Actor and producer Larenz Tate was among the many originators of the Black Hollywood heartthrob of the Nineties. A fixture in film through the golden age of Black-centric cinema, starring in lots of a Black classic that also graces out screens and streams today. He often played the protagonist or the important thing love interest, lighting up the intrigue and imagination of hundreds of thousands for the higher a part of the ’90s and ’00s.

Now at 47, Tate is still effortlessly serving because the blues and the funk in each thigh for hundreds of thousands of Black Gen X-ers and Millennials.

Take a take a look at the roles that made him an icon, and take a look at how his sheer refusal to age has kept him looking just pretty much as good as the primary time we saw him on the silver screen.

01

Menace II Society, 1993

Tate had been in some television miniseries and made appearances on a number of sitcoms by this point, but his appearance because the murderous wildcard O-Dog in 1993’s quick “hood classic” Menace II Society solidified him as a star.

02

The Inkwell, 1994

After playing a chaotic gangster in his breakout role, fans got to see a more tender side of Tate within the coming-of-age classic The Inkwell. Once more co-starring with Jada Pinkett Smith, he portrayed Drew, a shy 16-year-old getting over guilt and trauma while having his eyes opened to young love and learning how the opposite half of Black society lives while on summer vacation with hi family in Martha’s Vineyard.

03

Dead Presidents, 1995

Delving even deeper into his acting range, Tate portrayed a highschool senior who shuns college for a profession within the Marines but finally ends up getting a rude awakening when he’s shipped off to Vietnam shortly thereafter. After surviving hell on Earth, he returns to a nation that doesn’t appreciate his sacrifice and offers him little opportunity. So he and his friends hatch a dangerous plan to get what the federal government owes them.

04

Love Jones, 1997

The blueprint of how Black love is depicted on-screen in the fashionable era, Love Jones followed two artists falling quickly and deeply for one another in late 90s Chicago. Though certain plot points read quite a bit otherwise rewatching 25 years later, the film is a surprisingly still relevant take a look at love and dating and the style through which one or two brash decisions can permanently change the course of a relationship. Tate’s role as Darius still has many a lady searching the poetry/jazz club for a person like him to this present day.

05

Why Do Fools Fall In Love?, 1998

Tate’s turn because the talented Do-Wop singer Frankie Lymon, whose life was claimed by addiction at age 25 forsaking three “widows,” again demonstrated his impressive acting range on this multi-perspective take a look at love, manipulation, fame, and addiction. Co-starring Halle Berry, Lela Rochon, and Vivica Foxx, this biopic gave audiences a perspective they never realized on considered one of the music industry’s early tragic stars.

06

Biker Boyz, 2003

This tale of clashing motorcycle racing groups found Tate clad in leather and at peak badass levels as Wood, the brother to Meagan Good’s Tina and mechanic to the Biker Boyz racing squad as they faced off against rival crew The Black Knights, whose leaders have much closer ties than either could have imagined.

07

Crash, 2004

One other Academy Award-winner, Crash was an examination of race, class, family, gender and the politics and societal views that separate people in post-9/11 Los Angeles. Told through interwoven stories that force the audience to face their very own biases, Tate portrayed a carjacker named Peter, who alongside his literal partner in crime (Ludacris) lamented racial stereotypes while feeding directly into them.

08

Ray, 2004

Tate was suave as music industry legend Quincy Jones on this Academy Award-winning biopic, co-starring Jamie Foxx, Regina King, and Kerry Washington amongst others. Tate and his co-stars all brought their undeniable A-game to this one, making this film immensely re-watchable 17 years later.

09

Rescue Me, 2007-2011

Joining the solid in season 4, Tate portrayed Bart “Black Sean” Johnston on FX’s early hit comedy series concerning the personal and private lives of Latest York’s Bravest, the town firefighters.

10

Girls Trip, 2017

Perhaps most near and dear to our hearts here at ESSENCE, Tate graced this instant-classic comedy along with his presence as Julian, musician and college classmate of the Flossy Posse (Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish), coming in clutch multiple times over the course of their wild and rambunctious weekend at ESSENCE Festival of Culture.

11

Power Universe, 2017-2020

As Councilman Rashad Tate on each Power and Power Book II: Ghost, Tate taps into his most conniving, self-serving, and manipulative to play a city politician with big dreams of power and influence on a national scale who’ll stop at nearly nothing to get what he desires.