What is the best Mos Def screen performance?

A rapper-turned-actor with a surprisingly wide range: studio dramas, buddy comedies and prestige TV. Some roles are leads, others are scene-stealing cameos worth arguing over.

1. 1
   Something the Lord Made

   His Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated lead turn as surgical pioneer Vivien Thomas in the 2004 HBO film.
   1000pts
2. 2
   16 Blocks

   A fast-talking witness escorted across New York by Bruce Willis in Richard Donner's 2006 thriller.
   840pts
3. 3
   Brown Sugar

   A comic, charismatic turn as Chris in the 2002 hip-hop romance, an NAACP Image Award nominee.
   799pts
4. 4
   Bamboozled

   Spike Lee's 2000 satire, in which he played Manray, a street performer turned minstrel-show star.
   709pts
5. 5
   The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

   Ford Prefect in the 2005 adaptation of Douglas Adams' comic sci-fi novel.
   600pts
6. 6
   Life of Crime

   Ordell Robbie in the 2013 adaptation of Elmore Leonard's The Switch.
   600pts
7. 7
   Cadillac Records

   His portrayal of Chuck Berry in the 2008 Chess Records drama earned awards attention.
   466pts
8. 8
   The Woodsman

   A grounded supporting role as a coworker in the 2004 drama, singled out by critics as a highlight.
   0pts
9. 9
   The Italian Job

   The 2003 heist remake in which he played safecracker Left Ear.
   0pts
10. 10
    Be Kind Rewind

    Co-lead in Michel Gondry's 2008 comedy about a video store and homemade remakes.
    0pts
11. 11
    Lackawanna Blues

    A supporting role in the 2005 HBO drama of a Black boarding-house community in 1950s Buffalo.
    0pts

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