Robert Ri'chard

Robert Andrew Ri'chard (born January 7, 1983) is an American actor, known for his roles as Bobby Walker on the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousin Skeeter (1998–2002), and as Arnaz Ballard on the UPN sitcom One on One (2001–2006). He received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for performance in the made-for-television movie In His Father's Shoes (1998), and NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Youth Actor/Actress for the 1999 teen drama film, Light It Up.

Ri'chard starred in the sports drama film Coach Carter and the horror film, House of Wax in 2005. He later played the lead in the stripper drama film Chocolate City (2015) and its sequel, Chocolate City: Vegas Strip (2017), and in the erotic drama film, Kinky (2018).

Early life
Ri'chard was born in Los Angeles, California. He is of Louisiana Creole descent. He attended Palms Middle School in Los Angeles, California.

Career
In 1997, Ri'chard starred in the television special, In His Father's Shoes, which earned him the 1998 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special. Ri'chard later starred in the Nickelodeon sitcom Cousin Skeeter. He also made a few appearances as himself on the hit Nickelodeon game show, Figure It Out. He played Samuel on Touched by an Angel, a troubled teen whose brother is in prison for shooting a man. His breakout role was in the TV adaptation of Anne Rice's novel, The Feast of All Saints, where he played the young Marcel who becomes a man within society. He has been professionally acting since the age of 13. He appeared in the movie Light It Up along with R&B star Usher. Ri'chard has guest starred on many hit shows such as Boston Public, NCIS, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, My Wife and Kids, and The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2000, he starred in the Disney Channel TV movie Alley Cats Strike. He became popular in 2001 when he got the role of Arnaz Ballard on the UPN hit sitcom One on One alongside Flex Alexander and Kyla Pratt. That role was the most significant of his television roles. He continued to play the role until the show ended in 2006. Ri'chard appeared in films Coach Carter and House of Wax in 2005. From 2006 to 2007 he had a recurring role in the CW series Veronica Mars and from 2009 to 2010 in the TBS sitcom Meet the Browns as Derek Porter, a buffoonish frat student who lived next door to Brown Meadows. He debuted in season 3 as a recurring character, and in the fourth season, was promoted to a main character. Ri'chard was set to star in a series entitled Eight Days a Week, starring Christina Milian and Mario Lopez on the CW Television Network during the fall 2007 season, but it was canceled due to the 2007 Writers Strike before airing. On November 16, 2011, it was announced that Robert Ri'chard was cast as Jamie in the CW series The Vampire Diaries.

In 2015, Ri’chard played stripper in the comedy-drama film, Chocolate City. He later returned to its sequel, Chocolate City: Vegas Strip (2017). In 2018 he starred in the erotic film, Kinky. He later appeared in films Bolden (2019), Alone (2020) and Sweetwater (2023). On television, he appeared in Lucifer and iZombie. He had the recurring roles during the final season of Fox soap opera, Empire, and the Amazon comedy series, Harlem alongside Cousin Skeeter co-star, Meagan Good.