Richard Brooks

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Richard L. Brooks is an African-American actor, singer, and director.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Brooks studied acting, dance, and voice work at Interlochen Academy of Arts in Michigan. Later, he moved to New York City and was a student of the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School and performed in the Eugene O'Neill Theater Conference production of August Wilson's Fences .

A subsequent move to Los Angeles found the actor landing numerous television roles, also with made-for-TV features as Badge of the Assassin and Resting Place. With Teen Wolf ,The Hidden and Wes Craven’s Shocker, Brooks began his start in the world of feature films.

Throughout the 1990s, most of his popularity came from his widespread exposure in his role as Paul Robinette on Law & Order. However, the actor would constantly find himself alternating between the feature films, television, and the stage. After appearing in The Substitute and terrorizing the undead in The Crow: City of Angels , Brooks opted to try his hand at directing, and the result was Johnny B Good. It is about a young, urban black man who makes a positive change after suffering amnesia. Brooks returned to television for the short-lived Sci-fi comedy series Good vs Evil.

In addition to his film work, Brooks also founded his own production company, Flat Top Entertainment LLC. At the dawn of the millennium, Brooks began pursuing his recording career under the name RLB Soul and released his first solo R&B album, Smooth Love, on Flat Top Records.

Brooks is also well-known by some science fiction fans for his appearance on Joss Whedon's Firefly, as a bounty hunter Jubal Early in the metaphysical series finale "Objects in Space". He also appeared in the fifth episode of the series Brimstone. He also appeared on the short-lived Fox series Drive, created and produced by Firefly's Tim Minear, as Detective Ehrle (pronounced "Early") alongside fellow Firefly cast member Nathan Fillion.

Brooks appeared as OD in the award-winning film 84C MoPic, directed by Patrick Sheane Duncan.