Many Mos Def fans think of him as a musician first, actor second, but the real story is that Def worked steadily as an actor for almost a decade before taking the rap world by storm with his 1996 single "Universal Magnetic." Born Dante Smith on Dec. 11, 1973, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Def made his film debut at age 15 in the TV movie God Bless the Child.Throughout the 1990s, Def appeared on TV shows such as "Spin City" and "NYPD Blue." As his rap career took off, so did his big-screen career, and by the beginning of the new decade, he was delivering critically acclaimed performances with supporting roles in films such as Monster's Ball, Brown Sugar, The Italian Job and The Woodsman.
In 2004, Def earned an Emmy nomination for his performance opposite Alan Rickman in Something the Lord Made, and in 2005, he proved his comic chops with a leading role in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Something the Lord MadeThis Emmy-winning HBO film based on a true story follows white surgeon Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman) and his black assistant, Vivien Thomas (Mos Def), who teamed in the 1940s to develop a procedure to save children suffering from a heart defect. But Thomas's status as a second-class citizen... Read More
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyAfter learning his house is about to be leveled to make way for a bypass and that Earth is about to be destroyed to clear the way for an interstellar thruway, jinxed Arthur Dent survives by hitching a ride on a passing spacecraft. Read More
16 BlocksTasked with escorting chatty prosecution witness Eddie Bunker (rapper and seasoned actor Mos Def) from police custody to a nearby courthouse, aging New York City cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) reluctantly gears up for the 16-block trek. But with powerful forces intent on keeping them from reaching... Read More
Be Kind RewindA video-store employee can't believe his bad luck when his kooky buddy accidentally magnetizes himself and inadvertently erases every tape on the shelves, forcing the blundering duo to re-create low-rent remakes of all the films. Read More
Next Day AirPanic erupts when a package of cocaine is inadvertently delivered to the wrong address by a hapless delivery driver in this dark comedy. As the sender tries to retrieve the drugs, the unintentional recipients plan to sell their unexpected bounty. Meanwhile, the crooks who were supposed to receive... Read More
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R | ||
ReGeneration (2010) | NR | |
Next Day Air (2009) | R | |
Labor Day (2009) | NR | |
Cadillac Records (2008) | R | |
Be Kind Rewind (2008) | PG-13 | |
Prince Among Slaves (2007) | NR | |
In Prison My Whole Life (2007) | NR | |
Number One with a Bullet (2007) | NR | |
NR | ||
16 Blocks (2006) | PG-13 | |
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) | R | |
R | ||
NR | ||
PG | ||
Lackawanna Blues (2005) | PG-13 | |
Blow! DVD Magazine: Vol. 5 (2005) | NR | |
Alicia Keys: Unplugged (2005) | NR | |
Something the Lord Made (2004) | NR | |
The Woodsman (2004) | R | |
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme (2004) | NR | |
Juvies (2004) | NR | |
NR | ||
NR | ||
The Devil's Music (2004) | NR | |
The Italian Job (2003) | PG-13 | |
Civil Brand (2003) | R | |
Duck Down Visuals (2003) | NR | |
Brown Sugar (2002) | PG-13 | |
NR | ||
Monster's Ball (2001) | R | |
Carmen: A Hip Hopera (2001) | PG-13 | |
NR | ||
Island of the Dead (2000) | R | |
Bamboozled (2000) | R | |
Where's Marlowe? (1999) | R | |
TV-14 | ||
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