Lyriq Bent’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Lyriq Bent (born January 3, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Saw films, the television series Rookie Blue, and The Book of Negroes. Most recently, Bent was cast to play the male lead in the upcoming Netflix series by Spike Lee, She’s Gotta Have It, based on the film of the same name.

Early life

Bent was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to Toronto, Canada when he was six years old. He grew up in Toronto and later attended Seneca College in North York.

Career

Bent has starred in various lead and supporting roles both in film and television since he began his acting career in the early 2000s. Prior to landing a co-starring role in the drama series Angela’s Eyes, he guest starred on the UPN series Kevin Hill opposite Taye Diggs, and USA Network’s Kojak opposite Ving Rhames. After appearing on several television shows, Playback Magazine listed him as one of Canada’s top rising stars.

Bent attracted further attention when he co-starred in the hit horror films Saw II and Saw III as Officer Daniel Rigg. He later starred as one of the central characters in Saw IV.

From 2010–2014 he co-starred in the Canadian television series Rookie Blue, portraying Staff Sergeant Frank Best.

Bent recently portrayed Chekura Tiano in the television miniseries The Book of Negroes, based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Hill. For this role, Bent won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Dramatic Role at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. Bent has recently announced to be playing Jamie Overstreet, one of the male leads, in Spike Lee’s new Netflix series, She’s Gotta Have It.

Filmography

Film

• The Caveman’s Valentine (2001) – Seraph Dancer
• Jane Doe (2001) – Rawlins
• Damaged Goods (2002) – Eddie Barrel
• Pretend You Don’t See Her (2002) – Detective
• 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002) – Disgruntled Man
• Superbob (2002) – Lepke
• Crime Spree (2003) – Ellwood
• Honey (2003) – Barber
• The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico (2005) – Mr. Stuff
• Four Brothers (2005) – Damian
• Saw II (2005) – Daniel Rigg
• Take the Lead (2006) – Easy
• Saw III (2006) – Daniel Rigg
• Skinwalkers (2006) – Doak
• Saw IV (2007) – Daniel Rigg
• Defendor (2009) – Wayne
• Mother’s Day (2010) – Treshawn
• Home Again (2012) – Dunston Williams
• Queen City (2013) – Takiri
• A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014) – Randall
• Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014) – Barry Hankerson
• Ladies Book Club (2015) – Carlyle
• Pay the Ghost (2015) – Jordan Reynolds
• Love Jacked (2017) – Tyrell
• Acrimony (2017) – Robert

TV

• Relic Hunter (2000) – Quelch’s Guard #2 (Season 2, Episode 4 “The Legend of the Lost”)
• Blue Murder (2001–2003) – Twist Ballard (Season 1, Episode 11 “Remington Park”); Keith Rose (Season 3, Episode 3 “Respect”)
• Tracker (2001) – Bartender (Season 1, Episode 5 “The Plague”)
• Street Time (2002) – Sergeant Danny Blackstone
• Mutant X (2003–2004) – Harris (Season 2, Episode 12 “Within These Walls”); Randall Blake (Season 3, Episode 13 “Art of Attraction”)
• Platinum (2003) – Devon
• Kevin Hill (2004–2005) – Jack Johnson
• 1-800-Missing (2004) – Dante
• Kojak (2005) – Billy Harris
• Angela’s Eyes (2006) – Leo Jetson
• North/South (2006) – Joss Colley
• The Dresden Files (2007) – Jake
• Sophie (2008–2009) – Andre
• CSI: Miami (2008) – Colin Madison
• Guns (2009) – Ford Saunders
• Rookie Blue (2010–2014) – Frank Best
• Perception (2010) – Father
• Haven (2010) – Ray McBreen
• The Book of Negroes (2015) – Chekura Tiano
• 12 Monkeys (2015) – Dr. Henri Toussaint (Season 1, Episode 3 “Cassandra Complex”)
• Shoot the Messenger (2016) – Frank Lutz
• Mary Kills People (2017) – Frank
• She’s Gotta Have It (2017) – Jamie Overstreet