1970s and 1980s: Early work and theatre success Lindo made his film debut in 1976 with
John Candy in the Canadian comedy
Find the Lady. He played an army sergeant in
More American Graffiti (1979). For a decade from the early 1980s, Lindo's career was more focused on theatre acting than film, although he has said this was not a conscious decision. Lindo continued with
Master Harold in the national tour, starring with
James Earl Jones. Throughout the 1980s, Lindo worked repeatedly at the
Yale Repertory Theatre under artistic director
Lloyd Richards. Lindo starred as Walter Lee Younger in the 25th anniversary production of
A Raisin in the Sun alongside
Mary Alice,
Beah Richards, and
Courtney B. Vance. Lindo continued with the play when the
Roundabout Theatre Company brought it to the
Kennedy Center. He cited the experience and the acting guidance from Lloyd Richards as a major turn in his career. Lindo also featured in Yale Rep productions of
James Yoshimura's
Union Boys and
Lee Blessing's
Cobb. In 1988, Richards brought Lindo into an ongoing pre-Broadway production of
August Wilson's ''
Joe Turner's Come and Gone to replace Charles Dutton, who had played the role at Yale Rep. Lindo, playing the character Herald Loomis, received critical praise. Boston Globe critic Jay Carr called him "an ax blade, ready to fall." Lindo earned a Tony nomination for the performance, but lost to BD Wong in M. Buttterfly. Joe Turner'' closed in June 1988, after around 105 performances.
1990s: Film breakthrough Lindo returned to film in the 1989 science fiction film
The Salute of the Jugger (AKA
The Blood of Heroes), which has become a cult classic. Although he had turned down
Spike Lee for a role in
Do the Right Thing (as one of the minor characters played by
Paul Benjamin,
Frankie Faison, and
Robin Harris), Lee later cast him as West Indian Archie, a psychotic gangster, in
Malcolm X (1992) and Woody Carmichael in the drama
Crooklyn (1994), which brought Lindo notice. He also played a starring role as a neighborhood drug dealer in Lee's
Clockers. On
Clockers, Lindo said: "It's an underrated film ... it's a terrific film ... I think it's the subject matter of
Clockers that maybe caused more people to not go and see the film ... It was shot beautifully, really interesting visually." The Broadway role went to
Roger Robinson, who earned a Tony nomination. Between 1995 and 2000, Lindo co-starred in a string of box office hits including
Barry Sonnenfeld's
Get Shorty (1995), Ron Howard's
Ransom (1996),
John Woo's
Broken Arrow (1996),
Lasse Hallström's
The Cider House Rules (1999),
Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), and
Romeo Must Die (2000). Lindo also had memorable uncredited cameos in
Congo (1995) and ''
The Devil's Advocate'' (1997). Additionally, Lindo co-starred in
Soul of the Game (1996) as baseball player
Satchel Paige. In 2026, Lindo said of the film: "It's a wonderful film. I'm really proud of that film ... I watched it five or six years ago and I was speaking with Kevin Rodney Sullivan, who directed it, and I said 'it holds up man. It does. It holds up.'... That holds a special place in my heart." He also appeared as African-American explorer
Matthew Henson, in the TV film
Glory & Honor, directed by
Kevin Hooks. It portrayed Henson's nearly 20-year partnership with Commander
Robert Peary in Arctic exploration, and their effort to find the
Geographic North Pole in 1909. Lindo received a Satellite Award for his portrayal of Henson. Lindo also starred as
Clarence Thomas in
Ernest Dickerson's 1999 TV film
Strange Justice. The film, based on the book by
Jane Mayer and
Jill Abramson, told the story of the
1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings and
Anita Hill. The film received a
Peabody Award.
2000s and 2010s: Career downturn and transition to television In the early 2000s, Lindo co-starred in a series of poorly received
box office bombs including
The Last Castle (2001),
The Core (2003),
Domino (2005), and
Sahara (2005). During this time, he also starred in the British independent film
Wondrous Oblivion (2003), directed by
Paul Morrison, Lindo starred as Dennis Samuels, the father of a Jamaican immigrant family in London in the 1950s. Lindo said he made the film in honour of his parents, who had similarly moved to London in those years. He was set to return to Broadway in the premiere of August Wilson's
Gem of the Ocean in November 2004. During rehearsals for the pre-Broadway staging at the
Huntington Theatre, Lindo argued with Wilson over his character and unfavourably contrasted director
Marion McClinton to
Lloyd Richards, who had directed Lindo in
Joe Turner. Anthony Chisholm replaced Lindo in the role after what the production said were "creative differences." In 2006, Lindo transitioned to television and was seen on the short-lived NBC drama
Kidnapped. Following the series' cancellation, Lindo began an association with
Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley,
California in 2007, when he directed
Tanya Barfield's play
The Blue Door. He played Joe Black in
This Christmas in 2007. In the autumn of 2008, Lindo revisited ''Joe Turner's Come and Gone'', directing a production at the Berkeley Rep. In 2010, he played the role of elderly seer Bynum in
David Lan's production of
Joe Turner at the
Young Vic Theatre in London. Lindo was in the main cast of a string of short-lived series including
Fox crime drama
The Chicago Code (2011), the
NBC fantasy series
Believe (2014), and the ABC soap
Blood & Oil (2015). In 2017, Lindo began playing Adrian Boseman in the
CBS legal drama
The Good Fight, a role he would star in for the series' first four seasons and reprise as a guest star in its fifth season. Lindo was cast as the lead in an
ABC drama pilot ''Harlem's Kitchen
in March 2020. In 2015, Lindo was expected to play Marcus Garvey in a biopic of the black nationalist historical figure that had been in pre-production for several years. Lindo also appeared in a series of poorly received films such as Point Break (2015), the drama Battlecreek (2017), and the horror film Malicious'' (2018).
2020s: Career resurgence In 2020, Lindo starred in
Da 5 Bloods in another collaboration with Spike Lee. For his role in
Da 5 Bloods, Lindo received critical acclaim and a number of accolades. David Rooney of
TheHollywoodReporter, wrote: "Played with electrifying volatility by Lindo ... (He makes) audacious choices in what might be a career-best performance." Peter Debruge of
Variety wrote that Lindo was "outstanding," and added "delivering two long monologues directly to the camera, Lindo is dynamite in the role." Lindo said of the praise he received: "I had never had that consistent, that magnitude of appreciation for my work. It was gargantuan. It was like my mama wrote those reviews." He later credited Lee and
Da 5 Bloods for his career resurgence and eventual Oscar nomination. In 2021, Lindo appeared in
The Harder They Fall, written and directed by
Jeymes Samuel, as
Bass Reeves. He was also cast in the
Marvel Studios film
Blade in an undisclosed role. It was announced in July 2021 that Lindo would star as Mr. Nancy in the British
Amazon Prime miniseries adaptation of
Neil Gaiman's
Anansi Boys alongside
Malachi Kirby. Following sexual misconduct allegations against Gaiman, Lindo said in April 2025 that he did not believe the show "[would] ever see the light of day". A couple years later, Lindo starred in the comedy show
Unprisoned and his performance was well received. Kristen Baldwin of
Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Delroy Lindo is so good it should be illegal." In 2025, Lindo played the supporting role of Delta Slim in
Ryan Coogler's critically acclaimed and commercially successful film
Sinners, with his performance receiving praise and earning him a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Upcoming In 2027, Lindo will co-star in
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. On working on the film, Lindo said: "To enter into that universe, very very different but they have a global audience. It's a world unto itself and I actually had a good time working on it." ==Personal life==