Larenz Tate blew up on the big screen as O-Dog, a gun-toting murderer in his breakthrough film “Menace II Society” (1993), and he encompassed the random and senseless violence of the inner-city streets.

In his latest co-staring role in “A Man Apart,” opposite Vin Diesel, Tate portrays Demetrius Hicks, an undercover cop fighting the drug war along the US-Mexico border.

This versatile actor has transcended his troubled ghetto-dwelling film persona to become an actor of impressive dramatic and comedic range in his body of work.

The soft-spoken, 27-year-old actor recently discussed his latest work with a group of college students in the Bay area.

JM: What attracted you to this role?

LT: Working with F. Gary Gray (the director) and Vin. You know, it seemed like the planet lined itself up for us to do this movie. I knew both of those guys and both were my friends. Vin and I were really adamant about working together. We were trying to find something, and we found this movie. We have mad respect and love for each other.

JM: You play an undercover cop. How did you prepare for it?

LT: Back home in Chicago, I have family and friends who work in the police department and ironically are involved in the undercover task force. I said, “I want to know how ya’ll do it in a real, serious way.” I sat in on the back of a police car. They said “Duck down, chill and take your notes, and we’re going to take you to the hood and show you how we do it.” And it was very helpful because I was able to incorporate a lot of what I learned into this role.

JM: You play Diesel’s partner, but your character isn’t just the sidekick buddy. You’re a protective family man, but you also have a very street-smart attitude. Is it hard to find characters that have depth?

LT: Yeah, yeah. It’s damn hard to find roles like that. That’s why it’s taken me so long to get it. I’m the kind of person that’ll sacrifice. I’ll wait. But then, you know, I start looking around, and I’m saying, “Well, I gotta get back to work because that’s what I love to do.” And it’s really hard to wait for those good roles to come around. I’m happy with the success of Vin and Gary and those guys, they look at me and have a lot of respect for waiting.

JM: Because you’re a minority, is it difficult or challenging to get the roles offered to mainstream Hollywood actors?

LT: Yeah! Well, Hollywood I sometimes find is split between a black movie and a non-black movie, a black actor and non-black actor. It’s a bunch of nonsense to me. It is challenging when you’re trying to do the roles that they see Leonardo DiCaprio doing or Matt Damon … I don’t compare myself to any of those guys but I’ve been working for a long time, and I see some of these guys and I appreciate their work. But I would like to see more diverse roles working for people of color.

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