Larenz Tate
About
Biography
Biography
Handsome, charismatic and emotionally expressive, Tate acted in L.A. community theater before making his TV debut on an episode of CBS' 1985 revival of "The Twilight Zone." Other TV credits followed on series including "21 Jump Street," "Matlock" and "The Wonder Years." Tate appeared in Oprah Winfrey's high-profile miniseries "The Women of Brewster Place" (ABC, 1989) before landing a succession of stints as a TV series regular, notably as Andre, a young man impatient for independence, on the ambitious comedy-drama "South Central" (Fox, 1994). Tate gained considerable attention the year before with his showy feature debut in the Hughes Brothers' explosive "Menace II Society" (1993), delivering a profoundly disturbing performance as O-Dog, a murderously nihilistic gun-toting teen. Tate displayed a kinder, gentler side in Matty Rich's "The Inkwell" (1994) as a socially maladept young man coping with intraracial class conflict and his own budding sexuality. He reteamed with the Hughes Brothers for "Dead Presidents" (1995) to play an embittered and disillusioned Vietnam vet who turns to bank robbery in the early 1970s. Tate demonstrated his screen charisma as the slick and smooth pop singer Frankie Lymon in the 1998 biopic "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" Tate went on to produce and star (along with Debra Cox and Martin Cummins) in the independent feature "Love Come Down." In "Love Come Down," Tate portrays a black comedian who struggles with his relationship with his brother, who is white. In 2003, Tate, along with Laurence Fishburne and Derek Luke, co-starred in in the motorcyle drama "Biker Boyz," then appeared opposite Vin Diesel in director F. Gary Gray's action-drama "A Man Apart" (2003), and took on the crucial role of music master Quincy Jones in the heralded Ray Charles biopic "Ray" (2004). He then has an alternately charming and heartbreaking turn in the racially charged, multi-plot drama "Crash" (2005) as a seemingly clear-headed and sweet-natured L.A. youth who also happens to be a carjacker. His television breakthrough came with a supporting role in Denis Leary's firefighting comedy-drama "Rescue Me" (FX 2004-2011), after which he joined the cast of Don Cheadle's political satire "House of Lies" (Showtime 2012-16) and the cable medical drama "Rush" (USA 2014). His next major film role came with his starring performance in the science fiction action thriller "Beta Test" (2016).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1985
Made TV debut in the CBS revival of "The Twilight Zone"
1989
TV miniseries debut, "The Women of Brewster Place" (ABC)
1990
Made debut as a TV series regular in the short-lived ABC sitcom, "New Attitude"
1991
Played the teenaged son of Della Reese on the CBS series, "The Royal Family"
1993
Made feature debut a trigger-happy teenager in the Hughes brothers' "Menace II Society"
1994
Cast as a regular on the FOX series, "South Central"
1994
Starred in the feature, "The Inkwell"
1995
Re-teamed with the Hughes brothers for "Dead Presidents"
1997
Had featured role in "The Postman"
1998
Portrayed pop singer Frankie Lymon in "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"
2000
Produced and starred in the independent feature, "Love Come Down"
2003
Featured in the action feature, "Biker Boyz"
2003
Co-starred with Vin Diesel in "A Man Apart"
2004
Portrayed Quincy Jones in "Ray," the biopic of legendary blues singer Ray Charles (played by Jamie Foxx)
2005
Joined an ensemble cast for Paul Haggis' directorial debut, "Crash"
2006
Cast opposite Jeremy Piven in the indie comedy, "Keeping Up with the Steins"
2006
Co-starred with Tyrese Gibson in Vondie Curtis-Hall's "Waist Deep"
2007
Joined season four of the FX drama, "Rescue Me" playing 'Black Shawn'
2016
Starred in the series "Game of Silence"
Family
