Biography
Richard Roundtree (July 9, 1942 – October 24, 2023) was an American actor. He is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2019. For his performance in the original film, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972. He reprised the role of Shaft in the movie Shaft (2019), starring Samuel L. Jackson.
Known For
Complete Filmography

Thelma
2024
as Ben
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to recla...

Thelma
2024
In Memory Of
When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to recla...

Moving On
2023
as Ralph
Two old friends reconnect at their friend's funeral, and decide to exact revenge on the widower who wronged all three of them decades earlier.

A Choice of Weapons: Inspired by Gordon Parks
2021
as Self
This documentary chronicles renaissance man Gordon Parks’ stellar career from staff photographer for LIFE magazine, through his artistic development p...

Haunting of the Mary Celeste
2020
as Tulls
Rachel, a concerned researcher, and her team have set out to sea to prove that the disappearance of a family and crew from a merchant ship was for rea...

A Family Reunion Christmas
2019
as Jebidiah McKellan
M'Dear and her sisters struggle to keep their singing act together before a church Christmas pageant while Grandpa teaches the kids a valuable lesson.

Harlem to Hollywood
2019
as Self
An insider's look at the most famous person most people have never heard of: singer-songwriter Billy Vera.

Shaft
2019
as John Shaft, Sr.
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he ne...

What Men Want
2019
as Skip Davis
Magically able to hear what men are thinking, a sports agent uses her newfound ability to turn the tables on her overbearing male colleagues.

Collar
2015
as Alonzo Sparks
While his life begins to crumble, TJ Williams's fast fading future is bartered for political gain by his former best friend and boss, a mayor with her...

Django Unchained
2012
Thanks
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Retreat!
2012
as Henshaw
Inspired by war films from the 1950's, Retreat! tells the story of nine U.S. Soldiers who were forced to retreat into unknown territories deep in the ...

The Confidant
2010
as Claude
The feature weaves an intricate tale about childhood best-friends that have an unusually strong bond and a more intriguing secret. Both young men are ...

Whatever She Wants
2010
as Theodore Wolf
Whatever She Wants is the story about one woman s determination to rediscover who she really is... Vivian Wolf (Vivica A. Fox) has suffered one heartb...

Diary of a Single Mom
2009
as Lou Bailey
Ocean a 27-year-old highly-motivated mother has found her calling in managing a neighborhood apartment building along with the residents and the probl...

Set Apart
2009
as J.T.
Four troubled, inner city kids get a western-style shot at redemption when a cowboy pastor invites them to his country ranch and offers them a chance ...

Ladies of the House
2008
as Stan
When three women are asked to refurbish a house for their church, they find that they must break down their own self-perception in order to build some...

Final Approach
2008
as Gary Markash
FBI hostage rescue team leader Jack Bender has been sacked for not being a team player, and months later he finds himself in the ultimate hostage nigh...

Speed Racer
2008
as Ben Burns
Speed Racer is a young and brilliant racing driver. When corruption in the racing leagues costs his brother his life, Speed must team up with the poli...

Point of Entry
2007
as Miles Porter
A young woman named Katherine Alden becomes the unwanted victim of her new handsome next door neighbor Caleb, after her and her husband and son moves ...

All The Days Before Tomorrow
2007
as El Doctor
Wes is awakened in the middle of the night by an unexpected phone call. It’s Alison, the girl who could have been, who is flying home to Tokyo in the ...

Brick
2006
as Assistant V.P. Trueman
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

Wild Seven
2006
as Lee Marvin / Cleetus Woods
In this darkly karmic vision of Arizona, a man who breathes nothing but ill will begins a noxious domino effect as quickly as an uncontrollable virus ...

Painkiller Jane
2005
as Colonel Watts
Jane, a young soldier, is exposed to a biochemical weapon that endows her with self-healing powers. She uses her abilities to fight crime while eludin...

Max Havoc: Curse Of The Dragon
2004
as Tahsi
A former kickboxer returns to his fighting ways when he encounters a gang in Guam.

Vegas Vampires
2003
as Rick Apping
A series of brutal murders at several top nightclubs have left the Las Vegas police department baffled. But when they discover that the killers are a ...

Men Cry in the Dark
2003
The future has never looked better for Derrick Reed. Bachelorhood is great, he has a group of guys he can really call friends, and he's the publisher ...

Boat Trip
2002
as Felicia's Dad
Two guys whose love lives are a wreck look forward to finding ladies on the high seas. Unfortunately, they've mistakenly been booked on a gay cruise.

BaadAsssss Cinema
2002
as Self
With archive film clips and interviews, this brief look at a frequently overlooked historical period of filmmaking acts as an introduction rather than...

Al's Lads
2002
as Boom-Boom
Three Englishmen working as waiters on a cruise ship in 1927 are given a chance to work for the Al Capone gang.

Undercover Brother
2002
as John Shaft (archive footage) (uncredited)
An Afro-American organization, the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D., is in permanent fight against a white organization "The Man" defending the values of the bl...

Joe and Max
2002
as Jack Blackburn
True story of boxers Joe Louis and Max Schmeling and their enduring friendship.

Hawaiian Gardens
2001
as M.O.
A romantic drama/detective story about big-time copyright fraud and a bigger-time crush. A complicated love triangle plays out to a dramatic climax, t...

Corky Romano
2001
as Howard Shuster
Corky Romano is a bumbling, simpleton, veterinarian and the youngest, outcast son of an aging gangster, named Pops Romano, who calls upon Corky to inf...

Antitrust
2001
as Lyle Barton
A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatc...

Shaft
2000
as "Uncle" John Shaft
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail...

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
1999
as Booker T. Washington
Tells the story of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two African-American (they preferred "colored") sisters who both lived past the age of 100. They grew up o...

Steel
1997
as Uncle Joe
When a renegade military reject puts new superweapons in dangerous hands, John Henry Irons becomes Steel. Wearing body armor, wielding a fearsome elec...

George of the Jungle
1997
as Kwame
Deep in the African jungle, a baby named George, the sole survivor of a plane crash, is raised by gorillas. George grows up to be a buff and lovable k...

Any Place But Home
1997
as Gil Oberman
A businessman's son is kidnappped, but the kidnapper's sister-in-law and her husband are opposed to the plan. They take the boy and the ransom money t...

Original Gangstas
1996
as Slick
A violent street gang, the Rebels, rule the streets of Gary, Indiana. The Rebels shoot Marvin Bookman, a store-keeper, for giving the police informati...

Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
as Cleve
A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation.

Theodore Rex
1995
as Commissioner Lynch
In an alternate futuristic society, a tough female police detective is paired with a talking dinosaur to find the killer of dinosaurs and other prehis...

Se7en
1995
as Talbot
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film t...

Ballistic
1995
as Harold
Jesse Gavin is an undercover cop, part of an elite police team and highly skilled in lethal martial arts! She is suspended from the force after a witn...

Bonanza: Under Attack
1995
as Jacob
After a rogue band of Pinkerton detectives led by ruthless Charley Siringo bushwhacks reformed outlaw Frank James, he seeks sanctuary on the Ponderosa...

Shadows of Desire
1994
as Dunc
A woman is torn between her love for a gentle man, and her secret passion for his dangerous brother.

Blind Man's Bluff
1994
as Gray
A young heiress, Bianca, blind following an accident, stays in a beautiful hotel in the Caribbean. The business is managed by Anna and her beautiful n...

Mind Twister
1994
as Frank Webb
Two former exotic dancers devise a plot to expose a physciatrist as the murderer of their friend.

Black as the Heart
1994
as Rod
Lawyer Valentino Bruio goes to the "Sun City" bar for a meeting and on leaving the club he meets Ray who submits to him the case of his son who myster...

Sins of the Night
1993
as Les
Jack Nietsche is a hardened ex-con who now works for an P.I. firm, run by Ted Quincy. Quincy's ex-lover is Roxie, now wife to godfather Tony Falcone. ...

Bonanza: The Return
1993
as Jacob Briscoe
A man with a grudge against the late Little Joe seeks revenge on the Cartwrights and attempts to take over the Ponderosa.

Amityville: A New Generation
1993
as Pauli
Keyes, a successful photographer who lives at the border of Skid Row, notices a homeless man with a strange old mirror. Immediately struck by it for r...

Deadly Rivals
1993
as Agent Peterson
A physicist involved in classified military research meets a woman who he begins to suspect is a spy. Her sister is involved with the mob and one of t...

Body of Influence
1993
as Harry Reams
A successful psychiatrist has his world turned upside-down by the appearance of a mystery woman who cannot recall her own past...

Christmas in Connecticut
1992
as Prescott
Elizabeth is the star of a successful cooking show and author of several cookbooks. But when her manager, Alexander sees forest ranger Jefferson, who ...

Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight
1992
as Samuel Stark
Don Wilson returns to the screen as a man unjustly accused of a brutal crime. Within the prison he must fight for survival, freedom and justice.

A Time to Die
1991
as Captain Ralph Phipps
A female photographer teams up with a policeman to try to bring down a corrupt police officer who framed her for drug possession and during her invest...

Gypsy Angels
1990
as Dr. Carlson
Vanna White is a stripper who falls for a stunt pilot who develops amnesia after a crash.

Bad Jim
1990
as July
A cowpoke buys Billy the Kid's horse and, upon riding it, becomes an incorrigible outlaw himself.

The Banker
1989
as Lloyd
High-priced prostitutes are being systematically murdered, their corpses mutilated, and a bizarre South American symbol painted in blood is found at t...

Crack House
1989
as Lt. Johnson
Rick and Melissa are a pair of young lovers hoping to get out of the slums for good and escape the poverty and crime their families and friends have g...

Night Visitor
1989
as Captain Crane
A teenager insists he saw a satanist kill the call girl next door, and tries to prove it.

Miami Cops
1989
as Gamble
Richard Roundtree takes on thugs on the streets of Miami.

Angel III: The Final Chapter
1988
as Lt. Doniger
Molly Stewart is now a successful freelance photographer in New York, and after seeing a familiar woman at an art gallery, begins to suspect that she ...

Party Line
1988
as Captain Barnes
A rich brother and sister are crazed killers. She lures men into her bed, and he attacks them and murders them. A detective is assigned to find the ki...

Getting Even
1988
as Dundee
After being betrayed by a fellow Marine and spending five years in a POW camp, homeless Vietnam vet Roy Evans reunites with his commander, Dundee, and...

Maniac Cop
1988
as Commissioner Pike
Innocent people are brutally killed on the streets of New York by a uniformed police officer. A young cop, Jack Forrest, finds himself marked as the c...

Daddy Can't Read
1988
as Jason Ruigh
Teenage girl doesn't understand why her father is against her campaign to promote literacy at his factory. Until she discovers that her father can't r...

Jocks
1986
as Chip
When an odd-ball tennis team of a Los Angeles college sets out on a road trip to a regional college tennis tournament in fun-filled Las Vegas, all the...

Opposing Force
1986
as Stafford
A group of elite soldiers, including one woman, sign up for the ultimate training mission. The group parachutes onto a remote island, where their obje...

The Fifth Missile
1986
as Cmdr. Frederick Bryce
The crew of a Polaris submarine, on a training mission simulating an attack on Russia, is stricken by toxic poisoning. One of the poison's effects is ...

City Heat
1984
as Dehl Swift
Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye na...

The Baron and the Kid
1984
as Frosty
Johnny Cash heads the cast in this sentimental drama, which follows a famed pool hustler (Cash) whose reunion with his long-lost son (Greg Webb) sets ...

Killpoint
1984
as Agent Bill Bryant
An L.A. cop investigating the rape and murder of his wife traces the crime to a psycho biker gang that smuggles guns. He teams up with an FBI agent to...

Young Warriors
1983
as Sergeant John Austin
After a young woman is gang raped and murdered in a California college town, her brother takes up arms by night with a gang of like-minded vigilantes...

Just an Overnight Guest
1983
A family takes in an abused girl and eventually decide to adopt her.

The Big Score
1983
as Gordon
A narcotics detective, played by Fred Williamson, lets nothing stand in the way of his bringing down a major drug dealer. After a bust gone awry, he's...

One Down, Two to Go
1982
as Ralph
A pair of tough cops go after the mob who jinxed the martial arts tournament and injured their buddy.

Q
1982
as Powell
New York police are bemused by reports of a giant flying lizard that has been spotted around the rooftops of New York, until the lizard starts to eat ...

An Eye for an Eye
1981
as Capt. Stevens
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He dec...

Inchon
1981
as Sgt. Augustus Henderson
Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads a Korean War campaign, and the war tests a married couple's relationship.

Day of the Assassin
1979
as Fessler
Treasure hunters from around the world race to Mexico after a Middle Eastern luxury yacht explodes, sending a Shah's fortune and mysterious document t...

Game for Vultures
1979
as Gideon Marunga
The South African businessman David Swansey is delivering illegal German helicopters to Rhodesia. That makes the patriot Gideon Marunga an angry man.

Escape to Athena
1979
as Nat Judson
During the World War II, the prisoners of a German camp in a Greek island are trying to escape. They not only want their freedom, but also seek an ine...

Portrait of a Hitman
1979
as Coco Morrell
A professional hitman is hired to kill a brain surgeon. However, it turns out that not only are he and the surgeon old friends, but they are both in l...

Diamonds
1975
as Archie
Charles Hodgson is a British aristocrat who decides to become a thief as a way of getting at his twin brother, Earl, a security expert who has built a...

Man Friday
1975
as Friday
Englishman Robinson Crusoe, stranded alone on an island for years, is overjoyed to find a fellow man, a black islander whom he names Friday. But Cruso...

Earthquake
1974
as Miles Quade
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.

Shaft in Africa
1973
as John Shaft
Detective John Shaft travels incognito to Ethiopia, then France, to bust a human trafficking ring.

Charley-One-Eye
1973
as The Black Man
A black Union Army deserter and his crippled American Indian hostage form a strained partnership in the interests of surviving the advancing threats o...

Firehouse
1973
as Shelly Forsythe
Conflict erupts within a close-knit engine company of a big-city fire department when a black recruit and a bigoted white veteran clash during a wave ...

Nationtime
1972
as Self
A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered Black voices from across the politi...

Shaft's Big Score!
1972
as John Shaft
John Shaft is back as the lady-loved black detective cop on the search for the murderer of a client.

Embassy
1972
as Dick Shannon
A KGB assassin infiltrates the American embassy in Beirut in an attempt to eliminate a Russian defector being protected by the CIA.

Shaft
1971
as John Shaft
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.

Soul in Cinema: Filming 'Shaft' on Location
1971
as Self
A behind the scenes look at the filming of the movie Shaft (1971). The movie's director, Gordon Parks is seen directing a couple of fight scenes which...

What Do You Say to a Naked Lady
1970
as Interracial Couple
Candid Camera's Allen Funt secretely tapes people's reactions to unexpected encounters with nudity in unusual situations, such as when a naked young w...