L.A. Law alum Blair Underwood has been a Hollywood staple for over four decades. Having started his career in the 1980s, Underwood has experienced distinct phases as a Black actor. The TV and film star opened up about his early Hollywood career and meeting Oscar winner Sidney Poitier.
Many know Underwood for his memorable role as the smooth-talking Jonathan Rollins on seven seasons of L.A. Law. However, before that role, he made his Hollywood debut in the cult classic Krush Groove. While his early roles were positive examples of Black representation, the Emmy winner opened up to the Jemele Hill Is Unbothered podcast about the limited roles Black actors (outside of Denzel Washington and Eddie Murphy) were offered during the 1980s. Underwood said:
You know Denzel [Washington] was doing his thing on the big screen. [In the] mid-80s, when I first did Krush Groove. It was very rare to see any of us on the big screen, and if you did see us, you know it was usually, we’re pimps or thugs or just, you know, from the street culture, which is a part of our culture. That’s all Hollywood wanted to promote and project. So, man, I’m talking about the 1980s, not that far from when I grew up in the 70s. seeing a brother or sister on TV and everybody run [into] the room and saying, ‘someone Black’s on TV.’ So, we weren’t far removed from that at all.
The rarity of seeing Black faces on the screen as well as stereotypical roles didn’t offer too much variety for Black TV viewers. Underwood saw those scenarios play out in real-time. During the 1980s, he and Denzel Washington were considered prime examples of Black male representation on TV and in film as they received praise and accolades for their work.
These problems appeared to extend into the 1990s as well. Blair Underwood recalled every Black actor and actress in Hollywood (no matter name recognition or skill level) auditioning for the same roles. Compared to his peers, the The New Adventures of Old Christine star admitted to having it easy due to his first two roles, saying:
If something came down the pipe, and they wanted a Black actor or actress, everybody got the call. It was very rare for me. I was grateful because I was only in the game six months before Krush Groove happened, and then the next year, I got on the show called L.A. Law where I played a lawyer for seven years… I was fortunate I had that run on L.A. Law that was seven years of my life. It kinda gave me a foothold n the industry, business, and television… Denzel really established himself on the big screen. The success of L.A. Law at the time allowed me to get a foothold in the television world, and then I’m trying to do other things [like] features between [seasons with] Posse being one of them… You know, just try to spin it any way you can, but you take what you got and what the industry got at that point.
The In Treatment star managed to become TV’s answer to Washington at the time. Finding his lane allowed Underwood to balance the roles he secured on both TV and film. He opened up about how he developed that attitude from another Hollywood figure.
You’d be unbothered and do it and be independent like I learned from Spike Lee from afar. You kinda do your own thing.
This seemed to work for Blair Underwood given the diverse roles he’s played on TV. He’s gotten into his independent streak in recent years as a producer, including the scrapped L.A. Law reboot, as reported by Deadline.
While the Jonathan Rollins actor has become accustomed to the Hollywood machine, joining L.A. Law during Season 2 was overwhelming for him. After his first promotional run for the NBC legal drama, Underwood got quite a surprise on his return flight to Los Angeles with a special seatmate. The Hollywood veteran said:
It was my first week in L.A. Law. I was in New York promoting L.A. Law and was exhausted [having] done press for like four days straight. I’m coming back on Eastern Airlines. It’s the first-class row, and I’m looking for my seat. I’m looking to the right and the left, and I see his empty seat next to this man whose got these long legs stretched out and he’s sleeping. I don’t know if I gasped or said ‘What the hell?’ Whatever I did he woke up, and it was Sidney Poitier, and my seat was right next to him for five hours. I said ‘This man is going to be trapped for five hours. I’m going to pick his brain and ask all kinds of questions.’ But I said ‘No. no, let me be cool.’
Blair Underwood was still a college student while starring in the Emmy-winning drama. At the time, he was preparing to complete his final thesis about working in Hollywood. Things shifted upon sitting next to Poitier, who passed away at age 94 in 2022. He revealed how the Oscar winner became the subject of his college thesis.
As it turned that [final] thesis became the conversation I had with Sidney Poitier for two hours. I gave him three hours or less to sleep. I said ‘I’m not gonna sweat him, and he can’t go nowhere.’ I said ‘I’ll wait until I wake up.’ So, then, I woke up, and we had the most amazing conversation about life.
Sitting next to Sidney Poitier wasn’t just about getting his thesis completed. Underwood seized the opportunity to ask Poitier about managing the stress of fame and success in Hollywood. At the time, the L.A. Law star was facing pressure from all sides as a young star after landing the coveted TV role. He recalled the story Poitier relayed to him about one of his best films, The Defiant Ones:
At that time, I was 23 years old and on L.A. Law. Everybody’s hitting me up ‘You’re on the number one drama on television. You should be doing this.’ I was really stressed out about it. I remember I said ‘What do you think about that?’ He said you know what when he did this movie called The Defiant Ones with Tony Curtis. Everybody was telling him ‘Your name should be above the title. You’re a big star, too.’ He said ‘You know what I’m just going to focus on the work.’ He did, and it was Tony Curtis that came around and said ‘This man deserves to be side-by-side with my name above the title, and he made the move. But the moral of the story was just focus on the work.
Blair Underwood took Sidney Poitier’s advice to heart as shown by Underwood’s decades-long career. The Quantico alum has been busy in recent years, popping up in several TV projects, including the recently-concluded Your Honor. He will be seen next in the series Three Women on Starz. A release date hasn’t been announced yet so check out our 2023 TV schedule for updates. In the meantime, you can revisit his time on L.A. Law by buying every season on DVD.