Army sergeant in
More American Graffiti (1979).
However, he did not appear in another film for ten years. In the
meantime, Lindo worked on stage and, in 1982, debuted on Broadway in
"Master Harold and the Boys" directed by the play's author,
Athol Fugard. In 1988, Lindo earned a Tony
nomination for his portrayal of Harald Loomis in Joe Turner's Come and
Gone.
Though he was obviously a talented actor with a bright future, Lindo's
career stalled. Wanting someone more aggressive and appreciative of his
talents, Lindo changed agents (he'd had the same one through most of
his early career). It was a smart move, but it was director
Spike Lee who provided the boost Lindo's
career needed. The director was impressed enough with Lindo to cast him
as patriarch Woody Carmichael in Lee's semi-autobiographical comedy
Crooklyn (1994).
For Lindo, 1996 was a big year. He landed major supporting roles in six
features, including a heavy in
Barry Sonnenfeld's
Get Shorty (1995), another villainous
supporting role in Lee's
Clockers (1995), and still another bad
guy in
Feeling Minnesota (1996). Lest
one believe that Lindo is typecast into forever playing drug lords and
gangsters, that year he also played baseball player Leroy "Satchel"
Paige in the upbeat
Soul of the Game (1996)
(a.k.a. Baseball in Black and White), for which he won a NAACP Image
Award nomination. Since then, the versatile Lindo has shown himself
equally adept at playing characters on both sides of the law. In 1997,
he played an angel opposite Holly Hunter in
Danny Boyle's offbeat romantic fantasy
A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
and, in 2009, a vengeful cop in an episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
Lindo graduated from San Francisco State University in 2004 with a
degree in Cinema.