Lyriq Bent (born Martin Lyriq Bent) is a Jamaican-Canadian actor. He is known for his roles in the Saw films, the television series Rookie Blue, and The Book of Negroes. Bent portrays Jamie Overstreet in the Netflix series She's Gotta Have It, based on the film of the same name.

Lyriq Bent
Bent in 2014
Born
OccupationActor
Years active1999–present

Early life

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Martin Lyriq Bent was born in Kingston, Jamaica,[1] and moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when he was six years old.[2]

Career

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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.[3]

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.[4]

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

In 2015 Bent portrayed Chekura Tiano in the television miniseries The Book of Negroes, based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Hill.[5] For this role, Bent won the award for Best Actor in a Television Film or Miniseries at the 2016 4th Canadian Screen Awards.

He was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Lead Performance in a Web Program or Series at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 for the web series For the Record.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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List of films and roles
Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Caveman's Valentine Seraph Dancer
2002 Superbob Lepke
Damaged Goods Eddie Barrel
2003 Crime Spree Ellwood
Honey Barber
2005 The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico Mr. Stuff
Four Brothers Damian
Saw II Daniel Rigg
2006 Take the Lead Easy
Saw III Daniel Rigg
2007 Skinwalkers Doak
Saw IV Daniel Rigg
2009 Defendor Wayne
2010 Mother's Day Treshawn Jackson
Perception Father Short
2012 Home Again Dunston Williams
2013 Queen City Takiri
2015 Pay the Ghost Jordan Reynolds
2018 Love Jacked Tyrell
Acrimony Robert Gayle
Nappily Ever After Will Wright
2019 Benjamin Greg
Astronaut Jim

Television

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List of television appearances and roles
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Relic Hunter Quelch's Guard #2 Episode: "The Legend of the Lost"
2001 Tracker Bartender Episode: "The Plague"
Jane Doe Rawlins Television film
2002 Street Time Sergeant Danny Blackstone 3 episodes
Pretend You Don't See Her Detective Television film
10,000 Black Men Named George Disgruntled Man Television film
2003-
2005
Blue Murder
  • Twist Ballard
  • Keith Rose
2003 Platinum Devon 3 episodes
Playmakers 4 episodes
2003-
2004
Mutant X Harris/Randall Blake
2004 1-800-Missing Dante Episode: "Pop Star"
2004-
2005
Kevin Hill Jack Johnson
  • Episode: "Full Metal Jessie"
  • Episode:"Sacrificial Lambs"
2005 Kojak Billy Harris Episode: "Pilot"
2006 Angela's Eyes Leo Jetson Main Cast
North/South Joss Colley Regular Cast
2007 The Dresden Files Jake Episode: "Bad Blood"
2008 CSI: Miami Colin Madison Episode: "Going Ballistic"
2008-
2009
Sophie Andre 7 episodes
2009 Guns Ford Saunders 2 episodes
2010 Haven Ray McBreen Episode: "Harmony"
2010-14 Rookie Blue Frank Best 45 episodes
2013 Rookie Blue Webisodes Frank Best Episode: "In Session: Frank Best"
2014 A Day Late and a Dollar Short Randall Television film
The Good Sister Investigator Television film
Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B Barry Hankerson Television film
2015 12 Monkeys Henri Toussaint Episode: "Cassandra Complex"
The Book of Negroes Chekura Tiano 5 episodes
2016 Coconut Hut Desmond Kilpatrick Episode: "No Wifi"
Shoot the Messenger Frank Lutz 8 episodes
Ladies Book Club Carlyle Television film
Group Home Winnie Television film
2017 Mary Kills People Detective Frank Gaines 6 episodes
2017-
2019
She's Gotta Have It Jamie Overstreet 19 episodes
2018 The Man in the High Castle Mingus Jones
  • Episode: "Sensô Kôi"
  • Episode: "Sabra"
2019 The Affair Paul 3 episodes
Carter Joyce Boyle 8 episodes
2020 For the Record Stefan Episode: "Climax"
2021 Our Christmas Journey Rick Television film
An Ice Wine Christmas Declan Monroe Television film
Delilah Gordon Leighton 6 episodes
2022 Long Slow Exhale Garrett Carter 12 episodes
Kid's Crew Principal Drayton 3 episodes
2023 The Rookie: Feds Congressman Damien Roberts Episode: "Close Contact"
Law & Order Pastor Mike Butler Episode: "Mammon"

Video games

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List of video game voice roles
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Mafia III Emmanuel Lazare (voice) [7]

References

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  1. ^ "Lyriq Bent Is Home Again". Jamaica Observer. September 15, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Strellson is classy one-stop shopping". Toronto Star. December 4, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "The Horror Department: Lyriq Bent from Saw IV". AMC. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  5. ^ "Cuba Gooding Jr., Lyriq Bent to Star in Book of Negroes". BET.
  6. ^ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "Mafia III Credits". 2K Games. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
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