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Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

51

Gender

Male

Birthday

1975-09-08 (50 years old)

Place of Birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Also Known As

Ларънс Тейт

Larenz Tate

Biography

Larenz Tate (born September 8, 1975) is an American film and television actor. Tate was born on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. He is the youngest of three siblings whose family moved to California when he was nine 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 series. 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 when Redd Foxx suddenly 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. A jarring vision of inner-city desperation and decay, 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 can be seen in the latest season of FX Network's Rescue Me. Tate is married to Tomasina 'Geneva' Parrott. They have two sons together named Myles and Zander.

Known For

Acting

Crash

2005

Crash

as

Peter Waters

Ray

2004

Ray

as

Quincy Jones

Dead Presidents

1995

Dead Presidents

as

Anthony Curtis

A Man Apart

2003

A Man Apart

as

Demetrius Hicks

Menace II Society

1993

Menace II Society

as

Kevin 'O-Dog'

Love Jones

1997

Love Jones

as

Darius Lovehall

Waist Deep

2006

Waist Deep

as

Lucky

The Postman

1997

The Postman

as

Ford

Why Do Fools Fall In Love

1998

Why Do Fools Fall In Love

as

Frankie Lymon

Los Angeles Plays Itself

2004

Los Angeles Plays Itself

as

Frankie Lymon in Why Do Fools Fall In Love (archive footage)

Love Come Down

2000

Love Come Down

as

Neville Carter

The Inkwell

1994

The Inkwell

as

Drew Tate

Seeds of Tragedy

1991

Seeds of Tragedy

as

Cornelius

Gun Hill

2014

Gun Hill

as

Bird Stevens

Unity

2015

Unity

as

Narrator (voice)

Michael

2025

Michael

as

Berry Gordy

Beta Test

2016

Beta Test

as

Max

Girls Trip

2017

Girls Trip

as

Julian Stevens

Deuces

2017

Deuces

as

Deuces

White Water

2015

White Water

as

Terrance

Business Ethics

2020

Business Ethics

as

Zachery Cranston

Biker Boyz

2003

Biker Boyz

as

Wood

The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone

as

(segment "Night of the Meek")

The Wonder Years

The Wonder Years

as

Basketball Team Captain

Rescue Me

Rescue Me

as

Bart 'Black Shawn' Johnston

Love Monkey

Love Monkey

as

Shooter Cooper

Hunter

Hunter

as

Sporty's Nephew

The Royal Family

The Royal Family

as

Curtis Royal

South Central

South Central

as

Andre Mosely

New Attitude

New Attitude

as

Chilly D

Power Book II: Ghost

Power Book II: Ghost

as

Councilman Tate

Game of Silence

Game of Silence

as

Shawn Polk

Hell's Kitchen

Hell's Kitchen

as

Self - Restaurant Patron

Power

Power

as

Rashad Tate

Rush

Rush

as

Dr. Alex Burke

Justified

Justified

as

Clinton Moss

Sherri

Sherri

as

Self - Guest

21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street

as

Young Adam Fuller

Rescue Me

Rescue Me

as

Bart Johnston

Production

Beta Test

2016

Beta Test

as

Crew

Directing