Larenz Tate

Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. Tate is best known for his roles as O-Dog in Menace II Society and as Councilman Tate in Power. Tate's other films and television series include the films Dead Presidents, Love Jones, A Man Apart, Crash, Waist Deep, Ray and the television series Rush and Game of Silence.
==Early life==
Larenz Tate was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Peggy and Larry Tate. Tate is the youngest of three siblings (his two brothers, Larron and Lahmard, are also actors) whose family moved to California when he was 4 years old. Convinced by their parents to enter a drama program at the Inner City Cultural Center, the trio did not take the lessons seriously until classmate Malcolm-Jamal Warner's ascent to fame after being cast on the sitcom The Cosby Show. Subsequently, realizing that they could parlay their efforts into a tangible form of success, the siblings began to receive small roles and in 1985, Tate made his small-screen debut in an episode of The New Twilight Zone. Tate attended Palmdale High School, graduating in 1993.
==Career==
Following appearances in such television series as 21 Jump Street and The Wonder Years, Tate was cast in the television movie The Women of Brewster Place before receiving the recurring role of Steve Urkel's nemesis, Willie Fuffner, in the family comedy series Family Matters (1989). He was also a cast member on the CBS series The Royal Family, starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese, which ended prematurely after Redd Foxx died. In the video game 187 Ride or Die, Tate voices the main character, Buck.
Following numerous small-screen roles, offers began pouring in for Tate, and in late 1992, collaborative filmmaking siblings Albert and Allen Hughes approached him to star in their debut feature Menace II Society. The film found Tate channeling his substantial energy into creating "O-Dog", a trigger-happy teenager. Following up with the little-seen but often-praised television series South Central, Tate would later appear in the family comedy-drama The Inkwell (1994) before re-teaming with the Hughes brothers for Dead Presidents (1995) and taking on the role of a love-stricken young poet in the romantic drama Love Jones (1997). Larenz Tate also played the role of Kenny in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the episode "That's No Lady, That's My Cousin".
There followed roles in The Postman (as the automotively monikered Ford Lincoln Mercury), the Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998, with Tate as Lymon), and 2000's Love Come Down. Though a big theatrical release had eluded Tate for the first few years of the millennial turnover, Tate would soon turn up opposite Laurence Fishburne in the high-octane but critically derided Biker Boyz (2003) A Man Apart (2003), Crash (2004), as music legend Quincy Jones in Ray (2004), and Waist Deep (2006). Larenz was also featured in R&B singer Ashanti's 2003 released music video Rain on Me, where he played the jealous, abusive spouse of Ashanti. The video touched on the subject of domestic abuse. He also starred as part of the main cast in season's 4-7 of FX's Rescue Me as Bart "Black Shawn" Johnston.
==Filmography==
=== Film ===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1993	Menace II Society 	O-Dog 	Supporting role
1994	The Inkwell 	Drew Tate 	Lead role
1995	Dead Presidents 	Anthony Curtis 	Lead role
1997	Love Jones 	Darius Lovehall 	Lead role
1997	The Postman 	Ford Lincoln Mercury 	Main role
1998	Why Do Fools Fall in Love	Frankie Lymon 	Main role
2000	Love Come Down 	Neville Carter 	Lead role
2003	Biker Boyz 	Wood 	Supporting role
2003	A Man Apart 	Demetrius Hicks 	Main role
2004	Crash 	Peter Waters 	Supporting role
2004	Ray 	Quincy Jones 	Supporting role
2006	Waist Deep 	Lucky 	Main role
2011	Gun Hill 	Bird Stevens Train Stevens	Television film
2015	White Water 	Terrance 	Television film
2015	Beta Test 	Max 	
2017	Girls Trip 	Julian 	Supporting role
2017	Deuces 	Deuces 	Main role
=== Television ===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1985 	The Twilight Zone 	Older brother 	Episode: "Night of the Meek"
1987 	Hunter 	Sporty's nephew 	Episode: "Crossfire"
1988 	Amen 	LeShawn 	Episode: "Get Em Up, Scout"
1989 	21 Jump Street 	Adam Fuller 	Episode: "Wolly Bullies"
1989 	The Wonder Years 	Basketball Team Captain	Episode: "Loosiers"
1989 	The Women of Brewster place	Sammy 	Television miniseries
1989 	Matlock 	Street kid #3 	Episode: "The Scrooge"
1990 	New Attitude 	Chilly D 	4 Episodes
1990 	Family Matters 	Willie Fuffner 	2 episodes
1991 	The Royal Family 	Curtis Royal 	15 episodes
1992 	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Kenny 	Episode: "That's No Lady, That's My Cousin"
1994 	South Central 	Andre Mosely 	10 episodes
2006 	Waterfront 	Marcus 	6 episodes
2006 	Love Monkey 	Shooter Cooper 	8 episodes
2007–2011 	Rescue Me 	Black Shawn 	Series regular
2011 	Justified 	Clinton Moss 	Episode: "For Blood or Money"
2013 	House of Lies 	Malcolm Kaan 	10 episodes
2014 	Rush 	Alex Burke 	Main role
2016 	Game of Silence 	Shawn Cook 	Series regular
2017–present	Power 	Councilman Tate 	Recurring role (season 4): Main role (seasons 5–6)
Category:1975 births
Category:Living people
Category:Male actors from Chicago
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Category:People with sickle-cell disease
Category:20th-century American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors