‘Shaft’ star gets TV One treatment

At age 72, he remains a respected Hollywood actor, known as the first lead black action hero more than four decades ago courtesy of “Shaft.” But his vast resume also includes “Roots,” “Seven,” “Heroes” and now BET’s Atlanta-based drama “Being Mary Jane,” where he plays the father of Gabrielle Union’s lead character Mary Jane.

The hourlong program hits the highlights of his career, as well as some of the lowlights, including his feelings of being typecast after “Shaft” and a battle with male breast cancer two decades ago.

“It was a very fair portrayal,” he said in a recent interview. “I don’t think they left anything big out. It was the good, the bad and the ugly.

“I can’t wait to have a copy in the house,” he added. Then he chuckled. “It’s the narcissist in me. I want to see it again!”

His attitude toward “Shaft” has seesawed over the years. At first, he loved his groundbreaking role. “It was a beautiful time for me,” he said. “It put me on the map. Then I thought I was being pigeonholed in these action roles. I tried to break from that. It was a rough journey.”

His toughest time was in the late 1980s when there was a lengthy actor’s strike. “It took a long time for things to come around again” even after it ended, he said. “I almost went into bankruptcy.”

To this day, every day, multiple people bring up John Shaft to him, online and in person. You’d almost expect Isaac Hayes’ iconic theme song to follow him wherever he goes. “I have to temper my response when people call me ‘Shaft.’ I want to say, ‘No! My name is Richard!’ But it’s coming from a loving place. Relax!”

Today, he has graduated to patriarch roles, including Paul Patterson Sr. on “Being Mary Jane.” He had told “Being Mary Jane” creator Mara Brock Akil directly that he wanted to work with her — and actually got the gig. “It’s one of the few times I was proactive and took the bull by the horns,” he said.

Earlier this month, a woman came across a restaurant to see him. “I thought she was going to get into a ‘Shaft’ thing, but she said, ‘I wish my dad talked to me the way you talk to Mary Jane.’ “

He himself appreciates Paul’s parenting skills. “I wish I was that forthright with my own children,” he said. The role inspired him to talk to his own son about his education recently in a deeper way, and his son actually said, “I hear you.” “It’s one of the first real father-son conversations that I can remember.”

Roundtree said the changes in TV the past decade with so many networks offering series and movies means more jobs. At the same time, he noted, the pay isn’t quite as good. “I’ll take the trade-off,” he said. At the same time, “to see the quality writing we’re privy to now, it’s beautiful.”