Yaphet Kotto

 ( 1939 Births ) 

By the age of 16, Kotto was studying acting at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio.

His film debut was in 1963, aged 23, in an uncredited role in 4 for Texas. He performed in Michael Roemer's Nothing but a Man (1964) and played a supporting role in the caper film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). He played John Auston, a confused Marine Lance Corporal, in the 1968 episode "King of the Hill", on the first season of Hawaii Five-O.

In 1967, he released a single, "Have You Ever Seen the Blues" / "Have You Dug His Scene" (Chisa Records, CH006).

In 1973, he landed the role of the James Bond villain Mr. Big in Live and Let Die, as well as roles in Across 110th Street and Truck Turner. He played a police officer, Richard "Crunch" Blackstone, in the 1975 film Report to the Commissioner. Kotto portrayed Idi Amin in the 1977 television film Raid on Entebbe. He starred as an auto worker in the 1978 film Blue Collar. The following year he played Parker in the science fiction–horror film Alien. He followed with a supporting role in the 1980 prison drama Brubaker. In 1983, he guest-starred as mobster Charlie "East Side Charlie" Struthers in The A-Team episode "The Out-of-Towners". In 1987, he appeared in the futuristic sci-fi movie The Running Man, and in 1988, in the action-comedy Midnight Run, in which he portrayed Alonzo Moseley, an FBI agent. A memo from Paramount indicates that Kotto was among those being considered for Jean-Luc Picard in , a role which eventually went to Patrick Stewart. Letters of Note: STAR TREK/Casting, lettersofnote.com; August 2010.

Kotto was cast as a religious man living in the southwestern desert country in the 1967 episode "A Man Called Abraham" on the syndicated anthology series Death Valley Days, hosted by Robert Taylor. In the story line, Abraham convinces a killer named Cassidy (Rayford Barnes) that Cassidy can change his heart despite past crimes. When Cassidy is sent to the gallows, Abraham provides spiritual solace. Bing Russell also appeared in this segment.

Kotto retired from film acting in the mid-1990s, though he had one final film role in Witless Protection (2008). However, he continued to take on television roles. Kotto portrayed Lieutenant Al Giardello in the long-running television series . As a black Sicilian proud of his Italian ancestry, the character was a breakout for television. He has written the book Royalty and also wrote scripts for Homicide. In 2014, he voiced Parker for the video game , reprising the role he played in the movie Alien in 1979.