Anthony Anderson’s best roles
Life (1999)
Wrongfully convicted prisoners Ray and Claude (Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence) befriend fellow inmates, including Anderson’s chef Cookie, while searching for freedom.
Liberty Heights (1999)
Barry Levinson wrote this semi-autobiographical comedy-drama about racial animus between Baltimore’s Black and Jewish communities. Anderson is Scribbles, a friend to Orlando Jones’ drug-dealing Little Melvin.
The Shield (2005–07)
This FX crime series follows criminal cops and their exploits, with Anderson entering in the fourth season as the drug kingpin antagonist Antwon Mitchell.
The Bernie Mac Show (2005–06)
Fox’s hit sitcom centered on the comedian raising his sister’s three children, with Anderson recurring as one of their long-lost fathers who returns to assist the family.
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Pimp, drug dealer and aspiring rapper DJay (Terrence Howard) works with sound technician Key (Anderson) to make a hit, like the real-life Oscar-winning “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” (written and produced by Memphis’ Three 6 Mafia).
Transformers (2007)
Department of Defense data analyst Maggie Madsen (Rachael Taylor) recruits her hacker friend Glen (Anderson) to decode a message from planet Cybertron.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order (2006, 2008–22)
He was Detective Elliot Stabler’s (Christopher Meloni) new partner, Detective Lucius Blaine, in an episode of SVU. Then from 2008 to 2010 he played junior detective Kevin Bernard on Law & Order, a role he’s set to reprise in 2022’s season 21.
The Departed (2006)
As Officer Brown, Anderson can be spotted alongside Leonard DiCaprio at police academy graduation and with a gun pointed at Leo in a tense hostage negotiation.
Barbershop and Barbershop: The Next Cut (2002, 2016)
Anderson steals an ATM as J.D., the cousin of barber Ricky (Michael Ealy), in the first film of the Ice Cube–starring comedy franchise, then gives up crime to operate a food truck in the third.
Small Town Crime (2017)
John Hawkes stars as alcoholic ex-cop Mike Kendall who tries to locate the killer of a woman he finds left for dead. He seeks solace in his friendly brother-in-law, played by Anderson.
Beats (2019)
Anderson’s music-manager-turned-school-security guard befriends a student rapper as the two attempt to break into the hip-hop scene.
Black-ish (2014–22)
Power couple Dre and Rainbow, played by Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross, lead the Johnson family through life and its issues in all eight seasons of ABC’s Emmy-winning sitcom. Next, Tracee Ellis Ross on Playing a Singing Superstar and the Joys of Starring in Black-ish
