Roger Guenveur Smith (; born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his collaborations with Spike Lee.
Contents
Early life
Roger Guenveur Smith was born on July 27, 1955, in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge. He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, and graduated from Occidental College with a degree in American Studies. He then studied at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he successfully auditioned for the Drama School and switched his pursuit of a graduate degree in history. Additionally, Smith studied at the Keskidee Arts Centre in London.
Career
Smith has appeared in films such as School Daze, Do the Right Thing, King of New York, Panther, Malcolm X, Poetic Justice, Get on the Bus, Eve's Bayou, He Got Game, and Summer of Sam. Several of these films were with director Spike Lee. During the 1990s, he had a recurring role on A Different World.
In 1996, Smith starred in the self-written and produced A Huey P. Newton Story, a one-man theatre performance based on the life of Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton. Smith received an Obie Award, and a performance was later filmed by Spike Lee and released in 2001.
