Richard Roundtree (born July 9, 1942) is an American actor. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero"  for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its four sequels, released between 1972 and 2019. For his performance in the original film, Roundtree was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972.