Larenz Tate

  1. Chris Rock, Lethal Weapon 4, 1998.  No thought had been given at LethalHQ about who should play Lee Butters, the husband of Danny Glover’s daughter – simply because he wasn’t in any script until scenarist Channing Gibson was three-quarters finished with his scenario (and then he was a gay cop, at first).  Much the same for Joe Pesci’s rôle. He was paid $1m for three weeks work. Rock was not. Nor were…Tate, Sean Combs,  Eddie Murphy, Will Smith or Chris Tucker.
  2. André Benjamin, Four Brothers, 2004.  Passed on Jeremiah, one of the two black and two white Mercer brothers avenging the murder of their adoptive mother in a clumsy re-hash of Death Wishmeets The Sons of Katie Elder(except John Waye and his real siblings were avenging Dad’s killing)..

 Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls:  2