Actor + Activist, Rico E. Anderson Supporting the Movement Wearing his "I Can't Breathe" Tee
Actor + Activist, Rico E. Anderson (Star Trek "Renegades") Supporting the Movement Wearing his "I Can't Breathe" Tee by Teddy Blaze in the wake of the George Floyd and others who died at the hands of police brutality.
Rico Anderson, an award-winning actor and the oldest of eleven children on his mother's side, and the 3rd of 4 children oh his father's side, was born in Seaside/Monterey, CA. He was raised on the south side of Chicago, as well as in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in Chicago where his love for the arts began. As a little boy, Rico and his 3rd grade class went to a touring performance of The Wiz, starring Stephanie Mills. Even at that early age, Rico sat there mesmerized and amazed at the performances. Memories from that performance stuck in the back of his mind and would not surface until a few years later when he and his family moved to Berkeley, California. The bug bit again and Rico started performing in several Independent films and theatre productions around the Bay Area. Rico also majored in Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University. Eventually Rico moved to Los Angeles and has been blessed to have many film, television, voice over and theatre credits to his name.
Rico's selected film and television credits include guest staring as Marco in Young & Hungry on Freeform and Donnie in Grey's Anatomy. Other selected guest star and recurring works include, The Fosters, NCIS, Modern Family, Criminal Minds, K.C. Undercover, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, 2 Broke Girls, Days of our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Murder in the First, Weeds, Sullivan & Son, Justified and The Shield. Rico's breakthrough role was in the 2005 Academy Award Winning short, "Mighty Times: The Children's March" where he portrayed civil rights activist, Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart. This period piece was Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel's The Avengers, Star Wars Trilogy) and Sam Elliott (The Hulk, The Big Lebowski) respectfully.
Another breakthrough role was in Sci Fi when Rico was tapped to star in the TV pilot, Star Trek: Renegades, directed by Tim Russ (Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager) and starring Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babalon 5), Sean Young (Blade Runner) and Edward Furlong (John Connor in The Terminator). Rico was directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) in the pilot for Dollhouse w/ Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett (Man of Steel, Battlestar Galactica), played (The Color Purple) Danny Glover's son in in "The Harimaya Bridge" with Peter Coyote and starred in the Universal release of, "Hole in One" with Producer, David Ellison (Star Trek into Darkness, World War Z) and Dean Cain (Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman).
In 2016, Rico won Best Actor at The Pasadena International Film Festival for the film "Dreams My Master".
Onstage, Rico has captivated audiences in such noteworthy performances including the multiple award winning production of The West Coast Premiere of The Ballad of Emmett Till (Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles), Lyons in Fences (NexStage Theatre, Ketchum Idaho), Stone in the revival of Ray Bradbury's Kaleidoscope (Sci-Fest LA, Acme Theatre), The title role in Oedipus (African American Shakespeare Company, San Francisco) , For The Love of Freedom-Trilogy (The Robey Theatre Company, Los Angeles) where Mr. Anderson took on the pivotal role of General Alexander Petion, Graffiti Blues (National Black Theatre Festival, North Carolina), the multiple award winning production of The Meeting as Malcolm X, Off-Off Broadway in Bed of Truth, Equus, and A Soldiers Play . Mr. Anderson, as a member of the L.A. based Sketch Comedy Troupe, The Outpatients, performed at The World Famous Comedy Store Main Room.
Selected Commercial work includes: McDonalds, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, UPS Store, Lending Tree, Bud Light, Honda, Chevrolet, Sony, Jeep.
In 2015, Rico was selected to be an Emmy voter in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS)
As a Voice Over artist, Rico has recorded ADR / voice work for Batman: Arkham Knight, Power (Starz) and VH-1's Hit the Floor. Commercial and promotion: Bud Light, Honda, Sony, Jeep, The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and National Rent a Car.
Rico still lives in Los Angeles, continues to work extensively in film, television, theatre and voice over and is carefully selecting his next project.