Delroy Lindo can’t help but be sincere.
That quality has carried through every role the esteemed actor, 73, has taken on across his decades-long career, one marked by tour-de-force performances steeped in raw expression and lived-in experience. Call it a symptom of his thespian roots, or a testament to his deep respect for the craft — either way, Lindo has never been one to fake the funk.
You can see it in some of his most defining parts: Harlem gangster and numbers runner West Indian Archie in “Malcolm X”; struggling jazz musician and patriarch Woody in “Crooklyn”; the deeply flawed and troubled fruit picker Mr. Rose in “The Cider House Rules”; and attorney Adrian Boseman in “The Good Fight,” just to name a few. Plus, his latest and widely celebrated turn in “Sinners,” playing elder bluesman legend Delta Slim.
I’m reminded just how genuine Lindo is in real life, too, on this Wednesday afternoon we speak, as the actor insists on telling me the reason for his distant mood at the top of our interview. Just hours earlier, nominations for SAG’s 32nd Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards) were announced, and, apparently, a studio executive called to inform Lindo that “Sinners” landed several nods — five total, including ones for the ensemble cast, Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku and breakout star Miles Caton — yet nothing for him alone, despite Lindo’s performance drumming up considerable buzz this awards season. He doesn’t harp on the news, nor wallow in his slight disappointment, but he does acknowledge the snub.
