Early life

Tate was born on the West Side of Chicago, the son of Peggy and Larry Tate. He is the youngest of three siblings (his two brothers, Larron and Lahmard, are also actors) whose family moved to California when he was nine years old. Convinced by their parents to enter a drama program at the Inner City Cultural Center, the trio did not take the lessons seriously until classmate Malcolm-Jamal Warner's ascent to fame after being cast on the sitcom The Cosby Show. Subsequently realizing that they could parlay their efforts into a tangible form of success, the siblings began to receive small roles and in 1985, Tate made his small-screen debut in an episode of The New Twilight Zone series.

Career

Following appearances in such television series as 21 Jump Street and The Wonder Years, Tate was cast in the television movie The Women of Brewster Place before receiving the recurring role of Steve Urkel's nemesis, Willie Fuffner, in the family comedy series Family Matters (1989). He was also a cast member on the CBS series The Royal Family, starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese, which ended prematurely after Redd Foxx died. In the video game 187 Ride or Die, Tate voices the main character, Buck.

Following numerous small-screen roles, offers began pouring in for Tate, and in late 1992, collaborative filmmaking siblings Albert and Allen Hughes approached him to star in their debut feature Menace II Society. The film found Tate channeling his substantial energy into creating "O-Dog", a trigger-happy teenager. Following up with the little-seen but often-praised television series South Central, Tate would later appear in the family comedy-drama The Inkwell (1994) before re-teaming with the Hughes brothers for Dead Presidents (1995) and taking on the role of a love-stricken young poet in the romantic drama Love Jones (1997). Larenz Tate also played the role of Kenny in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the episode "That's No Lady, That's My Cousin".

There followed roles in The Postman (as the automotively monikered Ford Lincoln Mercury), the Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998, with Tate as Lymon), and 2000's Love Come Down. Though a big theatrical release had eluded Tate for the first few years of the millennial turnover, Tate would soon turn up opposite Laurence Fishburne in the high-octane but critically derided Biker Boyz (2003) A Man Apart (2003), Crash (2004), as music legend Quincy Jones in Ray (2004), and Waist Deep (2006). Larenz was also featured in R&B singer Ashanti's 2003 released music video Rain on Me, where he played the jealous, abusive spouse of Ashanti. The video touched on the subject of domestic abuse. He also starred as part of the main cast in season's 4-7 of FX Network's Rescue Me as Bart "Black Shawn" Johnston.

Personal life

He is currently married to Tomasina Parrott. They were married on November 30, 2006. The couple has three sons.

Select filmography

• The Twilight Zone (1985) (one episode, "Night of the Meek"): Older Brother
• Hunter (1987) (One episode, "Crossfire"): Sporty's Nephew
• Amen (1988) (One episode, "Get Em Up, Scout"): Leshawn
• 21 Jump Street (1989) (One episode, "Wolly Bullies"): Young Adam Fuller
• The Wonder Years (1989) (Season 2 Episode 9, "Loosiers"): Basketball Team Captain
• The Women of Brewster place (1989) (TV): Sammy
• Matlock (1989) (One episode, "The Scrooge"): Street Kid #3
• New Attitude (1990) (TV): Chilly D
• Family Matters (1990-1991) (2 episodes, "Life of the Party" and "Requiem for an Urkel"): Willie Fuffner
• The Royal Family (1991-1992) (15 episodes): Curtis Royal
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1992) (1 episode, "That's No Lady, That's My Cousin"): Kenny
• Menace II Society (1993): Kevin "O-Dog" Anderson
• South Central (1994) (TV): Andre Mosely
• The Inkwell (1994): Drew Tate
• Dead Presidents (1995): Anthony Curtis
• Love Jones (1997): Darius Lovehall
• The Postman (1997): Ford Lincoln Mercury
• Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998): Frankie Lymon
• Love Come Down (2000): Neville Carter
• Biker Boyz (2003): Wood
• A Man Apart (2003): Demetrius Hicks
• Crash (2004): Peter Waters
• Ray (2004): Quincy Jones
• 187 Ride or Die (2005) (Video Game): Buck (Voice)
• Waterfront (2006) (6 episodes): Marcus
• Waist Deep (2006): Lucky
• Love Monkey (2006) (8 episodes): Shooter Cooper
• Rescue Me (2007-2011) (TV): Bart "Black Shawn" Johnston
• Gun Hill (2011) : Bird Stevens
• Justified (1 episode; For Blood or Money): Clinton (uncredited)
• House of Lies (2013-present) (TV): Malcolm Kaan
• Unity (2014) - (Documentary) Narrator
• Rush (2014): Dr. Alex Burke
• White Water (2015) : Terrance
• Beta Test (2015): Max

[ Source: Wikipedia ]