Best known for his role as Darius Lovehall in the 1997 classic, Love Jones or as the iconic O-Dog in Menace II Society, Larenz Tate has made his Hollywood presence known in timeless films at a young age. His breakout role in the Menace was at the age of 17 and he’s continued to bankroll his stardom with small and big screen roles as well as producing his own projects.
On Giving Back
Despite his busy schedule, Larenz suffers from sickle cell. To bring awareness to this disorder, Larenz, along with his brothers, founded The Tate Brothers Foundation.
“It’s really important to know if you carry the disease,” says Tate, 36, who costarred on FX’s Rescue Me and in BET’s made-for-TV movie Gun Hill.
As many as 100,000 people in the United States have the disease, which causes red blood cells to resemble sickles or crescents. The misshapen cells can reduce blood flow, which starves vital organs of oxygen and can lead to chronic fatigue and intense pain.
Many people who don’t have the disease carry a gene for it. Screening is essential, a message Tate will spread via Facebook and Twitter (@LarenzTate). “If you can prevent the disease, you can really make a difference in someone’s life,” says Tate.
On Family
“I’ve got a combination of family members I drew influence from,” explains Tate. “I come from a big family and my mother comes from 13, my pops comes from 8, so I grew up with a lot of family and there’s always that competitive nature. And like I said, we’re some s**t talkers. So you’ve got to back up all that talk with something. Even when me and my brothers get on the court we talk and compete like we’re strangers, but once we step off the court, it’s all love.”
On Working Out
Most recently, Larenze took us behind the scenes of his new workout regime called 52 Blocks. Originally started in the prison system for men to…