12 Respected Actors In Tyler Perry Films [Photos]
Tyler Perry isn’t winning an Oscar anytime soon. He’ll just have to console himself with his millions of dollars and adoring fans.
photo: WENN
The knocks on his movies are well known. They’ve been called formulaic, and have been accused of reinforcing negative racial stereotypes.
None of the above has stopped top notch actors from appearing in his flicks. These 12 respected actors in Tyler Perry films took the checks and told folks where to stick their criticism.
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Photo: WENN
photo: WENN
Janet Jackson
Say what you will about Ms. Jackson, but she’ll always get love off the strength of Good Times and Poetic Justice. Maybe that’s why her taking a role as Patricia in the Why Did I Get Married series seemed like such a head-scratcher.
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Angela Bassett
For selfish reasons, you never want to see Betty Shabazz hitting the proverbial chitlin’ circuit. But unless you’re scouring IMDB, you’ve probably already forgotten Angela Bassett was in Meet The Browns.
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Sofia Vergara
For someone getting so much Modern Family money, Sofia has been in quite a few stinkers including Soul Plane and the sitcom Eve. Comparatively speaking, roles in Meet The Browns and Madea Goes To Jail suddenly don’t seem so bad.
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Maya Angelou
What do you do after winning the Pulitzer Prize, a Tony, and three GRAMMY Awards? That’s officially “can’t tell me ish” status, and if the late, great Maya Angelou wanted to take a role in Madea’s Family Reunion, who was going to knock the choice?
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Idris Elba
Driis pretty much has a lifetime hood pass courtesy of The Wire. But now and then, he wisely grabs a role that appeals to the ladies. It’s hard not to look at Daddy’s Little Girls (which was predictable but no crime against cinema) as a strategic move.
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Blair Underwood
If you thought for one second Blair Underwood was too uppity to appear in a hood flick, check yourself. Before he was Carlos Armstrong in Madea’s Family Reunion, Blair Underwood was in Set It Off a mere two years after his pioneering run on L.A. Law.
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Phylicia Rashad
Folks look at you different when you manage to land Claire Huxtable. Such was the case when Rashad appeared in Perry’s 2010 film adaptation of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf.
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Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg has been serenaded in blackface, dated Ted Danson, and posed for flicks with Fabolous while hosting The View. She laughs at your condescending view of her appearing in For Colored Girls all the way to the bank.
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Cicely Tyson
Being the OG she is, Tyson knows how to lock down that motherly role with diginity, whether it’s in Hoodlum, Idlewild, or a Tyler Perry flick. She took roles in Madea’s Family Reunion and Alex Cross.
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Louis Gossett Jr.
Not for nothing, but if you look at Louis Gossett Jr.’s highly respected IMDB history, that 2010 appearance in Why Did I Get Married Too? sticks out like a sore thumb.
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Alfre Woodard
By most accounts, 2008’s The Family That Preys was viewed as some of Perry’s highbrow work. In that vein, there’s certainly no shame in taking a check for acting alongside Kathy Bates, Sanaa Lathan, and Robin Givens.
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Kathy Bates
Bates may be Perry’s biggest casting coup in the non-For Colored Girls category. Yes, given its star power, that flick is judged in the higher-echelon of Perry flicks.
