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Acting

Sidney Poitier

Career: Active from 1950 to 2001, busiest in 1957 with 4 main titles.

Leading roles: 48
top three billing

Average score: 64/100

Highest rated: A Raisin in the Sun
85/100

What stands out

Compared with the average well-known movie, over 47 of their titles. Select a trait to filter titles.

Sidney Poitier Catalog average

Rarely in their work

Fantasy
0.6, average 1.7
Scare
1.5, average 2.6
Absurdist Humor
1.0, average 2.0
Uncanny
1.5, average 2.5

Main genres

Select a genre to see those titles.

Recurring tags

Social Commentary 11
Character-Driven 6
Character Study 5
Historical Drama 4
Social Justice 3
Moral Ambiguity 3
Racial Tension 3
Gritty Realism 3
Psychological Thriller 3
Feel-Good Movie 2
Classic Cinema 2
Period Piece 2

Works often with

People in at least two of their main titles.

Movies and TV shows

63

Type

Role

Score

Decade

Genre

Group by

2000s

1 title · average score 73

The Last Brickmaker in America

73

as Henry Cobb

1990s

12 titles · average score 64

The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

73

as Noah Dearborn

Free of Eden

79

as Will Cleamons

David and Lisa

63

as Dr. Jack Miller

Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist

as Reverend Msimangu (archive footage)

The Jackal

45

as Carter Preston

Mandela and de Klerk

69

as Nelson Mandela

To Sir, with Love II

63

as Mark Thackeray

Children of the Dust

69

TV show · as Gypsy Smith

Sneakers

72

as Crease

Separate but Equal

68

TV show · as Thurgood Marshall

Separate but Equal

78

as Thurgood Marshall

Ghost Dad

23

Director

1980s

5 titles · average score 56

Shoot to Kill

63

as Warren Stantin

Little Nikita

45

as Roy Parmenter

Fast Forward

65

Director

Hanky Panky

44

Director

Stir Crazy

65

Director

1970s

10 titles · average score 60

Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist

74

as Narrator (voice)

A Piece of the Action

66

as Manny Durrell

The Wilby Conspiracy

55

as Shack Twala

Let's Do It Again

67

as Clyde Williams

Uptown Saturday Night

69

as Steve Jackson

A Warm December

57

as Dr. Matt Younger

Buck and the Preacher

61

as Buck

The Organization

38

as Virgil Tibbs

Brother John

61

as John Kane

They Call Me Mister Tibbs!

51

as Virgil Tibbs

1960s

17 titles · average score 67

For Love of Ivy

50

as Jack Parks

In the Heat of the Night

83

as Virgil Tibbs

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

72

as John Prentice

To Sir, with Love

74

as Mark Thackeray

Duel at Diablo

62

as Toller

A Patch of Blue

73

as Gordon Ralfe

The Bedford Incident

80

as Ben Munceford

The Slender Thread

71

as Alan Newell

The Long Ships

53

as Aly Mansuh

Lilies of the Field

76

as Homer Smith

Paris Blues

60

as Eddie Cook

A Raisin in the Sun

85

as Walter Lee Younger

1950s

16 titles · average score 67

Porgy and Bess

63

as Porgy

Virgin Island

as Marcus

The Defiant Ones

78

as Noah Cullen

Band of Angels

62

as Rau-Ru

Edge of the City

72

as Tommy Tyler

Something of Value

53

as Kimani Wa Karanja

The Mark of the Hawk

51

as Obam

Good-bye, My Lady

77

as Gates Watson

Go Man Go

59

as Inman Jackson

The Red Ball Express

55

as Robertson

Cry, the Beloved Country

78

as Reverend Msimangu

No Way Out

80

as Luther Brooks

1940s

2 titles

The Philco Television Playhouse

TV show · as Tommy Tyler

Sepia Cinderella

as Nightclub Extra (uncredited)