Lester Speight

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Lester Speight
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Alma materMorgan State University
Occupation(s)Football player, wrestler, actor
Years active1991–1998 (wrestling)
1997–present (acting)
Known forTerry Tate: Office Linebacker
My Wife and Kids
Gears of War
Lester Speight
Professional wrestling career
DebutJune 28, 1991
RetiredApril 18, 1998

Lester Speight (born August 28, 1963), also known as Rasta, is a former American football player who has had subsequent careers as a professional wrestler and then actor. He achieved significant recognition for his portrayal of Terry Tate: Office Linebacker in a series of Reebok commercials that debuted during Super Bowl XXXVII, and received further recognition for his portrayal of Augustus Cole in the Gears of War series of video games.

Early life, family and education

Lester Speight was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Gussie Watson and Walter Speight. He graduated from Old Mill High School in Millersville, Maryland in 1981,[1] where he is in its Hall of Fame for three sports: football, track, and basketball.[2]

He attended Morgan State University from 1981 to 1985 and was a Division 1 All-American Linebacker.

Professional football and professional wrestling

After graduating college in 1985, he attempted to play in the

Baltimore Stars.[3] Speight and business manager/cousin Butch Groover negotiated a two-year deal with the Stars for more than $200,000. However, the USFL folded before he even played one season.[1]

Speight moved on to professional wrestling working for Global Wrestling Federation and Catch Wrestling Association as Rasta the Voodoo Man. However, by 1997 he quit wrestling to pursue an acting career.

Acting career

Speight appears at Comic Con International 2010 in support of the Gears of War 3 video game.

Speight began his acting career in minor roles in many films including the football film

.

Commercials

In 2003, Speight starred in the Terry Tate: Office Linebacker ad for Reebok that became an immediate pop-culture phenomenon and is considered among the funniest[4] and most memorable[5] Super Bowl commercials of all time. The exposure from the popular spot opened the door to further opportunities in film, television and video games.[6]

Television

Following the success of Terry Tate, Speight had a recurring role on

strongman
, Magnum.

Film

Speight had a small role in the film Bachelor Party Vegas, as Gold Tooth, a prison rapist in 2006, before joining the Eddie Murphy motion picture Norbit as Blue, one of the three brothers of Rasputia, in 2007. The next year, he appeared in Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, as a character who is interrogated using racist methods. In 2011, Speight played "Hardcore" Eddie in the Michael Bay blockbuster Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Video games

For the 2006 Xbox 360 game Gears of War, Speight voiced the role of former "Thrashball" player Augustus Cole (a.k.a. Cole Train), humorously re-using some of his characteristic lines. He won the G-Phoria '07 award for Best Voiceover. Speight later reprised the role for Gears of War 2 (2008), Gears of War 3 (2011), Gears of War: Judgment (2013), Gears of War 4 (2016),[7] Gears 5 (2019), and Gears Tactics (2020).

Filmography

Films

TV Series

  • 2000: Walker, Texas Ranger - Flash Armstrong (Episode: The Avenging Angel)
  • 2001:
    That’s My Bush
    - Kid Spandex (Credited as Mighty Rasta) (Episode: Fare Thee Welfare)
  • 2003-2005: My Wife and Kids - Calvin Scott
  • 2003: NYPD Blue - Steve (Episode: Cops and Robbers)
  • 2003: Malcolm in the Middle - Samuel (Episode: Long Drive)
  • 2007: Prison Break - Inmate (Episode: John Doe)
  • 2009: Bones - Magnum (Episode: Double Trouble in the Panhandle)
  • 2009: Cold Case - Virgil 'Sticky' Jones (Episode: Read Between the Lines)
  • 2015: Scorpion - Ten-Ton (Episode: Fish Filet)
  • 2016: In the Cut - Gordon (Episode: Jailbreak)
  • 2017: NCIS: Los Angeles - Max 'Champ' Champion (Episode: Queen Pin)
  • 2017: The Mick - Dominic (Episode: The Visit)
  • 2018: Titans - Clayton Williams/Mr. Atlas (Episode: Jason Todd)

Video games

Other

  • Kimberly-Clark Healthy Workplace project (2012) - Eugene Hammer[10]
  • "Bring It On" music video by Kasland - Augustus "Cole Train" Cole

References

  1. ^ a b Burris, Joe (February 19, 2007). "Mighty Busy Baltimore native Lester 'Mighty Rasta' Speight tackles many acting opportunities, including his latest role in 'Norbit'". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  2. ^ Sragow, Michael (July 1, 2011). "Baltimore's Lester Speight defends the human race in 'Transformers 3'". Newsle.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  3. ^ Wallace, William N. (June 1, 1986). "U.S.F.L. Tryouts Stir Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  4. ^ Hafner, Josh. "The funniest Super Bowl ads of all time: Betty White, Terry Tate and avocados". USA Today. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  5. ^ Bentley, Coleman (January 23, 2020). "The best Super Bowl commercial every year since 2000". Golf Digest. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. ^ Samuel, Anslem. "Lester Speight Talks His Way to Success in Gaming World & Hollywood". Black Enterprise. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "Cole Train Actor Says He'll Reprise His Role in Next Gears of War". Gamespot. July 7, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  8. ^ "My Dad's a Soccer Mom". Netflix. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  9. Microsoft Game Studios
    . Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  10. ^ "Eugene". The Healthy Workplace Project. Kimberly-Clark Professional. Archived from the original on December 14, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2018.

External links