Lyriq Bent

Lyriq Bent was a Canadian actor best known for his role in the "Saw" films, as well as a few groundbreaking television shows. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Bent moved to Toronto, Canada with his family when he was six years old. After studying at Seneca College in North York, Bent began his acting career in earnest in the early 2000s, making appearances in the Samuel L. Jackson-starring drama "The Caveman's Valentine" (2001), and the Canadian sci-fi series "Relic Hunter" (CTV, 1999-2002). After making guest appearances on the legal drama "Kevin Hill" (UPN, 2004-2005), and the Ving Rhames's short-lived reboot of "Kojak" (USA Network, 2005), Bent scored his first starring role in a TV series, on the crime drama "Angela's Eyes" (Lifetime 2006), but unfortunately the show was canceled after one season. Bent had much more luck in the movies, when he played the supporting role of Officer Daniel Rigg in "Saw II" (2005), and "Saw III" (2006). He proved to be so popular amongst fans of the hardcore horror series that he was given a bigger role in the next installment, "Saw IV" (2007). Bent got his next series regular gig back home in Canada, when he spent four seasons playing Staff Sergeant Frank Best on the police drama "Rookie Blue" (ABC, 2010-14). In 2015, Bent found his most acclaimed role yet, playing the slave Chekura Tiano in the miniseries "The Book of Negroes" (CBC/BET, 2015). Critics hailed his performance, and Bent took home the award Best Actor in a Leading Dramatic Role at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. This caught the attention of legendary auteur Spike Lee, who cast Bent as Jamie Overstreet in the Netflix series adaptation of his debut film, "She's Gotta Have It" (Netflix, 2017).