User:Realaartist

Rico Anderson, the oldest of 11 children, was born in Seaside/Monterey, CA and raised on the south side of Chicago as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in Chicago where his love for the arts began. As a little boy, Rico and his 3rd grade class went to an on tour performance of The Wiz, starring Melba Moore. Even at that early age, Rico sat there mesmerized and amazed at the performances. Something from that performance stuck in the back of his mind and would not surface until a few years later when he and his family moved to Berkeley, California. Rico performed in several Independent films and theatre productions around the Bay Area. Eventually Rico moved to Los Angeles and has been blessed to have many film and television credits to his name.

On film, Rico has appeared in the 2005 ACADEMY AWARD WINNING short, “Mighty Times: The Children’s March” where he portrayed civil rights activist, Shelley “The Playboy” Stewart. This period piece was Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (Star Wars Trilogy: Episodes 1, 2 & 3) and Sam Elliott (The Big Lebowski) respectfully. Rico also filmed the independent feature, “Hole in One” with Dean Cain (Lois and Clark: The Adventures of Superman), the sequal “Beach Bar: The Movie and the son of Danny Glover’s in “The Harimaya Bridge”.

On television he has been seen in several shows including the hit comedy Entourage (HBO), Weeds (Showtime), Dollhouse (FOX), NCIS (CBS), Justified and The Shield (FX), Mind of Mencia and Chocolate News (Comedy Central), Las Vegas (NBC),

Onstage, Rico has captivated audiences in such noteworthy performances of Wheeler in The Ballad of Emmett Till and Caesar in Gem of the Ocean (Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles), Lyons in Fences (NexStage Theatre, Idaho), The West Coast Premiere of The Ballad of Emmett Till (Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles), The title role in Oedipus (African American Shakespeare Company, San Francisco), For The Love of Freedom-Trilogy (The Robey Theatre Company, Los Angeles) where Mr. Anderson took on the pivotal role of General Alexander Petion, Graffiti Blues (National Black Theatre Festival, North Carolina), the multiple award winning production of The Meeting where Rico portrayed Malcolm X, Off-Off Broadway in Bed of Truth, Equus, and A Soldiers Play. Mr. Anderson, as a member of the L.A. based Sketch Comedy Troupe, THE OUTPATIENTS also performed at The World Famous COMEDY STORE Main Room.

Rico still lives in Los Angeles, continues to work extensively in film, television, voice overs and theatre and is carefully selecting his next project.