Stage Rhames' training in the classics gained him roles as early as 1983 at
Shakespeare in the Park in
Richard III. He has also appeared in the classics
Richard II, and
Sophocles' play
Ajax, Rhames played the role of amateur boxer Omar in the
Second Stage Theater 1984-85 revival of
Miguel Piñero's 1974 prison drama
Short Eyes directed by
Kevin Conway, alongside
Paul Calderon and
Laurence Fishburne, among others. On
Broadway appeared in
John Pielmeier's play
The Boys of Winter directed by
Michael Lindsay-Hogg in December 1985 at the
Biltmore Theatre. In an interview, Rhames commented about screen versus stage roles, "I don't give
Hollywood the power to limit me," and "I can always do theater, I can do
Ibsen, I can do
Macbeth, I can do
Chekhov, I can do
Molière,
Othello, I can do
Richard III." Other 80s film appearances include roles in
Paul Schrader's biographical crime drama
Patty Hearst (1988) as
Donald "Cinque Mtume" DeFreeze, and as Lieutenant Reilly in
Brian De Palma's drama
Casualties of War (1989). In 1986 he appeared on another
Michael Mann show,
Crime Story in the 1986 episode, "Abrams for the Defense" in which he portrayed Hector Lincoln, a poor Chicago tenant who assaults his landlord after Hector's son is bitten by a rat, and must therefore be defended by
Stephen Lang's character, David Abrams. He played Czaja Carnek on the soap opera
Another World for several episodes in 1986. He played
SP4 Tucker in the
Tour of Duty episode "Burn Baby, Burn" (1987). Rhames played Henry Brown on
Spenser: For Hire in the episode "McAllister" (1988).
1990–1999: Breakout roles During the 1990s, Rhames' theatrical film appearances included George in
Adrian Lyne's psychological horror ''
Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), and
Wes Craven's comedy horror film
The People Under the Stairs (1991) as Leroy. Also in 1991, he played Frank McRae, the
master chief petty officer in
John Milius' Vietnam war film
Flight of the Intruder.
The New York Times lauded Rhames for the act, writing that in doing so he "demonstrated his capacity for abundant generosity". He is the only actor besides Tom Cruise to appear in all eight
Mission: Impossible films. Other theatrical film roles include
Johnnie Cochran in
American Tragedy (2000), and the ex-con boyfriend of Jody's mother in the
John Singleton film
Baby Boy (2001). He contributed his voice for the character of
Cobra Bubbles in the
Walt Disney animated feature film
Lilo & Stitch (2002) and the subsequent television series. Rhames played police Sergeant Kenneth Hall, a stoic cop and former Marine, fighting zombie hordes in the 2004 remake of
Dawn of the Dead. He played a different character, military Captain Kenneth Rhodes, in the 2008 remake of
Day of the Dead. Rhames played a gay (and possibly also homicidal) firefighter who comes out of the closet in
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007). In the 2008 film
Saving God, he played an ex-con who is released from prison a changed man, looking to take over his father's former church congregation in a deteriorating neighborhood. Rhames stars in
Phantom Punch (2008), a biopic of boxer
Sonny Liston, released directly to DVD, as well as the British independent action/thriller film
The Tournament (2009), portraying a fighter out to win a no-rules tournament. On television Rhames portrayed a
gay drag queen in the television film
Holiday Heart (2000). He played John Morgan in
Hallmark Hall of Fame's film
Little John (2002). claiming that he had only been paid $175,000 of a $200,000 contract. Since 2014, Rhames has provided the narration for numerous
Arby's commercials, with the slogan "Arby's: We have the meats!" In 2015, he filmed a series of commercials for
The ADT Corporation. Rhames has also appeared in a series of television commercials for
RadioShack, usually performing with
Vanessa L. Williams. Rhames is one of the narrators for
UFC. Rhames narrated the team introductions for the
New England Patriots and
Atlanta Falcons in
Super Bowl LI in February 2017. ==Personal life==