History Creator / YaphetKotto

* ''Series/{{Tarzan}}'' (1 episode, 1967) as Kesho

* ''Film/TwoIfBySea'' (1996) as Officer O'Malley

* ''Series/HawaiiFiveO'' (1 episode, 1969) as LCpl. John T. Auston

Yaphet Frederick Kotto (November 15, 1939[[note]]Some sources say anything between 1937 and 1944[[/note]] – March 15, 2021) was a prolific American film, TV and theatre actor.

He was well known for having broken down a number of Hollywood stereotypes about black characters. He is recognized by most audiences as a character actor who regularly commands the scenes he's in for his powerful performances. He was known to regularly turn down roles which are badly written stereotypically "black" parts, [[MoneyDearBoy although he would on occasion have to do a film just to put food on the table.]] His breakout film was ''Film/NothingButAMan'', which is now regarded as a classic.

Yaphet Frederick Kotto (November 15, 1939[[note]]Some sources say anything between 1937 and 1944[[/note]] - March 15, 2021) was a prolific American film, TV and theatre actor.

* ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' (1991)
* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' (1993–99) as Lt. Al Giardello [[note]]"I felt like I was a beggar doing ''Homicide''. Begging to act. Begging for scenes. The writing was not obviously for me. It mainly focused on others. I went from a movie star playing leads to a bit player doing one line here and one line there. The rest of the week I would be hanging around Fells Point waiting to come in and do my one line. When I asked if they could write more for me to do, they'd say "You're doing great. You're the anchor of the show." "Anchor? I'm an actor, let me out!" I finally ended up writing for the show and gave myself something to do... Nine years of not acting."[[/note]]
** ''Homicide: The Movie'' (2000) as Lt. Al Giardello

* ''Film/WarningSign'' (1985) as Colonel Morse

* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' (1993–1999) as Lieutenant Al Giardello [[note]]"I felt like I was a beggar doing ''Homicide''. Begging to act. Begging for scenes. The writing was not obviously for me. It mainly focused on others. I went from a movie star playing leads to a bit player doing one line here and one line there. The rest of the week I would be hanging around Fells Point waiting to come in and do my one line. When I asked if they could write more for me to do, they'd say "You're doing great. You're the anchor of the show." "Anchor? I'm an actor, let me out!" I finally ended up writing for the show and gave myself something to do... Nine years of not acting."[[/note]]
** ''Homicide: The Movie'' (2000) as Lieutenant Al Giardello

He played the BigBad in the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'',[[note]]A role which was originally stereotypically written (as most of the black roles in the film were) and which he managed to blow out of the water with his serious and human performance.[[/note]] Parker in ''Film/{{Alien}}'' and Lieutenant Giardello in ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''.[[note]]In fact he has played a [[DaChief police chief]] so often, (''and so well'') throughout his career that he was named an honorary Police Captain at Frederick PD[[/note]] He also turned down the role of Picard in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and Lando in ''Franchise/StarWars'',[[note]]For a time Creator/GeorgeLucas was also considering him for the role of Han Solo.[[/note]] which he now regards as a mistake.

->''"I was roaming around [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity Manhattan]] looking for work; in fact I had just come from an employment center in New York called 'Warren Street' where you can buy a part-time job for about ten bucks. On this particular day I didn't feel like delivering lunches, or pushing a dolly truck through lower Manhattan, so I went up to 42nd Street around Times Square, which at the time looked like a circus: porn theaters on one side of the street and b-movies on the other. I stopped before one particular theater and there were gangster photos all over the marquee. The movie must have cost about seventy-five cents, so I went in and sat down and saw ''Film/OnTheWaterfront''. I was so blown away after that day -- it was [[Creator/MarlonBrando Brando's]] performance that made me leave the streets to become an actor."''