(BALTIMORE – March 30, 2024) – It is always a beautiful thing when a person from West Baltimore makes it to Hollywood and then returns to spread love in the old neighborhood. “Ro” Brooks is such a star, and today, he was joined by family and friends in the 1900 block of Edmondson Avenue where he sold records.
Who is Ro?
(IMDb Mini Biography By: Edward Marks)
American Actor, Ro Brooks, born Jerome Curtis Brooks Jr., was born and raised in the hood of West Baltimore. Ro’s natural acting ability was cultivated by his Grandmother and Great Aunt, who would encourage Ro and his three older sisters to perform dance and musical routines for them by throwing change at their feet. During his younger years, Ro began developing his musical prowess by rapping and dancing at local talent shows and events. While attending Walbrook High School, Ro’s early success would begin when he got together with a group of friends and formed the rap group, Twice As Nice. The group would win 1st place at a local talent show that would earn them a spot on the bill at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater for a taping on “Showtime at the Apollo”. They would go on to make history by becoming the first rap group to win on “Amateur Night”. A few years later, Ro landed his first role as an extra in the feature film “The Meteor Man”, directed by Robert Townsend. That was the start of his acting career. Ro has gone on to work with other acclaimed directors such as, Michael Bay, Fab 5 Freddy, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, and Tyler Perry just to name a few.
Ro Brooks is known for his dramatically, compelling role as Michael, on OWN’s – Tyler Perry’s, hit drama series “The Haves and the Have Nots”. He has also had the pleasure of being cast in BET’s, historical three-night mini-series, “The New Edition Story” and other projects including: (Film) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Kill Bill, Mysterious Ways, A Beautiful Soul, Pastor Shirley, and Squatters; (Television) HBO’s critically acclaimed The Wire, FX’s Sons of Anarchy, Showtime’s Shameless, FOX’s Emmy Award Winning, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and 24, CBS’s CSI New York, El Rey’s Matador and many more; (Commercial) National US Marine Corps Commercial and Toyota Avalon Commercial Campaign “Only The Name Remains” starring opposite International Actor Idris Elba.
Ro is also an entrepreneur. He opened his first music store/record label called “Rome Records” at the young age of 22 years old. As a direct result of the store’s success, Ro opened two more music stores, one in Baltimore and the other in Atlanta, Ga., both under the name “Sounds -N- Da Hood”. With an extensive background in music, Ro welcomed the opportunity to return to his musical roots while integrating and expanding on his acting talents to include music videos, working with such artists as Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, Lil’ Wayne, TI, Jill Scott, Young Jeezy, Snoop Dogg, Shyne, Lil’ Mo, Syleena Johnson, and Master P just to name a few.
Having escaped the trappings of the inner city, Ro felt compelled to reach out to his family members, friends and those in his community who were incarcerated. As a direct result, he founded The Hook Up- Music Magazine. It’s mission was created to provide inspirational messages to inmates in correctional institutions across the country, while simultaneously reassuring them that they are not forgotten by incorporating a Pen Pal service into the magazine.
Ro is a first time author. He wrote his book “How To Go From Extra To Actor” to help aspiring actors evade many of the pitfalls and potholes he had to endure along his road to success. Ro was awarded the “Trail Blazer, Entertainer of the Year Award” in 2015 and the “Humanitarian Award of the Year” in 2017. He shows his support in the fight against HIV by joining the CDC’s “Doing It” campaign to help bring awareness to teens across America of the rapidly spreading disease as well as for reasons that are very personal to him.
Ro joins the all star cast of “Medinah” the Middle Eastern Sci/Fi – Drama series set in Doha, Qatar. He plays Malik Jackson, a CIA agent sent to find his partner and bring him home. Medinah is slated to release October 19, 2023. Ro is also preparing for the release of “The Caregiver”, his first thriller film slated to release just a week later on October 26, 2023. Ro is on track to becoming one of Hollywood’s Leading Men.
