Yaphet Kotto
A commanding presence in features and television since the early 1970s, Yaphet Kotto played physically powerful, often intimidating African-American men in such popular films as "Live and Let Die" (1973), "Blue Collar" (1978), "Alien" (1979) and "Midnight Run" (1988). He emerged from the New York stage in the early 1960s, working steadily in small but significant roles in features like "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1967) before moving up to supporting roles and leads in "Across 110th Street" (1971). His star-making turn came as the villainous Dr. Kananga in "Live and Let Die" (1973), which marked Roger Moore's debut as James Bond and preceded a long run as a popular character actor in such major features as "Alien" (1979) and "Brubaker" (1980). Kotto was stranded in minor-league acting features for much of the 1980s, though he rebounded in the early 1990s as the formidable Lt. Al Giardello on the critically acclaimed "Homicide: Life on the Street" (NBC, 1993-2000). Throughout his long and varied career, Kotto's performances were marked by an unerring sense of gravity, honesty and intelligence, which served him well in avoiding many of the career pitfalls suffered by African-American actors.
Photos
Yaphet Kotto
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
100% |
|
King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen | Self | - | 2017 |
4% |
|
Witless Protection | Alonzo Moseley (Character) | $4.1M | 2008 |
94% |
|
Alien: The Director's Cut | Chief Engineer J.T. Parker (Character) | - | 2003 |
No Score Yet |
|
Stiletto Dance | Captain Rick Sands (Character) | - | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Ride | Carter (Character) | - | 2000 |
83% |
|
Homicide: The Movie | Al "Gee" Giardello (Character) | - | 2000 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Defenders: Payback | Judge Williams (Character) | - | 1997 |
13% |
|
Two if by Sea | FBI Agent O'Malley (Character) | $9.8M | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Out of Sync | Quincy (Character) | - | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan | Marty Talbot (Character) | - | 1995 |
29% |
|
The Puppet Masters | Ressler (Character) | $8.6M | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Corpse Had a Familiar Face | Detective Martin Talbot (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Dead Badge | Captain Hunt (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet |
|
Extreme Justice | Larson (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet |
|
Intent to Kill | Captain Jackson (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | It's Nothing Personal | Lt. Riley (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | American Clock | Isaac (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet |
|
Almost Blue | Terry (Character) | - | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Chrome Soldiers | Perry Beach (Character) | - | 1992 |
No Score Yet |
|
Hangfire | Police Lieutenant (Character) | - | 1991 |
22% |
|
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare | Doc (Character) | $34.0M | 1991 |
No Score Yet |
|
Tripwire | Lee Pitt (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | After the Shock | William McElroy (Character) | - | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jigsaw Murders | Doctor Fillmore (Character) | - | 1989 |
No Score Yet |
|
Ministry of Vengeance | Mr. Whiteside (Character) | - | 1989 |
95% |
|
Midnight Run | Alonzo Mosely (Character) | $36.3M | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Whisper to a Scream | Jules Tallard (Character) | - | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | In Self Defense | Lt. Tyrell (Character) | - | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Perry Mason: The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel | General Sorenson (Character) | - | 1987 |
67% |
|
The Running Man | William Laughlin (Character) | $38.0M | 1987 |
No Score Yet |
|
Desperado | Bede (Character) | - | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Terminal Entry | Col. Styles (Character) | - | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Prettykill | Harris (Character) | - | 1987 |
20% |
|
Eye of the Tiger | J.B. Deveraux (Character) | - | 1986 |
No Score Yet |
|
Harem | Agha Kislar (Character) | - | 1986 |
20% |
|
Warning Sign | Major Connolly (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Park Is Mine | Eubanks (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Playing With Fire | Fire Chief Walker (Character) | - | 1985 |
No Score Yet |
|
Badge of the Assassin | Detective Cliff Fenton NYPD (Character) | - | 1985 |
77% |
|
The Star Chamber | Det. Harry Lowes (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Women of San Quentin | Sgt. Therman Patterson (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | For Love and Honor | Platoon Sgt. "James China" Bell (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A House Divided: Denmark Vessey's Rebellion | Denmark Vessey (Character) | - | 1982 |
20% |
|
Fighting Back | Ivanhoe Washington (Character) | - | 1982 |
74% |
|
Brubaker | Richard `'Dickie'` Coombes (Character) | - | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Othello | Othello (Character) | - | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Rage | Ernie (Character) | - | 1980 |
93% |
|
Alien | Chief Engineer J.T. Parker (Character) | $82.6M | 1979 |
96% |
|
Blue Collar | Smokey James (Character) | - | 1978 |
No Score Yet |
|
Raid on Entebbe | President Idi Amin - Jr. (Character) | - | 1977 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Monkey Hustle | Daddy Foxx (Character) | - | 1976 |
No Score Yet |
|
Sharks' Treasure | Ben Flynn (Character) | - | 1975 |
43% |
|
Report to the Commissioner | Richard "Crunch" Blackstone (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet |
|
Friday Foster | Colt Hawkins (Character) | - | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Crunch | Crunch (Character) | - | 1975 |
60% |
|
Truck Turner | Harvard Blue (Character) | - | 1974 |
67% |
|
Live and Let Die |
Kananga/ |
- | 1973 |
No Score Yet |
|
Man and Boy | Nate Hodges (Character) | - | 1972 |
57% |
|
Bone | Bone (Character) | - | 1972 |
83% |
|
Across 110th Street | Lt. Pope (Character) | - | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Limit |
Mark Johnson (Character), Director, Producer |
- | 1972 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Night Chase | Ernie Green (Character) | - | 1970 |
63% |
|
The Liberation of L.B. Jones | Sonny Boy Mosby (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Time Is Now | Wyman Jackson (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet |
|
Five Card Stud | Little George (Character) | - | 1968 |
70% |
|
The Thomas Crown Affair | Carl (Character) | - | 1968 |
98% |
|
Nothing But a Man | Jocko (Character) | $12.4K | 1964 |
11% |
|
Four for Texas | Unknown (Character) | - | 1963 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
91% | 90% | Homicide: Life on the Street |
Unknown (Character), Director, Writer |
1993-1999 |
No Score Yet | 83% | Law & Order | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Civil Wars | Judge Louis Decker (Guest Star) | 1992 |
No Score Yet | 89% | Murder, She Wrote | Lt. Bradshaw (Guest Star) | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Unknown (Character) | 1985 |
97% | 85% | Hill Street Blues | Calvin Matthias (Guest Star) | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | For Love and Honor | Platoon Sgt. James "China" Bell (Character) | 1983-1984 |
No Score Yet | 71% | The A-Team | Charles 'East-Side Charlie' F. Struthers (Guest Star) | 1983 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fantasy Island | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1983 |
No Score Yet | 100% | Night Gallery | Unknown (Character) | 1971 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Gunsmoke | Piney Biggs (Guest Star) | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Name of the Game | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Daniel Boone | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1968-1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mannix |
Gabe Johnson / |
1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hawaii Five-0 | LCpl. John T. Auston (Guest Star) | 1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The High Chaparral | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bonanza | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Tarzan | Kesho (Guest Star) | 1967 |