12 Sidney Poitier Lead Roles Everyone Should Know
Bahamian-American actor, director and cultural ambassador Sidney Poitier passed away last week at the age of 94. Although he retired from film almost two decades ago, he remained one of the most influential people in Hollywood: a baby potato grower in the Bahamas who has become a hugely significant figure in American cinema and culture.
Poitier made his mark with a series of films made in the late 1960s that became critical and box office hits, proving to studio executives that black actors and characters could sell tickets just as easily as whites, and paved the way for the black explosion. LED films in the 70s. The actor has often been criticized for a filmography featuring a parade of near-holy black characters written either to not threaten white audiences or to deliberately draw attention to the absurdity of white supremacy in the face of a figure like Poitier. suggesting to some that ordinary mortals might be less worthy of more just treatment. There may be something to it, but focusing on the problematic aspects of the films he has starred in does a disservice to the complexity of Poitier’s performance – the humanity and closeness he brought to every role.
He looked good as the main character, with a booming voice that conveyed authority, but he was also fearless in his choices, taking on roles that directly confronted race and racism in America in a way that had rarely been seen in Hollywood films before. The fact that it has become his brand has not, to some extent, robbed these films of their power. The fact that he became incredibly popular with a wide audience paved the way for actors and directors (including himself) to create increasingly subtle stories about increasingly complex characters of color. He leaves behind an incredible legacy of performances as important as they are entertaining, including the following 12 performances.